well written," said another. "The President used a good
many big words to say very little," said another. "President Hayes will
secure a respectful hearing by the ability and character of this
document," said another. "Leaving out his bragging over his policy of
pacification and concerning things he claims to have done, the space
remaining will be very small," said another.

But all who read the message carefully realised that in it the President
promised the people to put an end to the dishonour of thieving politics.
There was something in the air in Washington that seemed to afflict the
men who went there with moral distemper. I was told that Coates Ames was
almost a Christian in Massachusetts, while in Washington, from his
house, was born that monster--The Credit Mobilier. Congressmen who in
their own homes would insist upon paying their private obligations,
dollar for dollar, forgot this standard of business honour when they
advocated a swindling policy for the Government of the United States. In
its day of trouble the Government was glad to promise gold to the people
who had confidence in them, and just as gladly the Government proposed
to swindle them by a silver falsehood in 1877. But the Nation was just
recovering from a four years' drunk; Mr. Hayes undertook to steady us,
during the aftereffects of our war-spree. Why should we neglect to pay
in full the price of our four years' unrighteousness? As a nation we
had so often been relieved from financial depression up to that time,
but, we were just entering a period of unlicensed ethics, not merely in
public life, but in all our private standards of morality.

It seems to me, as I recall the character of Brooklyn life at this time,
there never was a period in its history when it was so intolerably
wicked. And yet, we had 276 churches. One night about Christmas time, in
1877, Brooklyn Heights was startled by a pistol shot that set everyone
in New York and Brooklyn to moralising. It was the Johnson tragedy. A
young husband shot his young wife, with intent to kill. She was
seriously wounded. He went to prison. There was a child, and for the
sake of that child, who is now probably grown up, I will not relate the
details. In all my experience of life I have heard many stories of
domestic failure, but there are always two sides. Those who moralised
about it said, "That's what comes of marrying too young!" Others,
moralising too, said, "That's what comes of not controlli