In private, Schreiner directly used whatever influence he possessed to induce President Kruger to adopt a "reasonable" course, but however excellent his intentions, his publicly expressed disapproval of the Chamberlain/Milner policy did more harm than his private influence with Kruger could possibly do good.
Under fire øjne brugte Schreiner enhver indflydelse han havde til at få præsident Kruger til at godtage en "fornuftig" kurs, men uanset hvor gode hans intentioner var, ødelagde hans offentlig udtrykte misnøje med Chamberlain/Milner–politikken mere end hans private indflydelse hos Kruger kunne gøre godt.