CARL SCHURZ'S POLITICAL CAREER
Post ended his chief journalistic income—for his income from his share in the St. Louis Westliche Post was small, except when he was a regular contributor to that newspaper—losses in connection with unfortunate investments swept away much the larger portion of his never large property. When his financial condition became known to a group of his New York admirers, chiefly of German origin, early in 1884, they subscribed $100,000 to be tendered as a gift. As soon as he heard of the project he disapproved of it. With the keenest appreciation of the friendly and generous motives of the contributors, he felt with equal keenness the obligations that would be involved in acceptance. In a letter of March 21st, expressing concisely the complexity of his feelings, he announced that he could not accept the gift in any form, and requested that the enterprise be abandoned.
By this time the approach of the presidential campaign was engrossing his attention. The Garfield-Arthur term had been peculiarly favorable to the growth of independence in politics. Garfield's assassination, the Pendleton act greatly extending the civil-service reform, the overwhelming defeat of the Republican “machines” in Pennsylvania and New York in the State elections of 1882—formed a sequence of events that could not be misinterpreted. The grosser evils, at least, of spoils politics were under the ban of strongly aroused public opinion. Both when editor and subsequently Mr. Schurz had contributed much to this result.
The problem before him and his Independent associates was like that of the last three campaigns—to insure if possible the nomination of an unexceptionable candidate by the Republicans, or failing in that, to bring pressure upon the Democrats to the same end. Early in the winter a formal announcement of the Independent programme was planned for Washington's
[ 403 ]
