[ 152 ] IAN R. STEWART crime and violence, and provide economy in the administration of city government. During his first six months in office, it actually appeared that he might accomplish these lofty objectives. He moved to end corruption in the police force, backed the temperance movement by closing saloons on Sundays, cracked down on the operation of brothels, and endorsed the idea of a city university. Laws were enforced as they had not been enforced for fifty years. He even established a complaint book at City Hall in which all citizens could write their grievances so that they could be attended to.58 The initial dismay that had greeted Wood's inauguration turned to praise. Important and reputable people throughout the country sought his acquaintance. "The clergy preached about him and prayed for him. The press lauded him.... Men who had clamored, before his inauguration, for his incarceration in prison, took him by the hand, confessed their sins, and wished him God speed. . .. Great religious societies passed him votes of thanks... To a committee who presented him these compliments he said, 'I am only doing my duty. New York pays enough to be well governed, and she shall be!" George Temple- ton Strong could not understand the phenomenon he was witnessing, but was very pleased nonetheless. Summarizing Wood's first two months in office, he wrote, "He is the first mayor, for thirty years at least, who has set himself seriously to the work of giving the civic administration a decent appearance of common honesty!'54 New York had a new civic hero. On March 15,1855, in the midst of this quixotic journey in municipal reform, the council reintroduced the issue of the park by again passing its majority committee recommendation to reduce the size of the park. Eight days later, Wood, very much enjoying his new role as leader and spokesman for progressive elements within the city, emphatically vetoed the council's action. "Any proposition having for its aim an interference with the work as originally devised . . . wiU, in my opinion, jeopardize the success of this most intelligent, philanthropic and patriotic public enterprise!'85 58 Chalmers, "Fernando Wood and Tammany Hall" 383-84; also, Allan Nevins and Milton H. Thomas, eds., The Diary of George Templeton Strong (4 vols., New York, 1852), II, 217. B4Mathew Hale Smith, Sunshine and Shadow in New York (Hartford, 1868), 272; Nevins and Thomas, eds., Diary of George Templeton Strong, II, 211-12. 55 For full veto message, see Xavier Donald MacLeod, Biography of Fernando Wood (New York, 1856), 307-12.