Harper's Weekly Editorials by Carl Schurz

Harper's Weekly Editorials by Carl Schurz
by Carl Schurz

In Chapter VI of A Sketch of Carl Schurz's Political Career, which appeared as a supplement to Volume III of Carl Schurz's Reminiscences, Frederic Bancroft and William A. Dunning state in the first and last paragraphs:

“Less than a week after leaving the Hamburg-American office [Wikisource note: he left on July 1, 1892] Mr. Schurz was requested by Harper and Brothers to supply for their Weekly the leading editorial in place of George William Curtis, then fatally ill. Save for the accompanying sorrow on account of the affliction of this very dear friend, no task could have been more to the taste of Mr. Schurz, and it was continued from week to week. On the last day of August, 1892, Mr. Curtis died, and the Weekly of September 10 contained a warm, eloquent and fraternal tribute to his memory, doubtless written by Mr. Schurz. The arrangement under which the leading editorial was furnished every week was understood to be temporary and strictly secret. Both parties were so well satisfied, however, that the contributions continued for nearly six years, but, of course, Schurz's style and ideas were soon recognized. After January, 1897, his articles were signed, [Wikisource note: Carl Schurz's first signed editorial appeared in Issue No. 2093, January 30, 1897] and thus exchanged the vague and mystic authority of the paper for the clear and definite authority of his own name and reputation.”—Reminiscences of Carl Schurz, Volume Three, New York: The McClure Company, 1908, p. 418.

“In April of 1898 one unremitting drain upon his energy was removed by the termination of his connection with Harper's Weekly. [Wikisource note: Carl Schurz's last editorial, which is included in this collection, appeared in issue No. 2157, April 23, 1898.] The political convictions as well as the financial interests of the proprietors dictated a change in the policy of the paper to bring it more nearly in harmony with the popular sentiment that was clamoring for war and territorial expansion. No concession to such a sentiment could ever be expected of Mr. Schurz, and hence his weekly editorials ceased. The rupture of this relation was the first of many that were produced by the Spanish War.”—Reminiscences of Carl Schurz, Volume Three, New York: The McClure Company, 1908, p. 434.

All the editorials from Harper's Weekly that Frederic Bancroft included in Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz (six volumes, G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1913) appear here (titles in boldface below). In addition, a selection of the other editorials Schurz wrote for that paper are included. Except for Schurz's “Woman Suffrage” editorial, which appeared as a pamphlet under his name, the non-Bancroft editorials are restricted to signed editorials, due mainly to uncertainties about authorship for the unsigned editorials. Indeed, the editorials Frederic Bancroft selected, except for “The Pension Scandal,” are also all selected from Schurz's signed editorials.


Harper's Weekly Editorials by Carl Schurz


The Annexation PolicyMarch 18, 1893
The Pension ScandalMay 5, 1894
Woman SuffrageJune 16, 1894
The Arbitration Treaty in DangerJanuary 30, 1897
The Campaign Against Civil Service ReformFebruary 6, 1897
Qualifications for High OfficeFebruary 13, 1897
Delusions of BimetallismFebruary 20, 1897
Governor Black's Balance-SheetFebruary 27, 1897
The Quadrennial DisgraceMarch 6, 1897
The Citizens' UnionMarch 13, 1897
The President on EconomyMarch 20, 1897
Republicanism and the Civil ServiceMarch 27, 1897
A Grave ResponsibilityApril 3, 1897
Wanted — A Republican Form of GovernmentApril 10, 1897
The Forestry ProblemApril 17, 1897
An Urgent NeedApril 24, 1897
A Burning ShameMay 1, 1897
Labor and ProsperityMay 8, 1897
Inviting a DelugeMay 15, 1897
A Dismal Page in Our HistoryMay 22, 1897
Our New Civil Service LawMay 29, 1897
The Municipal SituationJune 5, 1897
Food for ReflectionJune 12, 1897
Armed or Unarmed PeaceJune 19, 1897
A Civil Service LessonJune 26, 1897
The Right to NominateJuly 3, 1897
The “Senatorial Prerogative”July 24, 1897
Partisan Municipal GovernmentJuly 31, 1897
Obstacles to Currency ReformAugust 7, 1897
Murder as a Political AgencyAugust 28, 1897
The European OutlookSeptember 11, 1897
True Non-PartisanshipOctober 2, 1897
Mr. Henry George in the Municipal CampaignOctober 23, 1897
The Blindness of Party SpiritOctober 30, 1897
Bossism in New YorkNovember 13, 1897
Hawaii and Sea-PowerNovember 27, 1897
More About the Municipal ProblemDecember 4, 1897
Civil Service Reform and the PeopleJanuary 1, 1898
Restricting ImmigrationJanuary 8, 1898
Hawaii and the Partition of ChinaJanuary 22, 1898
“Cold Facts” and HawaiiFebruary 12, 1898
Annexing Hawaii by Joint ResolutionFebruary 26, 1898
About WarMarch 5, 1898
France After the Zola TrialMarch 12, 1898
National HonorMarch 19, 1898
About PatriotismApril 16, 1898
A Case of Self-SacrificeApril 23, 1898


This work was published before January 1, 1928, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.

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