One of the most famous muckrakers was Lincoln Steffens, whose book The Shame of the Cities (1904), first published serially in McClure’s magazine, denounced the corruption afflicting America’s urban governments. Steffens used dramatic language to expose “swindling” politicians. He claimed, for example, that the mayor of Minneapolis had turned his city over to “outlaws.” In St. Louis, “bribery was a joke,” while Pittsburgh’s Democratic Party operated a private company that handled most of the city’s street-paving projects — at a hefty profit. Historians now believe that Steffens and other middle-class crusaders took a rather extreme view of urban politics; the reality was more complex. But charges of corruption could hardly be denied. As industrial cities grew with breathtaking speed, they posed a serious problem of governance.