ambitions, of bargains and sales, of timidity,
of treachery. The reverse of the most costly tapestry looks
mean and cheap. It is said that no man is a hero to his valet.
The reason is not that the hero is mean or base, but that
the valet cannot see anything that is great and noble, but
only what is mean and base. The history of no people is heroical
to its Mugwumps. But, thank God, what is petty and personal
is also temporary and perishable. The voice of all history,
especially the voice of the history of our Republic, speaks
to us the lesson which our great philosopher taught and so
implicitly believed,

Saying, What is excellent,
As God lives, is permanent.

CHAPTER XXII
CREDIT MOBILIER

During the election of 1872 many rumors appeared in the press
of the country that there had been great corruption in the
management of the affairs of the Union Pacific Railroad. It
was charged that the members of the House and Senate, some
of whom were named, had been bribed by gifts of stock in the
Credit Mobilier to secure their influence in legislation affecting
the Union Pacific Railroad.

The Credit Mobilier Co. had been formed to take the contract
for building the Union Pacific Railroad. The stockholders
of the two companies were identical. Each stockholder of
the Credit Mobilier owned a number of shares of the Union
Pacific Railroad proportional to his holding in the former
company.

The Union Pacific Railroad Company and Central Pacific Railroad
Company received liberal land grants from the Government of
the United States, that they might each build a part of the
line which should connect the Atlantic States with the Pacific
Ocean. In addition to the land grants, each road was to receive
a loan of Government bonds, payable in thirty years, of $27,000,000,
for which the Government was to pay interest, which interest
was not required to be repaid by the roads. The roads were
also authorized to give a mortgage on their properties for
a like amount, of $27,000,000 each, which mortgage was to
be prior to the Government's lien for its loan. The charter
of the Union Pacific Railroad was granted by the Government
of the United States. That of the Central Pacific was from
the State of California. The Government undertook to remove
all Indian titles from the public land granted to the Union
Pacific Railroad for a space of 200 feet in width on each
side of its entire route, and conferred the right to appro