DEFINITIONS OF SOME OF THE METHODS OF CORRUPTION ARE PRESENTED, AND VARIOUS ACADEMIC AND POLITICAL COMMENTATORS GIVE REASONS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF SUCH CORRUPTION. CORRUPTION AT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT IS DESCRIBED, INCLUDING MUNICIPAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL CORRUPTION. HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF CORRUPTION EXTENDS FROM COLONIAL TIMES, THROUGH THE CIVIL WAR, PAST WORLD WAR I, TO THE PRESENT DAY (1978). AN EXAMINATION OF CORRUPTION IN AMERICAN ELECTIONS COVERS THE ADMINISTRATION OF ELECTIONS, THE CONDUCT OF CAMPAIGNS, AND FUNDS SPENT IN ELECTIONS. A REVIEW OF THE COSTS OF CORRUPTION ENCOMPASSES INTELLECTUAL ARGUMENTS FOR CORRUPT GOVERNMENTS; THE COSTS OF 'HONEST' GRAFT; AND THE EFFECT OF CORRUPTION ON GOVERNMENTAL FINANCE, ON CRIME, AND ON PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY THE POOR. AN ANALYSIS OF THEORIES OF CORRUPTION, INCLUDING THE BENEVOLENCE OF MACHINE POLITICS, SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY OF UNFULFILLED NEEDS, THE PARTY DOMINANCE THEORY, AND THE MODERNIZATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THEORY, PRECEDES A DISCUSSION OF LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT AND CORRUPTION CONTROL. AN ACCOUNT OF BUSINESS, LABOR, AND POLITICAL CORRUPTION SURVEYS BUSINESS CORRUPTION IN GOVERNMENT IN THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES, AS WELL AS ETHICAL QUESTIONS ABOUT BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT, ORGANIZED LABOR AND POLITICAL CORRUPTION, AND ATTEMPTS AT UNION REFORM. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REFORM ARE ALSO NOTED. OVERALL CONCLUSIONS POINT OUT (1) THAT THE FALL OF THE TRADITIONAL, 19TH-CENTURY STYLE, CENTRALIZED POLITICAL MACHINE HAS NOT ELIMINATED CORRUPTION IN STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS; (2) THAT SEVERAL AREAS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT ARE INFESTED WITH POLITICAL CORRUPTION, ONLY SOME OF WHICH CAN BE CONTROLLED; AND (3) THAT CORRUPTION IN STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, ESPECIALLY THAT WHICH IS ASSOCIATED WITH ORGANIZED CRIME AND CONCENTRATED IN LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, IS THE MOST FREQUENT AND MOST DAMAGING TO AMERICAN VALUES. REFERENCE NOTES AND AN INDEX ARE PROVIDED. (PRG)