Tammy hall , the corrupt political machine that ran the city, felt directly threatened by the bureau, referring to it as "the bureau of municipal besmirch " and initiated a smear camping designed to emasculated it. The camping backfire,and encouraged reformers in other cities to emulate the bureau 's success. By 1982 , seventy-four cities had independently funded research bureaus, and they continued to multiply,both domestically and abroad, though the early 1940.