The Writings of Carl Schurz/From Thomas F. Bayard, March 9th, 1889
FROM THOMAS F. BAYARD
| 1413 Mass. Ave., | |
| Washington, March 9, 1889. |
You can and must congratulate me that I am relieved from the post of duty I have held for four years.
It is difficult to let any one who was not a daily witness comprehend the temper and method in which the Republican managers of the Senate have dealt with public business wherever the State Department has been concerned. I have closed four years of service without one word of amity, of ordinary courtesy, much less of coöperation or assistance from any Republican member of the Committee on Foreign Relations. On the contrary, my best efforts and most useful work have been systematically defeated and thwarted—at what cost to our country the sequel must prove. Therefore you see I am well out of such an anomalous, almost incredible condition of affairs.
If Mr. Pendleton had been a well man, I think I could have arranged the Samoan matter in Berlin two months ago, but I have been sadly crippled. As it is, I have no idea of any collision in Samoa and think the reports are wholly without foundation. Taking up the conference in Berlin on the lines I laid down in 1887, will make a settlement easy and amicable.
Entre nous, having seen Blaine (for the first time in seven years), I am compelled to think him a very enfeebled man, and am inclined to expect a much less “aggressive policy” than he started out with in 1881. I hear nothing here but the echoes of very small politics—of a kind that you and I detest and are wholly impatient with. Wanamaker!! Laugh!!
I want a little holiday and when I come to New York will surely sit down with you.