Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-07-23
Carl schurz's Speech at St. Louis.


meeting at the Temple tonight, called for the
purpose of electing county executive commit
tee, Senator SchurZ delivered very lengthy and
elaborate address, of which the following is an
outline. The senator started out by saying:
Standing before my constituents | deem it
my duty to give an account of my public con-
duct, the motives which have governed it and
the ends it is intended to Subserve. | can do
this in no better way than by expressing fully
and frankly my views on the events which have
produced the present extraordinary situation OF
our public national affairs, events in which
took a small part; | also state what consider
II my duty as a patriotic citizen TO do in order
to promote the best interests OF the republic. 1t
has been my misfortune to diSplease many with
whom | cooperated in the political field for
many years, and from whom now, with great
regret, find myself separated. To the attacks
with which some of them endeavor to over
whelm me have but one answer.
He then reiterated what he has previously
said about never considering his party the Su-
preme arbiter of his sense of duty.
He then said: When was hunored with a
seat in the senate of the United States expect
ed to support the administration which then
came into power The tasks it was called to
perform were of unusual importance. The civil
war was over; its logical results, the abolition
of slavery and the organization of a free labor
society in the south, were Just being reduced to
political form and imbedded in the constitution of
the republic. The first great object of our policy
revive among southern people feeling Calcu-
lated to attach their hearts again TO the fortunes
of this union. For let us not indulge in the de-
fusion that the holding together by force of its
component parts is a basis upon which a repub.
lie can safely rest or long endure. 1t REQUIRES a
bond which binds together the hearts of the
people and not their bodies only. To create that
bond was for us the highest object Of statesman
ship.
He then referred in detail TO the different acts
of the administration party, going over the
ground traverSed by himself and Others in the
senate. In regard to the San Domingo matter
he made the following statement: When the San
Domingo scheme was pending, two gentlemen
in initiate relations with the White house came
to me, each one separately soliciting my sup
port of the project They assured me that il
would give that support, or abstain from oppoSi.
ton all the patronage desired would be at my
disposal, making me in that respect one of the
most influential men in the land. One of these
gentlemen subsequently admitted to me in
writing that the offer was made with consent of
of the president himself. He said he had with
held this statement a long time, in spite OF
many provocations, and made it now only be-
cause, as the papers have recently stated, the
president himself put forth the assertion in
published interview that he (Schurz) had OPP
posed him because he had not received as much
patronage as he wanted He then dwct upon
the abuses of patronage and evils of civil service
stating that there never was a time when the
latter was more like thoroughly drilled and
disciplined organization of political agents, or
when public interest simore shamelessly over
| ruled by political eXigency.
Referring to President Grant, he said should
prefer not to speak of him did he not stand as
| the embodiment and personificatiOn Of the per-
nicous system which derives from his indi-
| Viduality its peculiar character. Gratitude
| for his military services, and respect for
| his office, have long restrained many from
expressing their real opinions concerning him.
shall be the last man to forget or to carp at
the great services he has rendered in the field of
war. The honors he won, the laurels he has
| gathered, shall not be touched. But now, he is
a civil officer and he asks us to continue him at
| the head of the civil government of this repub
| lie. With this question his laurelS have moth
| ing TO do. When he assembled the presidential
| chair, it may be said, the whole people sur
| rounded him with cordial offers of confidence
and willing TO aid him in all he might do to
| give the country good government. There was
| not statesman in the republic who would not
| have been ready-nay, proud to serve him at
| his call He might have reinforced his support
| ers from the ranks of the opposition. Acclden-
| tai mistakes would have been readily forgotten.
| The evidence of pure motives and honest efforts
| would have easily SilenCed factions clamor; but
| his career as president warrants the conclusion
| that he has never been able fully to appreciate
| the difference between military command and
/ the complex duties and responsibilities of civil
| administration. Idoubt whether it has ever be-
come quite clear TO his mind what the presidency
| means in our system of government When
| that high office was presented TO him he took it
/ as q sort of national reward-an accOmmOda
| tiOn-a place in which, after his military ex-
| PLOTS, he might make himself comfortable. His
| mind seems to have been bnt little disturbed by
| the great duties and perpleXing problems he
was TO take in hand. 1t was soon discovered
| that for his future success he needed organized
| partisan support. 1t was easily had.
hp oil e,I,,.
| by natural gravitaton; soon we found him sur
| rounded by political managers, the Camerons,
| the Chambers, the Mortons, the Conklings the
| Buffers, &c, ready to do his work if he would
| do theirs. 1t was matter of cOngeDiality.
The interests of the president and of such polit-
ical chieftains identified themselves without
difficulty; he aiding them with executive influ.
ence in controlling their states for themselves
| and they giving their aid in controlling the
| party for him. One hand washed the other.
This was gradually developed into a system, all
| co operation being welcome, even such as that
| of Gov. Clayton in Arkansas. Then that pecu-
| liar party despotism grew up, which oStracised
| everybody who refused to obey its commands.
| 1t gave birth 10 new sort of party orthodoxy,
| whose first tenet was that Grant must be re.
elected Opposition to Grant constituted high
treason against the party, for which there was
no quarter.
The senator dwelt on this theme at great
length, using the strongest and severest Ian
| guage that has yet been aimed at the president
and his supporters. After referring to the pres
ldents nepotsm, his appointment OF Tom
| Murphy, his fondness for personal pleasure,
which was such that we hear from time to time
| that the administration is out of town, and he
| (the speaker) had actually seen foreign minis
tiers in the capitol of the nation looking for the
| government OF the United States as lost child
| or a horse strayed or stolen. The senator added:
| will not wrong President Grant. He is by no
means monster OF iniquity. He is simply a
man who makes use of his high official position
| TO suit his own convenience regardless Of other
interests. He docs not sit in his closet
designing usurper, gloomiy bordering
how he may subyert the free institutions
OF the republic, neither does he ponder how he
may preserve them. He does not ponder at all.
He simply wants to carry point; and wheu as
in the San Domingo case, the constitution ham
pens to stand in his way, he just walks over it.
He does not mean to break down the authority
of the laws; he simply wants them not to ham
per him in bis doiugS He does not mean sys-
tematcally to outrage public sense OF decency
by nepotiSm and low associations, to corrupt the
service and 10 degrade our political life; he only
wants to make his relatives and lavorites COM
Portable, to associate with men who are con-
genial to him, and to take the best care of his
interests he can. He is not incapable of occa-
sionally doing good thing. He prefers good
appointment TO a bad one, other things being
equal. He undoubtedly desires that affairs
should 20 well, his own welfare included; such
is the character of mis- personal government.
We should be doing it too much honor by
calling it Cesarism. 1t is uot inspired by any
grand, lofty and long-headed ambition. 1t is
absolutely barren of ideas and originality; bare
of striking achievements void of noble sent-
ments aud inspiring example. 1t is simply
duh and heavy, stupid and stubborn in its
selishness.
After pursuing this subject stillTfurther, and
with some bitterness, the senator spoke of the
apathy which naturally follows a period of
great excitement, and declared that the Cincin-
natl convention was the result Of popular up-
rising of such apathy. That it assumed d.
mension far beyond the expectation of the origi-
majors, and embraced multitudeS who were nm
PEELED by one impulse to unite the whole Ameri-
can people in the bonds of reconciliation and
lraternal feeling, and to shake off personal gov
ernment and party despostsm, acknowledging
that its action had caused disappointment to
himself and others who wished its declarations
of policy, as well as its candidates, to be such
that the victory of the movement would furnish
an administration approaching the ideal of good
government as near as human wisdom and in
tegrty and earnest efforts could carry it. He
declared he had come deliberately TO the conclu.
sion that no possibility existed TO unite more
fully all forces which the movement should have
gathered under its banners, and agreed that the
overthrow of the party despotism is the first
thing needlul to any reform. Mr.. Greeley would
mn sl.s. 4.