Year: 1872

MANIFESTATION. fra


When the famous Cincinnati Convention,
after laying down its platform and nominating
its candidates, adjourned without day, its pre-
siding officer, Senator Carl Schurz, of Mis-
souri,. was said to have left the scene Of its
labors q disappointed, discouraged and en-
bittered man. he was not satisfied with the
platform he was seriously displeased with
the candidates, and it was rumored that he
would withhold his support from Greeley and
play the part of political hermit during the
Presidential campaign. This report was
strengthened by the singular and persistent
silence maintained by the Senator for several
weeks, and when at last his name ap-
peared signed to call for ON anti
Greeley consultation at the Fifth Avenue
Hotel his detection appeared so certain that
the administration organs found him worthy
of endorsement as an honest, independent
ator Schurz attended the Fifth Avenue Hotel
meeting only for the purpose of preventing
any serious Repatriation of the Cincinnati
work. and he now finally settles the question
of his position in the campaign by accepting
Greeley in good faith and declaring his deter
mination to labor energetically for the liberal
republican candidates. His first speech for
the ticket was delivered at st. Louis yesterday,
in presence Of ON immense concourse of
people, and it will be found published in
full in the HERALD to-day. In it
Senator Schurz makes it appear that
he did not swallow Greeley without
some misgivings and difficulty. He had con-
cluded to accept the free trade plank in the
platform-or rather the compromise by
which the principle so dear to him was wisely
left where it properly belongs, to the Con-
gressional districts-and to be satisfied with
Greeley's explanation of his intention to bow
to the will Of Congress on the question of the
tariff But the Senator'S fight against Presi-
dent Grant had been made distinctly on the
heard it charged that Greeley would if
elected be in the hands of improper advisers,
he determined before giving in his allegiance
| to ascertain what foundation there might
be for the assertion. Accordingly he
addressed letter to Greeley, calling his atten-
ton to the reported bad character of his
associates, and limiting that they might seri-
ously interfere with civil service reform if per-
mitted to control the President after his cleo
| ton. Greeley's reply is Characteristic and
good. He claims the right to be the best
Judge of the worthiness Of his friends, asserts
that any person who might seek to improperly
| influence him would lose his friendship at
once, and lays down simple rule for civil
service reform more efficacious than all
the boards of examiners that could be
created. 1t is that the one term principle shall
prevail, and that the present mode Of distri-
buting all the federal patronage in accordance
with the recommendations of friendly Con-
gressmen shall cease. The first reform
would enable the President to study capacity
and integrity instead Of political strength and
influence in his appointments, and the next
J would put stop to those entangling alliances
between the executive and Legislative depart
ments of the federal government, which are
opposed to the spirit of the constitution and
fraught with mischief to the country. To be
sure, the thought may occur to some
that a President who is a politician
may use his patronage improperly for
the future success of his party, even
if he should be debarred from doing
SO for his own renomination but the sugges-
tions thrown out by Greeley are good, and
would, no doubt. be advantageous if they could
be faithfully carried out.


| Senator Schurz will pardon us for the sug-
gestion that his speech displays little too
| IL


dent to be as effective as it otherwise
might have been. No person can read
it without becoming impressed with
the idea that his present position
is taken, not that he hates Greeley less, but
| that he hates Grant more. The arraignment
of the administration is powerful and dam
aging one, no doubt but its force is frittered
away by illusions to the French arms affair,


the Robson investigation, the New York
Custom House frauds and other exploded po-
litical humbugs. The Custom House abuses
exposed before the investigating committee
were such as have existed through every ad-
minstration for the last twenty or thirty
years, and were probably kept more carefully
from the knowledge of the President than
from the knowledge OF any other person in
the country. ALI these investigations grew
out Of the personal enmity Of Sumner,
Schurz and other restless spirits, to
Grant, and did not result in damaging
the President. The purest administration
that ever existed might be subject to similar
charges and similar inquiries We should not
be surprised in the event of Greeley's cleo
ton to find half q dozen such investigating
committees called for before he had been two
years in Office. Agitation of this description
will always go on in government where rest
less and revolutionary spirits have it in
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