ins, with takings computed
at $263,778. As his friends and admirers were numerous, the elective
sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys, and judges in the area of his
activities were unable to stop him by any means within their reach.
Meanwhile, the frightened burghers of the small towns in his range of
operations were clamoring for deliverance from his raids, and finally
Governor Crittenden of Missouri offered a reward of $10,000 for his
capture dead or alive. Two members of his own band shot him down in his
own house, April 3, 1882. They at once reported the deed and surrendered
themselves to the police, were soon put on trial, pleaded guilty of
murder, were sentenced to death, and were at once pardoned by the
Governor. Meanwhile, the funeral ceremonies over Jesse James's remains
drew a great concourse of people, and there were many indications of
popular sympathy. Stories of his exploits have had an extensive sale,
and his name has become a center of legend and ballad somewhat after the
fashion of the medieval hero Robin Hood.

The legislative blundering which tied the President's hands and made the
Government impotent to protect American citizens from desperadoes of
the type of the "cowboys" and Jesse James, is characteristic of Congress
during this period. Another example of congressional muddling is found
in an act which was passed for the better protection of ocean travel
and which the President felt constrained to veto. In his veto message of
July 1, 1882, the President said that he was entirely in accord with
the purpose of the bill which related to matters urgently demanding
legislative attention. But the bill was so drawn that in practice it
would have caused great confusion in the clearing of vessels and would
have led to an impossible situation. It was not the intention of the
bill to do what the President found its language to require, and the
defects were due simply to maladroit phrasing, which frequently occurs
in congressional enactments, thereby giving support to the theory of
John Stuart Mill that a representative assembly is by its very nature
unfit to prepare legislative measures.

The clumsy machinery of legislation kept bungling on, irresponsive to
the principal needs and interests of the times. An ineffectual start
was made on two subjects presenting simple issues on which there was
an energetic pressure of popular sentiment--Chinese immigration and
polygamy among the Mormons. Anti-Chinese legislation h