The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-10-04

be said. Now, what kind of man is Schurz?
He is apt to believe one thing to-day and another
thing tomorrow. He once was a Republican
and defended that great soldier General Grant
Then he deserted to the enemy, to return again.
He has now joined the Democratic party for the
second time. And the tongue which DETAINED
one of the greatest soldiers of the age is now de
flaming one OF the greatest statesmen of his
time, James G. Blaine. But Mr. Schurz will
come around all right, and will again ask for ad-
mission to the Republican party. With regard
to a certain ruling of Mr. Blaine MIR. Schurz
claims that it was a prostitution OF official power
for the purpose of making money. Now, let US
give Mr.. Blaine that decent measure of justice
which is due to every man when his reputation
is at stake. Mr.. Blaine was offered an interest
in a certain railroad, a legitimate transaction.
Mr. Schurz refers to Mr.. Blaine's letter, in
which the writer stated that he should not
be deadhead in the enterprise What right
had Mr. Schurz to charge evil motives to Mr..
Blaine! What right has any one to say that
when James G. Blaine says that he sees various
channels in which he can be useful to the con
Germ he proposed to use his official patronage to
further the enterprise} Mr. Blaine also exerted
himself to raise funds for the railroad company:
In this there was not exercise of official
power. He never attempted to use official power
in behalf of that enterprise.
There WAS no intimation that Mr.. Blaine
attempted any assistance to the bill. What
right has any one to say that because Mr.. Blaine
made righteous decision at one time that he
undertook to do a righteous thing for an I'M
righteous purpose? No man of candor can
accept the Interpretation that Mr.. Schurz puts
upon it. Well, there were great many Multi
gan letters How many Of you have read those
letters to see if Mr. Blaine sought to use his in
iuence for an improper purpose! have read
them again and again, and l stand here and
assert that in all those letters there is not any
offer made by Mr. Blaine to misuse his official
power for any purpose. There is not IN those
letters any suggestion of using his official power
for any purpose at all, good bad or indifferent.
have thus far taken a defensive attitude con
corning Mr.. Blaine. now propose to take the
offensive ] now propose to advance to the very
center of the citadel of Mr.. Schurz. l propose
to bring to your attention q set of facts which
are absolutely impossible to contradict. If
can break down Mr. SchurZ's center we need not
be troubled about the wings In this line of at
tack will not ask any testimony from Mr..
Blaine OF any friend of Mr.. Blaine. propose
to call upon the responsible authors of this &C
cusation-chief among them Carl Schurz.
Mr.. Blaine was in Congress eighteen years,
for six years as Speaker. There were during
that period pending before Congress corrupt
measures of one kind or another During those
eighteen years there was not an hour when Mr..
Blaine, had he been inclined to do wrong would
not have been tempted to do wrong What was
his record during those eighteen years! Mr..
Schurz has examined that record Everything
that could have been hunted up against Mr.
Blaine has been ferreted out. During all those
eighteen years of Mr.. Blaine's service in
Congress he gave probably hundreds of
votes. Neither Carl Schurz nor anyone else
has ever dared to charge that Mr.. Blaine Fever
once voted for bad measure, or against good
one. Mr.. Schurz in your great Brooklyn speech,
why did you suppress this great factl During
those eighteen years Mr.. Blaine made a good
many speeches. No one has dared charge that,
all those years, he made speech in favor Of a
bad measure, against good one. Why did
Mr. Sehufz suppress this factl Mr. Blaine was
a great parliamentarian. Carl Schurz has not
charged that James G. Blaine ever made use of
his parliamentary skill to help bad measure, or
hurt a good one Mr.. Blaine was Speaker of
the House for six years. Neither Carl Schurz
nor any other enemy of Mr.. Blaine has ever
charged that Mr. Blaine ever made a bad ruling.
They tacity admit his rulings were pure and
right. l say that, as strong as every one of these
facts is when we are considering the public life
of Mr.. Blaine, their strength as whole is in
creased by combination, and the result is ire
record of James G. Blaine is
absolutely without spot, stain, blemish or
shadow. 1 say, and L ask any candid man if it
is not true, that have met Mr. Schurz's line of
argument at the front, and the accusation is
broken down. The smoke and the vile mist
with which they have surrounded the true Blaine
disappears. And Mr.. Blaine comes out in the
light of the monday sun, confronting his enc
mics with this brilliant record in his hands.
And yet, as spotless as has been Mr.. Blaine's
record, how awful has been the attack upon him!
He is caricatured and lampooned week after
week by that Harper's Weekly which carica-
tured Abraham Lincoln as a drunkard. Even
the regulations of his wife and children have
been attacked All other reforms should wait
until there has been a reform in system Of
American politics Unless the American people
shall vndicate men of honor thus shamefully at
tackled, every man in public life will flee from
positions of trust as from the pestience which
walketh at monday