been proclaimed to the world. No public man to-day has more deeply studied American history and politics; none is more imbued with their spirit, in their higher aspects; no one expounds more clearly, more ably, and more independently the problems of finance and of government. That a man of foreign birth and of foreign education should gain the ear of an English-speaking people as journalist, writer, and speaker, and should hold a place in the popular estimation which places him in the forefront of statesmen and orators, is now seen for the first time in Anglo-Saxon history.
We who are here to-night believe that Carl Schurz is one of the few men in public life who distinctively represent independent and comprehensive statesmanship. We have felt, even when separated from him by party lines, and supporting candidates who were not his, that he may have been right and we mistaken.
It is not given to all men to stand outside of the clash of parties, or wisely and judiciously to determine between them. Those who can take such a position, and maintain it by sheer force of ability, integrity, and character, are surely our foremost men. They are not the leaders of factions; they are not even the recognized leaders of parties,—though that is an honorable and a lofty function: but they are the champions of great policies, and, if not the chiefs of parties, they are the natural leaders of men. There have always been such men
