He really forgave his enemies. lie
did not say. smugly and hypocritical
ly, "I forgive my enemies, but await
my chance to hamstring tnem.” He
could tight a man and then drink with
hint and laugh about their disagree
ment. Men like a man who has the
| courage to fight any man and the
j strength to lick him. They like a fel
: low who, after walloping and being
walloped, feels no grudge. Common
; men like a man of unusual intelli
; genre and sagacity better than a prig
! who is without intelligence, though
; he have 10 university degrees. These
! are some reasons why so many men
liked John Morrissey,
i He had been a saloon keeper. Well,
! of course, that seems horrific and hor
! risonus to darling men today, but
j tavern-keepers in the colonial time
i and saloon-keepers in pre prohibition
| days were often accounted honorable !
i men and were sometimes influential
' in civic affairs, and not because they
! had the backing of the “groggery ele
i ment.” If you have lived long in
1 Washington, and lived in the whole
i city instead of one sect of it. you re
| call that there were lager beer saloon
j keepers who were popular fellows.
! They were in the cnurches and the
I lodges, and in music and art societies.
| They were on civic committees. John
j Morrissey’s saloons. In the opinion of
' tens of thousands, did not hurt him.
* John also ran faro layouts and even
that did not destroy confidence in him,
but rather seems to have increased
confidence, because it was widely be
! lieved that his games were "square.”
■ Our ancestors were a deplorable lot.
