Page:Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz, Volume 2.djvu/289

Rh There is a logic ruling human affairs from which there is no escape. The civil war extinguishing slavery furnished a terrible proof of this truth.

And now, if finally you would have had to come back to the same settlement virtually which has been effected, I ask you, in all candor, is it not, after all, much better for you and for all of us that we should have arrived at that fixed state of things by a short road, than by those tortuous, dark and dangerous paths? Is it not better that, without unnecessary loss of precious time, we should clearly know: this is the order of things we have to deal with; these are the necessities surrounding us; these are the problems we have to solve; these are the difficulties we have to contend with; these are the advantages we can achieve; this is the direction in which our social system must develop itself? I ask, is it not better that we should now clearly know all of this, instead of continuing painfully to grope in the dark? and that we should now be able frankly to join hands in a common effort to turn circumstances, such as they are and must be, to our common good and advantage? I have discussed reconstruction from this point of view, in order to show you that the motives which dictated it were, after all, not those of hatred and vindictiveness; that the object pursued was not the humiliation of the Southern people; that those objects were recognized as necessary by men whose hearts were full of sincere and fraternal sympathy, and that what was done should not stand in the way of a complete restoration of friendly feeling. I know it is human nature, when we are defeated in a great struggle, to feel and resent every exertion of power on the part of the victorious as a wilful, arrogant, malignant outburst of an offensive spirit. Had the people of the North been in your place, their feelings would probably have been the same. But had you been in the place of the people of the North, would