“SinceIlastwroteyouComradeRitchiehaskilledamaninColorado。
　　Iunderstandthatthecomradewasplayingapokergame，andthemansatintothegameandusedsuchlanguagethatComradeRitchiehadtoshoot。ComradeWebbhaskilledtwomeninBeaver，Arizona。ComradeWebbisintheForestService，andthekillingwasinthelineofprofessionalduty。IwasoutatthepenitentiarytheotherdayandsawComradeGritto，who，youmayremember，wasputthereforshootinghissister-in-law[thiswasthefirstinformationIhadhadastotheidentityoftheladywhowasshotintheeye]。SincehewasinthereComradeBoynehasrunofftooldMexicowithhisGritto’swife，andthepeopleofGrantCountythinkheoughttobeletout。”EvidentlythesportinginstinctsofthepeopleofGrantCountyhadbeenroused，andtheyfeltthat，asComradeBoynehadhadafairstart，theothercomradeshouldbeletoutinordertoseewhatwouldhappen。
　　ThemenoftheregimentalwaysenthusiasticallyhelpedmewhenIwasrunningforoffice。OnoneoccasionBuckTaylor，ofTexas，accompaniedmeonatripandmadeaspeechforme。ThecrowdtooktohisspeechfromthebeginningandsodidI，untiltheperoration，whichranasfollows：“Myfellow-citizens，voteformyColonel！voteformyColonel！/andhewillleadyou，asheledus，likesheeptotheslaughter/！”Thishardlyseemedatributetomymilitaryskill；butitdelightedthecrowd，andasfarasIcouldtelldidmenothingbutgood。
　　Onanothertour，whenIwasrunningforVice-President，amemberoftheregimentwhowasalongonthetraingotintoadiscussionwithaPopulisteditorwhohadexpressedanunfavorableestimateofmycharacter，andinthecourseofthediscussionshottheeditor——notfatally。Wehadtoleavehimtobetried，andashehadnomoneyI
　　lefthim$150tohirecounsel——havingborrowedthemoneyfromSenatorWolcott，ofColorado，whowasalsowithme。AfterelectionIreceivedfrommyfriendaletterrunning：“DearColonel：IfindIwillnothavetousethat$150youlentme，aswehaveelectedourcandidateforDistrictAttorney。SoIhaveusedittosettleahorsetransactioninwhichIunfortunatelybecameinvolved。”Afewweekslater，however，I
　　receivedaheartbrokenlettersettingforththefactthattheDistrictAttorney——whomheevidentlyfelttobeacold-bloodedformalist——hadputhiminjail。Thentheaffairdroppedoutofsightuntiltwoorthreeyearslater，whenasPresidentIvisitedatowninanotherState，andtheleadersofthedelegationwhichreceivedmeincludedbothmycorrespondentandtheeditor，nowfastfriends，andbothofthemardentsupportersofmine。
　　Atoneoftheregimentalreunionsaman，whohadbeenanexcellentsoldier，ingreetingmementionedhowgladhewasthatthejudgehadlethimoutintimetogettothereunion。Iaskedwhatwasthematter，andherepliedwithsomesurprise：“Why，Colonel，don’tyouknowIhadadifficultywithagentleman，and……er……well，I
　　killedthegentleman。Butyoucanseethatthejudgethoughtitwasallrightorhewouldn’thaveletmego。”Waivingthelatterpoint，I
　　said：“Howdidithappen？Howdidyoudoit？”Misinterpretingmyquestionasshowinganinterestonlyinthetechniqueoftheperformance，theex-puncherreplied：“Witha。38ona。45frame，Colonel。”Ichuckledovertheanswer，anditbecameproverbialwithmyfamilyandsomeofmyfriends，includingSethBullock。WhenIwasshotatMilwaukee，SethBullockwiredaninquirytowhichIrespondedthatitwasallright，thattheweaponwasmerely“a。38ona。45frame。”
　　Thetelegraminsomewaybecamepublic，andpuzzledoutsiders。Bytheway，boththemenofmyregimentandthefriendsIhadmadeintheolddaysintheWestwerethemselvesalittlepuzzledattheinterestshowninmymakingmyspeechafterbeingshot。Thiswaswhattheyexpected，whattheyacceptedastherightthingforamantodounderthecircumstances，athingthenon-performanceofwhichwouldhavebeendiscreditableratherthantheperformancebeingcreditable。Theywouldnothaveexpectedamantoleaveabattle，forinstance，becauseofbeingwoundedinsuchfashion；andtheysawnoreasonwhyheshouldabandonalessimportantandlessriskyduty。
　　OneofthebestsoldiersofmyregimentwasahugemanwhomImademarshalofaRockyMountainState。Hehadspenthishotandlustyyouthonthefrontierduringitsvikingage，andatthattimehadnaturallytakenpartinincidentswhichseemedqueertomen“accustomedtodiedecentlyofzymoticdiseases。”ItoldhimthataneffortwoulddoubtlessbemadetopreventhisconfirmationbytheSenate，andthereforethatIwantedtoknowallthefactsinhiscase。
　　Hadheplayedfaro？Hehad；butitwaswheneverybodyplayedfaro，andhehadneverplayedabracegame。Hadhekilledanybody？Yes，butitwasinDodgeCityonoccasionswhenhewasdeputymarshalortownmarshal，atatimewhenDodgeCity，nowthemostpeacefulofcommunities，wasthetoughesttownonthecontinent，andcrowdedwithman-killingoutlawsandroadagents；andheproducedtelegramsfromjudgesofhighcharactertestifyingtotheneedoftheactionshehadtaken。FinallyIsaid：“Now，Ben，howdidyoulosethathalfofyourear？”Towhich，lookingrathershy，heresponded：“Well，Colonel，itwasbitoff。”“Howdidithappen，Ben？”“Well，yousee，Iwassenttoarrestagentleman，andhimandmemixeditup，andhebitoffmyear。”“Whatdidyoudotothegentleman，Ben？”AndBen，lookingmorecoythanever，responded：“Well，Colonel，webrokeabouteven！”I
　　foreboretoinquirewhatvarietyofmayhemhehadcommittedonthe“gentleman。”AfterconsiderablestruggleIgothimconfirmedbytheSenate，andhemadeoneofthebestmarshalsintheentireservice，exactlyashehadalreadymadeoneofthebestsoldiersintheregiment；andIneverwishtoseeabettercitizen，noramaninwhomIwouldmoreimplicitlytrustineveryway。
　　When，in1900，IwasnominatedforVice-President，IwassentbytheNationalCommitteeonatripintotheStatesofthehighplainsandtheRockyMountains。ThesehadallgoneoverwhelminglyforMr。Bryanonthefree-silverissuefouryearspreviously，anditwasthoughtthatI，becauseofmyknowledgeofandacquaintanceshipwiththepeople，mightaccomplishsomethingtowardsbringingthembackintoline。Itwasaninterestingtrip，andthemonotonyusuallyattendantuponsuchacampaignofpoliticalspeakingwasdiversifiedinvividfashionbyoccasionalhostileaudiences。Oneortwoofthemeetingsendedinriots。Onemeetingwasfinallybrokenupbyamob；everybodyfoughtsothatthespeakinghadtostop。Soonafterthiswereachedanothertownwhereweweretoldtheremightbetrouble。Herethelocalcommitteeincludedanoldandvaluedfriend，a“two-gun“manofrepute，whowasnotintheleastquarrelsome，butwhoalwayskepthisword。Wemarchedroundtothelocalopera-house，whichwaspackedwithamassofmen，manyofthemratherrough-looking。Myfriendthetwo-
　　gunmansatimmediatelybehindme，agunoneachhip，hisarmsfolded，lookingattheaudience；fixinghisgazewithinstantintentnessonanysectionofthehousefromwhichtherecamesomuchasawhisper。
　　Theaudiencelistenedtomewithraptattention。Attheend，withaprideinmyrhetoricalpowerswhichproceededfromamisunderstandingofthesituation，Iremarkedtothechairman：“Iheldthataudiencewell；therewasn’taninterruption。”Towhichthechairmanreplied：
　　“Interruption？Well，Iguessnot！Sethhadsentroundwordthatifanysonofagunpeepedhe’dkillhim！”
　　TherewasonebitoffrontierphilosophywhichIshouldliketoseeimitatedinmoreadvancedcommunities。Certaincrimesofrevoltingbasenessandcrueltywereneverforgiven。Butinthecaseofordinaryoffenses，themanwhohadservedhistermandwhothentriedtomakegoodwasgivenafairchance；andofcoursethiswasequallytrueofthewomen。Everyonewhohasstudiedthesubjectatallisonlytoowellawarethattheworldoffsetsthereadinesswithwhichitcondonesacrimeforwhichamanescapespunishment，byitsunforgivingrelentlessnesstotheoftenfarlessguiltymanwho/is/punished，andwhothereforehasmadehisatonement。Onthefrontier，ifthemanhonestlytriedtobehavehimselftherewasgenerallyadispositiontogivehimfairplayandadecentshow。SeveralofthemenIknewandwhomIparticularlylikedcameinthisclass。Therewasonesuchmaninmyregiment，amanwhohadservedatermforrobberyunderarms，andwhohadatonedforitbymanyyearsoffineperformanceofduty。I
　　puthiminahighofficialposition，andnomanundermerenderedbetterservicetotheState，norwasthereanymanwhom，assoldier，ascivilofficer，ascitizen，andasfriend，Ivaluedandrespected——
　　andnowvalueandrespect——more。
　　NowIsupposesomegoodpeoplewillgatherfromthisthatIfavormenwhocommitcrimes。Icertainlydonotfavorthem。Ihavenotaparticleofsympathywiththesentimentality——asIdeemit，themawkishness——whichoverflowswithfoolishpityforthecriminalandcaresnotatallforthevictimofthecriminal。Iamgladtoseewrong-doerspunished。Thepunishmentisanabsolutenecessityfromthestandpointofsociety；andIputthereformationofthecriminalsecondtothewelfareofsociety。ButIdodesiretoseethemanorwomanwhohaspaidthepenaltyandwhowishestoreformgivenahelpinghand——surelyeveryoneofuswhoknowshisownheartmustknowthathetoomaystumble，andshouldbeanxioustohelphisbrotherorsisterwhohasstumbled。Whenthecriminalhasbeenpunished，ifhethenshowsasinceredesiretoleadadecentanduprightlife，heshouldbegiventhechance，heshouldbehelpedandnothindered；andifhemakesgood，heshouldreceivethatrespectfromotherswhichsooftenaidsincreatingself-respect——themostinvaluableofallpossessions。
　　CHAPTERV
　　APPLIEDIDEALISM
　　Inthespringof1899IwasappointedbyPresidentHarrisonCivilServiceCommissioner。FornearlyfiveyearsIhadnotbeenveryactiveinpoliticallife；althoughIhaddonesomeroutineworkintheorganizationandhadmadecampaignspeeches，andin1886hadrunforMayorofNewYorkagainstAbramS。Hewitt，Democrat，andHenryGeorge，Independent，andhadbeendefeated。
　　IservedsixyearsasCivilServiceCommissioner——fouryearsunderPresidentHarrisonandthentwoyearsunderPresidentCleveland。IwastreatedbybothPresidentswiththeutmostconsideration。Amongmyfellow-Commissionerstherewasatonetimeex-GovernorHughThompson，ofSouthCarolina，andatanothertimeJohnR。Proctor，ofKentucky。
　　TheywereDemocratsandex-Confederatesoldiers。Ibecamedeeplyattachedtoboth，andwestoodshouldertoshoulderineverycontestinwhichtheCommissionwasforcedtotakepart。
　　CivilServiceReformhadtwosides。Therewas，first，theefforttosecureamoreefficientadministrationofthepublicservice，and，second，theevenmoreimportantefforttowithdrawtheadministrativeofficesoftheGovernmentfromthedomainofspoilspolitics，andtherebycutoutofAmericanpoliticallifeafruitfulsourceofcorruptionanddegradation。Thespoilstheoryofpoliticsisthatpublicofficeissomuchplunderwhichthevictoriouspoliticalpartyisentitledtoappropriatetotheuseofitsadherents。UnderthissystemtheworkoftheGovernmentwasoftendonewelleveninthosedays，whenCivilServiceReformwasonlyanexperiment，becausethemanrunninganofficeifhimselfanableandfar-sightedman，knewthatinefficiencyinadministrationwouldbevisitedonhisheadinthelongrun，andthereforeinsisteduponmostofhissubordinatesdoinggoodwork；and，moreover，themenappointedunderthespoilssystemwerenecessarilymenofacertaininitiativeandpower，becausethosewholackedthesequalitieswerenotabletoshoulderthemselvestothefront。Yetthereweremanyflagrantinstancesofinefficiency，whereapowerfulchiefquarteredfriend，adherent，orkinsmanupontheGovernment。Moreover，thenecessarilyhaphazardnatureoftheemployment，theneedofobtainingandholdingtheofficebyservicewhollyunconnectedwithofficialduty，inevitablytendedtolowerthestandardofpublicmorality，alikeamongtheoffice-holdersandamongthepoliticianswhorenderedpartyservicewiththehopeofrewardinoffice。Indeed，thedoctrinethat“Tothevictorbelongthespoils。”
　　thecynicalbattle-cryofthespoilspoliticianinAmericaforthesixtyyearsprecedingmyownentranceintopubliclife，issonakedlyviciousthatfewright-thinkingmenoftrainedminddefendit。Toappoint，promote，reduce，andexpelfromthepublicservice，letter-