Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1860-06-15
SPEECH OF CARL SCHURz,
At THE
milwaukce Ratification uoeting.

DeiVW w give VIC pIluClpal pullOu kWo
wish we had space for more) of the speech
Of this young and eloquent German Repub-
licap, on his return homo from the Chicago
Convention.
Ineed hardly say, sir, that when the mo-.
ton was made to make Mr.. Lincoln's nom
ination unanimous, we seconded it without
any sacrifice of feeling, and when it was
carried, we heartily joined in the general
enthusiasm. Cheers We had not gone
there to have our candidate nominated or
none; but with the royal intention to sub
ordinate our individual judgment to the
lJudgmentof of tho majority, provided the Con-
yenlion asked Of us nothing inconsistent
with our consciences as Anti-Savery men
and the dignity Of the Republican cause
| [Cheers. And | do not hesitate to say,
that If Gov. Seward had not been in the
field, Mr.. Lincoln would, unless / mistake
the temper of our people, in all probability,
have been the first choice Of Wisconsin,
Although Gov. Seward failed, Mr. Lincon's
nomination nailed the good old Republican
banner to the mast as boldly and defantly
as ever. Prolonged applause.
Mr.. President, had the honor to be q
member of that committee who were to
carry to Mr.. Lincoln the official announce.
nent of his nomination. The enthusiasm
with which we we're received at Springfield
was boundless. There we saw Mr.. Lincon's
neighbors, and II became at once apparent
that they who knew him best, loved and
esteemed him most. Cheers. And then
l saw Mr. Lincoln again, for l had met him
before, in the memorable Senatorial cam
paign in Illinois, when he, as man of true
and profound convictions, although discoun-
tenanced and discouraged by many leading
Republicans, who thought II good policy to
let Mr.. Douglas return to the Senate with
out opposition, threw himself forward for
the imperilled purity of our principles,
grasping with bold hand the Republican
banner, which was in danger of sinking in
to the mire of compromise and held it up
iproudly aloft in one Of the fiercest strug-
giles the country everwitnessed. Great ap-
plause] 1 met him then, when he bearded
the lion of demagogueism in his den, when
the brilliant salles Of his wit and sarcasm
drew shouts of delight from the multitude,
when the thunderbolts of his inyective rat
tied triumphantly against the brazen front
of Stephen A. Douglas, Applause when
the lucid unanswerable logic of his argu-
ments Inspired every patriotic heart with
new confidence in the justice of our cause,
and when under his powerful blows the
large Democratic majority of Illinois dwn-
died down to nothing. There learned to
confde in the patriot and defender of pro-
found convictions, and to esteem the states
man and to love the man. Great applause.
. Aud now, saw him again, surrounded
by the Committee of the National Con-
vention, who had come to lay into his hands
the highest honor and the greatest trust
that a political party has to bestow-an
honor which he had not thought of in his hard
fought battles, which he had not craved
and had hardly been sanguine enough to
expect. There he stood silently listening
to the address of our chairman; his eyes
downcast; in his soul, perhaps, feeling Of
just pride struggling with the overawing
Of a great responsibility. Then
he answered, thanking them for the honors
bestowed upon him, and accepting the lead
ership in the great struggle; not with the
exulting tone of one who has achieved a
personal triumph; not with pompous airs
and artificial dignity of one who is con.
scious of standing upon the great stage ol
the world; but with that unaffected, mod.
est simplicity of man who is strong in
the consciousness of his ability and his
intention to do right. Great applause.
Many Of those who now surrounded him
had voted for some other candidates in the
Convention, and some, still laboriDg under
a feeling of personal disappointment, had
come there not without some prejudice un-
favorable to Mr.. Lincoln. But when they
saw a man who had worked his way from
the humblest station in life to his present
eminence, not by fast speculation or adven-
turous efforts; not on the wing of good
luck; but by quiet, steady labor, answering
fidelity to principle and his private and pub
lie duties; by the vigor of his genius and
the energy of his character tho man who
had won the confidence of the people and
was now lifted upon the shield of great
national party--not by ingenious combina-
tions and adroit management, but by the
popular instinct; unfettered by promises
unpledged to anybody or anything but the
people and the welfare of our country his
hands free to carry out the honest dictates
of his pure conscience life behind him
not only above reproach, but above sus-
picion; problem before him, for the solu-
tion of which he was eminently by the
native virtues of his character, the high
abilities of his mind, and strong honest
purpose they all felt, that with this pure
and patriotic statesman, all those great
qualities would return to the White House
which make Republican government what
it ought to be--a government founded up.
on virtue. Enthusiastic cheers And an
Eastern delegate, who had voted against
him in the Convention, whispered to me in
a tone Of tho highest satisfaction: "Sir, we
might have done more daring thing, but
we certainly could not have done better
thing" Prolonged applause
cannot find words strong enough to
designate tho Stiffness of those who sneer-
ingly affect to see 10 Mr.. Lincoln but a sec
ond or third rate man who like Polk and
Pierce, had been taken up merely for the
question of expedieney. Let them ask