Page:The Reminiscences of Carl Schurz (Volume Three).djvu/435

 fell short of establishing guilt by legal evidence, felt that this failure was due to the hostile attitude of the committee toward the accusers, and believed all his life that the War Department had acted recklessly and illegally and that illegitimate money-making was at the bottom of the business.

This debate increased twentyfold Mr. Schurz's forensic reputation. He had already won a recognition as one of the strong men of the Senate in the serious discussion of large problems and policies; now he also ranked with those who were most dangerous in the quick parry and thrust of impromptu partisan debate. Conkling never spoke to Schurz again, for Schurz's disdainful sarcasm gave him as painful a wound as he received when Blaine likened him to a turkey-gobbler. The attitude of the administration press during and after the debate gave conclusive if disagreeable evidence of the new importance achieved by the Missouri Senator. Ingenious and malignant slanders assailed him from all sides with redoubled frequency, but throughout it all there was the grumbling admission that his work on the floor of the Senate had been wonderfully adroit and effective.