Politicians

Can you tell whose observation is the following master piece ?

“Political affairs of the state…were governed by incompetent and self-seeking politicians… (he was) very much disgusted with this rule of incompetence and selfishness…When I considered all these, the type of men who were administering affairs, and the condition of the law and of public morality—the more I considered it and the older I grew, the more difficult appeared to me the task of decent government.

“It was impossible to take action without friends or political associates, and these it was not easy to find among the politicians, since their method of government were false to the true principles…. To find new men for the job, however, was impossibility.

“Moreover, statutes and uses alike were degenerating in- --- with surprising rapidity, and so, although at first I was filled with an ardent desire to enter politics, when I considered all this and saw how chaotic the political situation was, I felt, completely baffled.

“I continued to consider how on earth some improvement could be brought about, not only in the administration, but also in society as whole, and I was constantly on the look out for an opportunity to intervene. But finally I came to the conclusion that… the state of legislation…is so deplorable that no government is possible without drastic reconstruction, combined with some very good luck….”