Page:Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz, Volume 5.djvu/127

Rh But he possesses in uncommon measure those qualities which are especially desirable in a public servant charged with great responsibilities. He has a conscience. He has a will. He has a patriotic heart. He has a clear head. He has a strong sense of right. He has a good knowledge of affairs. He is a party man, but not a party slave. He is true to duty regardless of personal interest. This is not only the judgment of his friends, but also of his opponents, who, in a campaign like this, wish they might not have to admit it. There is to-day no public man in America so widely and well known and so generally and sincerely respected as Mr. Cleveland is. Even those politicians of his own party who opposed his nomination had to respect him for those very qualities on account of which some of them thought him objectionable as a President.

I do not say that the “practical politicians” wish a President to have no conscience. But they do not wish him to have so much of a conscience that it will stand in their way. They do not wish a President to have no will, but they do not wish him to have a will stronger than theirs. They do not wish a President to have no good sense, but they do not wish his good sense to be so keen as to see through their schemes and motives. They prefer a nice, comfortable, amiable, pliable sort of a President, who will easily accept their view of the fitness of things, consider himself their agent, and readily under stand that taking care of the country means taking care of the party, and taking care of the party means taking care of them. In this respect Democratic politicians are not peculiar.

The practical politician is the same in all parties.

Now, as Mr. Cleveland possessed the most essential qualities of a good President to an extent beyond their liking, and the qualities most acceptable to them only in