Page:The Reminiscences of Carl Schurz (Volume Three).djvu/438

 find the means to control public opinion, and this is the way to do it. …

“I know that in the efforts I am now making, I have the hearty sympathy of large masses of people, not only Democrats by any means, but Republicans who are not corrupted by the patronage or frightened by official terrorism. Here in the West you can observe clearly how this movement is disintegrating the Democratic party. Our action in this State last fall has disorganized that party altogether. The late rebels are doing admirably well. They pronounce themselves without reserve for the new order of things; the old Democratic leaders can do so little with them that they despair of their own party.

“Now, I am working for substantial results, and I see many cheering signs of the times. The great evil we have to overcome is that party spirit which turns everything to selfish advantage and has created a sort of terrorism to which but too many submit. …”

The movement as it thus lay in the thoughts of this tireless reformer was indeed fascinating. His ideal was a great moral uprising of the people, of such volume and scope as to sweep away the existing party machinery, with the corruption and abuses which it fostered, and to establish in its stead a new political order, in which intelligence, honesty and efficiency should have their due place in the conduct of the government, and principles, not men, should fix the lines of party division. This evangel of an ideal organization constituted the artistic crown of all his speeches in support of the liberal movement. Yet he never long lost touch with the actualities of the existing situation, and was as keen as the most matter-of-fact of his associates in urging upon audiences and correspondents the practical means of promoting the reform.

The first step in giving concreteness to the national