Page:Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz, Volume 1.djvu/307

Rh that he was expecting me on that day. I did so; in fact, I considered it my duty to do so. I waited long and patiently to be admitted—a circumstance somewhat extraordinary considering that I had just returned from a three months journey made at his own request. At last the doors were thrown open and I entered with the crowd. The President received me with civility, indeed, but with demonstrative coldness. I was painfully surprised, and availed myself of the first lull in our conversation to withdraw from an interview which under such circumstances could lead to no satisfactory results. I left town the same evening to see my family. My duty to see the President before leaving was fulfilled.

To-day I find in the Washington correspondence of the New York Herald the following paragraph: The latest explanation of the disfavor into which General Carl Schurz seems to have fallen with the President is that during his recent trip through the Southern States, ostensibly on freedmen's affairs, his time was largely spent in efforts to organize the Republican party in that section. He is accused of attempting to convince the people of the States he travelled through that their readmission would be determined thereby.

This story is simply absurd. But since the thing has got into the newspapers and people are speculating about the cause of my “disfavor” with the President, it seems to me that I should be the first man to know something about the matter. I raise no claim of consideration upon the services I have rendered the party to which the President owes his elevation. But the position I occupy entitles me, I believe, to a frank explanation of whatever differences or misunderstandings there may be between us. I examine my conduct in vain to discover anything that could have been personally offensive to the President.