11. Harry Carey Goodhue
There is nothing quite so noble as a man willing to put himself on the line for others or for a cause: Socrates willing to die for his beliefs, Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent movement for the independence of India, Dietrich Bonhoeffer consistently outspoken against the Nazis, Martin Luther King’s stand for civil rights. Such men stand as inspiration for the generations who come after them and an admonition to those of us not of their stature. Does Harry Carey Goodhue have a place among this pantheon of nobel men? He tells us that he fought the good fight, standing against the “bank and the courthouse ring” who would pocket the “interest on public funds”, the “leading citizens” who made “the poor the pack-horses of the taxes”, and the “water works” for “stealing streets and raising rates”. Certainly, these are fights in need of fighting! Somehow, though, we are left with the feeling that, despite his struggles, Goodhue fails to earn his place in history. There is just something not ...