Book Description

Excerpt from Report of the George William Curtis Memorial Committee: With Memorial Address of Hon. Carl Schurz The National Civil Service Reform League met in Baltimore in April 1902. As usual, George William Curtis occupied his post as President, and as usual the meeting closed with a dinner given by the local Association, which was attended by a large number of guests, ladies and gentlemen. When Mr. Curtis rose to speak he was received with a burst of enthusiasm which has seldom been equaled. Again and again he essayed to speak, and again and again the applause broke out anew. It was an expression alike of admiration for the leader and intense affection for the friend. Tears came to the eyes of those most unaccustomed to outward exhibition of their feelings, and those in the company with one accord rose to their feet with prolonged cheers. When at last quiet reigned we listened to a speech such as only Mr. Curtis could utter. It was always his custom to prepare himself with care for even such an occasion as this, and I have before me as I write his original notes for this address. I have been repeatedly asked to publish them, but the speech as delivered so far transcended that which he had outlined that I have felt that all who heard it would prefer to retain the impression of that which they heard, rather than read that which he expected to say. I will only quote his closing words: "It is the spring of the year, and it is the springtime of reform. It is not the harvest, but it is the sowing. The blossoms which open in this soft spring air, are flowers only, not yet fruit. But they are promises of the summer, and the fruit is sure. They are voluntary pledges of nature, and in its benign administration in which seed time and harvest never fail, those pledges will be completely fulfilled. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.