Page:Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz, Volume 4.djvu/238

204 thousands upon thousands of voters in the Republican ranks, upon whom party allegiance sits very lightly at present and whose criticism is always first directed against their own party. It is needless to discuss whether this should or should not be so, for it is a fact, and as a fact it must be taken into account. I look upon the coming election as very much in doubt generally, and as well-nigh hopeless with any candidate who is in any way objectionable.

I expect to be in Chicago during the Convention and hope to have the pleasure of meeting you there. 



&emsp; Your kind letter of the 11th has reached me. I regret most sincerely that we do not agree as to supporting Mr. Blaine for the Presidency. Let me assure you it was by no means with a light heart that I declared myself against him. But I could not conscientiously do otherwise. The Republican party has been called the party of moral ideas. It once deserved that name. It has been regarded the world over as the guardian of our National honor and good-faith. We have now a question of political ethics to deal with in which the character of the Republican party is directly involved. There has been a good deal of demoralization and rottenness since the war, public and private, in politics and business. Of late, the crop of shame and disgrace has been rather abundant. And now the Republican party, the party of moral ideas, the standard-bearer of National honor, is the first one to declare worthy of the highest honors of the Republic a man who by his public record, by his own published correspondence, stands convicted of trading upon his high official position and