Page:Speeches of Carl Schurz (IA speechesofcarlsc00schu).pdf/308

298 stained the battlefields of their country with their precious blood; after the people have poured out their money like water to save the Republic; after our invincible navy has battered down the Southern forts, and is commanding the Southern waters; they do it when the hero of Vicksburg is thundering at the gates of Richmond; when our viclorious flag waves over the ramparts of Atlanta, and Victory is the cry! [Long-continued cheering.] Ah! poor old man, hide thy head in shame, for thou canst no longer claim such proud pre-eminence in baseness. There are those that are greater than thou, and whose vaulting ambition laughs thy iniquity to scorn. Those are the men who made that platform! [Tremendous applause.]

And upon that platform they placed a soldier by profession as their candidate—a General who once commanded the armies of this Republic. Was there ever a man more cruelly insulted by his friends? Was there ever irony more cutting. A General nominated for the Presidency for the distinct purpose of trading away other generals’ victories! A soldier appointed to make the successes of other soldiers useless! And he did not resent it by flinging platform and nomination into the faces of those who had made it, without losing a single moment! Alas! he did not. He waited. He endured this most outrageous insult—this mortal offence—without saying a word! Meanwhile murmurs of indignation arose, like a black cloud, from the army, against him who was once their commander; from every corner of the country cries of anger and contempt burst forth against the infamous Chicago surrender. But that was not all. A thrill of joy and enthusiasm flashed the heart of the nation when the word came: “Atlanta is ours!” And, then, surrender! [Loud applause. ” ]

But then, at last, when the promptings of prudence