matter where
his inquiries led him, would support him and prevent interference
with him. I answered that I would certainly do so. He went into
the investigation with relentless energy, dogged courage, and keen
intelligence. His success was complete, and the extent of his services
to the Nation are not easily to be exaggerated. He unearthed a really
appalling amount of corruption, and he did his work with such absolute
thoroughness that the corruption was completely eradicated.

We had, of course, the experience usual in all such investigations. At
first there was popular incredulity and disbelief that there was much
behind the charges, or that much could be unearthed. Then when the
corruption was shown there followed a yell of anger from all directions,
and a period during which any man accused was forthwith held guilty
by the public; and violent demands were made by the newspapers for the
prosecution not only of the men who could be prosecuted with a fair
chance of securing conviction and imprisonment, but of other men whose
misconduct had been such as to warrant my removing them from office, but
against whom it was not possible to get the kind of evidence which would
render likely conviction in a criminal case. Suits were brought against
all the officials whom we thought we could convict; and the public
complained bitterly that we did not bring further suits. We secured
several convictions, including convictions of the most notable
offenders. The trials consumed a good deal of time. Public attention was
attracted to something else. Indifference succeeded to excitement, and
in some subtle way the juries seemed to respond to the indifference. One
of the worst offenders was acquitted by a jury; whereupon not a few of
the same men who had insisted that the Government was derelict in not
criminally prosecuting every man whose misconduct was established so as
to make it necessary to turn him out of office, now turned round and,
inasmuch as the jury had not found this man guilty of crime, demanded
that he should be reinstated in office! It is needless to say that the
demand was not granted. There were two or three other acquittals, of
prominent outsiders. Nevertheless the net result was that the majority
of the worst offenders were sent to prison, and the remainder dismissed
from the Government service, if they were public officials, and if
they were not public officials at least so advertised as to render
it impossible that