第25章

QuayhadbecomeparticularlyconcernedabouttheDelawaresintheIndianTerritory。HefeltthattheInteriorDepartmentdidnotdothemjustice。HealsofeltthathiscolleaguesoftheSenatetooknointerestinthem。Wheninthespringof1904helayinhishousemortallysick，hesentmewordthathehadsomethingimportanttosaytome，andwouldhavehimselfcarriedroundtoseeme。Isentbackwordnottothinkofdoingso，andthatonmywaybackfromchurchnextSundayIwouldstopinandcallonhim。ThisIaccordinglydid。

Hewaslyinginhisbed，deathwrittenonhisface。Hethankedmeforcoming，andthenexplainedthat，ashewasonthepointofdeathandknewhewouldneverreturntoWashington——itwaslatespringandhewasabouttoleave——hewishedtoseemetogetmypersonalpromisethat，afterhedied，IwouldmyselflookaftertheinterestsoftheDelawareIndians。HeaddedthathedidnottrusttheInteriorDepartment——althoughheknewthatIdidnotsharehisviewsonthispoint——andthatstilllessdidhebelievethatanyofhiscolleaguesintheSenatewouldexertthemselvesintheinterestsoftheDelawares，andthatthereforehewishedmypersonalassurancethatI

wouldpersonallyseethatnoinjusticewasdonethem。ItoldhimI

woulddoso，andthenadded，inratherperfunctoryfashion，thathemustnottakesuchagloomyviewofhimself，thatwhenhegotawayforthesummerIhopedhewouldrecoverandbebackallrightwhenCongressopened。Agleamcameintotheoldfighter’seyesandheanswered：“No，Iamdying，andyouknowit。Idon’tminddying；butI

dowishitwerepossibleformetogetoffintothegreatnorthwoodsandcrawloutonarockinthesunanddielikeawolf！”

Ineversawhimagain。WhenhediedIsentatelegramofsympathytohiswife。Apaperwhichconstantlypreachedreform，andwhichkeptupitscirculationbythenolessconstantpracticeofslander，apaperwhichintheorycondemnedallpublicmenwhoviolatedtheeighthcommandment，andinpracticesubsistedbyincessantviolationoftheninth，assailedmeforsendingmymessagetothedeadman’swife。I

knewtheeditorsofthispaper，andtheeditorwhowastheirpredecessor。Theyhadledlivesofbodilyeaseandtheavoidanceofbodilyrisk；theyearnedtheirlivelihoodbythepracticeofmendacityforprofit；andtheydeliveredmalignantjudgmentonadeadmanwho，whateverhisfaults，hadinhisyouthfreelyriskedhislifeforagreatideal，andwhowhendeathwasalreadyclutchinghisbreasthadspentalmosthislastbreathonbehalfofhumbleandfriendlesspeoplewhomhehadservedwithdisinterestedloyalty。

Thereisnogreaterdutythantowaronthecorruptandunprincipledboss，andonthecorruptandunprincipledbusinessman；andforthematterofthat，onthecorruptandunprincipledlaborleaderalso，andonthecorruptandunprinciplededitor，andonanyoneelsewhoiscorruptandunprincipled。Butwheretheconditionsaresuch，whetherinpoliticsorinbusiness，thatthegreatmajorityofmenhavebehavedinawaywhichisgraduallyseentobeimproper，butwhichatonetimedidnotconflictwiththegenerallyacceptedmorality，thenthewarfareonthesystemshouldnotincludewarfareonthementhemselves，unlesstheydeclinetoamendtheirwaysandtodissociatethemselvesfromthesystem。Therearemanygood，unimaginativecitizenswhoinpoliticsorinbusinessactinaccordancewithacceptedstandards，inamatter-of-courseway，withoutquestioningthesestandards；untilsomethinghappenswhichsharplyarousesthemtothesituation，whereupontheytrytoworkforbetterthings。Thepropercourseinsucheventistoletbygonesbebygones，andifthemenprovebytheiractionsthesincerityoftheirconversion，heartilytoworkwiththemforthebettermentofbusinessandpoliticalconditions。

BythetimethatIwasendingmycareerasCivilServiceCommissionerIwasalreadygrowingtounderstandthatmereimprovementinpoliticalconditionsbyitselfwasnotenough。Idimlyrealizedthatanevengreaterfightmustbewagedtoimproveeconomicconditions，andtosecuresocialandindustrialjustice，justiceasbetweenindividualsandjusticeasbetweenclasses。Ibegantoseethatpoliticaleffortwaslargelyvaluableasitfoundexpressionandresultedinsuchsocialandindustrialbetterment。Iwasgraduallypuzzlingout，ortryingtopuzzleout，theanswerstovariousquestions——someasyetunsolvabletoanyofus，butforthesolutionofwhichitistheboundendutyofallofustowor