Page:Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz, Volume 3.djvu/287

Rh influences should be, I confess, I do not know. I feel that it would be a delicate matter for you to interfere directly; but something should be done, or the management of the campaign will be the most glaring satire on civil service reform imaginable. In 1872 he was the chairman of the Republican Congressional Committee; at any rate, he had the “laboring oar,” and he gave us then a specimen of his way to conduct a canvass. One of the first things, I presume, will be the levying of assessments on officeholders under the name of “voluntary contributions.” As soon as the first symptoms of a revival of that abuse appear, I would suggest to you to protest against it in a letter to the Committee, saying that you do not want to be elected by means so repugnant to your principles, and to have your protest made public. It would not only be right in itself and place you in the right position, but it would give you ten times more votes than any amount of money raised in that way.

But far better would it be to get Chandler out of his chairmanship, if there is a way to do it; no effort should be spared in that respect.

I am hard at work preparing my first campaign speech and think it will have good effect. But it is so terribly hot that mental labor becomes almost impossible, and I do not get on as fast as I should like. Still, it will come. 



&emsp; Although I read the Staats-Zeitung with tolerable regularity, yet several numbers, the contents of which have