Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1860-07-05
Speech of Carl Schurz
AT THE
Milwaukee Ratification Meeting,
On Wednesday Evening, May Z

On Wednesday Evening, May 80.
Below we give the principal portion 1--WE
wish we had space for more) of the speech
of the eloquent German Republican, on
his return home from the Chicago Conven-
ton.
need hardly say, sir, that when the
motion was made to make Mr. Lincoln's
nomination 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 nom-
mated or none; but with the loyal inten-
tion to subordinate our individual Judgment
to the judgment of the majority. provided
the Convention asked of US nothing incon-
sistent with our conscience as Anti-Sla
ry men and the dignity of the Republican
cause. Cheers. And do not hesitate
to say, that If Governor Seward had not
been in the field, Mr.. Lincoln, would, un-
less | mistake the temper of our people, in
all probability, have been the first choice of
Wisconsin. Although Gov. Seward fail
ell, MIR. Lincoln's nomination nailed the
good old Republican banner to the mast as
boldly and defiantly as ever. Prolonged
Applause.
Mr.. President, had the honor to be a
member of that Committee who were to
carry to MIR Lincoln the official announce
mcnt Of his nomination. The enthusiasm
with which we were received at Spring
field was boundless. There we saw Mr.
Lincon's ncighbors and it became at once
apparent that those who knew him best.
loved and esteemed him most. [Cheers.
And then l saw Mr.. Lincoln again, for |
had met him before in that memorable
Senatorial campaign in Illinois, when he,
as man of true and profound convictions.
although discountenanced and discouraged
by many leading Republicans, who thot
it good policy to let Mr.. Douglas return
to the Senate without opposition threw
himself forward for the imperiled purity of
our principles, grasped with bold hand
the Republican banner, which was in dam
ger of sinking into the mire of crompromise
and unnatural combinations, and held it
up proudly aloft in one of the ficrccst strug
giles the country ever witnessed. [Great
Applause. met him then. when he
bearded the lion of demasoSuism in his
den. when the brilliant sallics of his wit
aud sarcasm drew shouts of delight from
the multitude, when the thunderbolts of
his invectivc ratified triumphantly against
the brazen front of Stephen A. Douglas
Applause when the, lucid unanswcrable
logic of his argument inspired every pat
riotic heart. and when under his powerful
blows the Democratic majority of Illinois
dwindled down to nothing. There l saw
him do what perhaps no other man in the
nation would have done. There l lcara-
ell to confide in the patriot and defender
of profound convictions, to esteem the
statesman and love the man. [Great ap-
plause
And. now, saw him again, surround
ed by the Committee of the National Con-
vention. who had come to lay into his
hands the highest honor and the greatest
trust that political party has to bcstow-
an honor which he had not thought of in
his hard fought battles, which he had not
cravcd and hardly been sanguinc enough
10 expect. There he stood silently listen
ing to to the address of our chairman, his
eyes downcast; In his soul. perhaps. a
feeling of just pride struggling with the
overawing consciousness of responsibility.
Then he answered, thanking them for the
honor bestowed upon him. and accepting
the leadership in the great struggle, not
with the exulting tone of one who had a.
chicved personal triumpd; not with the
pompous airs and artificial dignity of one
who is conscious of standing upon the
great stage of the world, but with that un-
affected, modest simplicity of man who
is strong in the consciousness of his abil-
ity and honest intentions to do right
Applause.
Many of them who now surround him
had voted for other candidates in the Con-
vention, and some. still laboring under a
feeling of personal disappointment, had
come there, not without some prejudice
unfavorable to Ntf. Lincoln. But when
they saw man who had worked his way
from the humblest station in life to his
present eminence. not by the fast specula-
| tions or adventurous efforts, not on the
wing of good luck, but by quiet, steady
labor. unswerving fidelity to principle
aud his private and public duties, by the
vigor of his genius and the energy Of his
character-th man who had won the con-
fdencc of the people and was now lifted
upon the shield of great national party,
not by ingenious combinations and adroit
management, but by the popular instincts
-unfetcred by promises. .unpledgcd to
anybody, 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 suspicion, a
problem before him. for the solution of
which he was emi;ently fitted by the ma
tive virtue Of his character, the high abili-
| ty of his mind. and q strong honest pur-
pose. they all felt. that with this pure and
patriotic statcsmas. all those great quail
+, ties would return TO the White House.
which makes Republican government what
it ought to be--a government founded mp
on virtue Enthusiastic cheers. And
an Eastern delegate who had voted against
him in the Convention. whispered to me
in tone Of the kindest sstisfaction:-