I saw other young men who received seventy-five or one
hundred dollars per month from the Government, who were in debt at the
end of every month. I saw men who but a few months previous were
members of Congress, then without employment and in poverty. Among a
large class there seemed to be a dependence upon the Government for
every conceivable thing. The members of this class had little
ambition to create a position for themselves, but wanted the Federal
officials to create one for them. How many times I wished them, and
have often wished since, that by some power of magic I might remove
the great bulk of these people into the county districts and plant
them upon the soil, upon the solid and never deceptive foundation of
Mother Nature, where all nations and races that have ever succeeded
have gotten their start, -- a start that at first may be slow and
toilsome, but one that nevertheless is real.
In Washington I saw girls whose mothers were earning their living
by laundrying. These girls were taught by their mothers, in rather a
crude way it is true, the industry of laundrying. Later, these girls
entered the public schools and remained there perhaps six or eight
years. When the public school course was finally finished, they
wanted more costly dresses, more costly hats and shoes.
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