d been able to
engineer himself into a place of trust in an institution of such
influence as the Interprovincial Loan & Savings Company, to play fast and
loose with its credit as he had done, and to bamboozle its directorate.
The fact that he had been made to convict himself must plead excuse for
the subterfuge in which they had been forced to indulge. It had been a
most disagreeable experience and the Honorable Milton Waring was glad
that it was over.

"I have only this to say, further, gentlemen," he concluded. "It is no
sinecure to hold public office and administer a public trust and I am
moved to protest most earnestly against the public tendency to discredit
politics and the men who are devoting their energies--frequently at great
personal inconvenience and loss--to the government of the country. There
are those who cannot seem to admit that it is possible for a man to enter
the political arena and remain as honest and sincere in public life as he
has been as a private citizen. Such a condition of the public mind is to
be deplored, even as the past events upon which the condition is based
are to be deplored. If the people look upon government as a joke, the
joke is on them; for their government is what they make of it or permit
it to be.

"It is my belief that below all government, like the sure-rock foundation
of a worth-while edifice, must lie the spirit of fair dealing and a
law-abiding citizenship. Let the people determine that corruption in
politics will spell political ruin instead of personal aggrandizement and
see how swiftly every political yacht will trim its sails. The cry that
politics are so rotten that the men who count most in their communities
will have nothing to do with active participation in government will then
cease and we will have genuine public service.

"I did not intend to make a political speech; but many times of late I
have felt like resigning. As long as party success and corporation
support dictate our political standards, so long will we have men like
Nickleby there attempting corruption, so long will political leadership
be forced to dance for its balance upon shifting platforms.

"I thank you, gentlemen, for your attention. The facts I have given you
can be substantiated readily by Mr. Ferguson, Mr. Wade and Mr.
McAllister; but no doubt the demonstration of the attempt to misuse the
loan company's funds to the extent of a quarter of a million dollars--the
interview th