hole government, which he ran in
his own way, as if it were simply his own business enlarged. Of the
conditions which the law imposes on contracts, of the numerous and
complicated problems of engineering involved in the drainage and
street systems of a great city, of the precautions to be taken in
preparing plans for so immense a work, and of the legal restraints
under which it should be conducted, he had no special knowledge.
But he had in the highest degree a quality which will bear different
designations according to the point of view. His opponents would call
it unparalleled recklessness; his supporters, boldness and enterprise.

Such were the preliminaries. Three years later the results of his
efforts were made known by an investigating committee of Congress,
with Senator Allison, a political friend, at its head. It was
found that with authority to expend $6,000,000 in the improvement
of the streets, there was an actual or supposed expenditure of
more than $18,000,000, and a crowd of additional claims which no
man could estimate, based on the work of more than one thousand
principal contractors and an unknown number of purchasers and
sub-contractors. Chaos reigned supreme. Some streets were still
torn up and impassable; others completely paved, but done so badly
that the pavements were beginning to rot almost before being pressed
by a carriage. A debt had been incurred which it was impossible
for the local municipality to carry and which was still piling up.

For all this Congress was responsible, and manfully shouldered
its responsibility. Mr. Shepherd was legislated out of office as
an act of extreme necessity, by the organization of a government
at the head of which were three commissioners. The feeling on the
subject may be inferred from the result when President Grant, who
had given Shepherd his powerful support all through, nominated him as
one of the three commissioners. The Senate rejected the nomination,
with only some half dozen favorable votes.

The three commissioners took up the work and carried it on in a
conservative way. Congress came to the help of the municipality by
bearing one half the taxation of the District, on the very sound
basis that, as it owned about one half of the property, it should
pay one half the taxes.

The spirit of the time is illustrated by two little episodes.
The reservation on which the public library founded by Mr. Carnegie
is now built, was then occupied by