“Say, pop; what’s up?�
“Robbie, what did the Israelites do every time they got a chance? What did the Lord have to punish them for, very often?�
“Worshipping idols.�
“And once in a while, after being punished enough, what would they do?�
“Burn up their idols.�
“That’s right. That’s what I’ve been doing. Now I’ll kiss you both if you’ll clear out, and leave me alone, to write.�
He then wrote a letter to an old friend and schoolmate, now an editor in Charleston, South Carolina. From that letter the following is extract taken:—
“You have frequently requested me to write something for your paper, a request which I have been very slow to comply with. I do not suppose you wish me to write your editorials, and the enclosed article is only intended as a hint of the way in which I would use the facts referred to.�
Within a week the whole country echoed with the first public attack ever made upon Congressman Baldwin. The attack was made by a Charleston, South Carolina, newspaper, and every political paper in the country was immediately drawn into the combat, either as an assailant or defender of the Congressman. Congressman Baldwin in a public speech, had commented bitterly upon the cheapness of human life in the South; and now every Southern newspaper, and many of their Northern sympathizers, were revenged upon him. The following paragraphs from the Charleston paper formed the key-note of their attack:—
“We have listened, and so has the rest of the country, while this immaculate and infallible Baldwin upbraided us for the cheapness of a human life in the South. What is the value of human life in Congressman Baldwin’s own model town of Papyrus, in the model state of Massachusetts? Congressman Baldwin’s trolley company takes the life of a man earning fifteen hundred dollars a year, and in full payment for that life, it offers the victim’s family three thousand dollars. The Savings Banks offer the safest investment for widows and orphans. Should they accept, they would receive from the savings bank, at three and a half per cent.,—one hundred and five dollars a year.