.•^ ... «?• -€< ^SrfSRS^^'* ^ A*' > - ~ " o. 0^ ♦•^j^* '^C • .^' O^ 'O , 4 <* 4^* •^t* • •^^^'5' iO-7*. -4o^ ^On». / O. ^--^^ V o.. *. '^ -o V^ -- -^^0^ ^"•n^, V •^^. ,yii ( 101= — ) O IC 30I ~)\\ ( i r- \ ) ( ) Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln. One Hundredth Anniversary. i>0uupntr lE&tttntt. o t 1 1 ) \\r 20L -)l n ( fni ) REMINISCENCES ABOUT ABRAHAM LINCOLN BY IRA HAWORTH Also An Address Delivered Before the Washingtonian Temperance Society, at the Second Presbyterian Church, Springfield, Illinois, February 22, 1842, by Abraham Lincoln. PUBLISHED BY THE KANSAS CITY SUN, 7)2 N. Sixth Street, Kansas City, Kansas. BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR. For the i)urpose of answering questions often proponntied, I ofifer this brief statement : I was born in Wayne County, Indiana, on August 5th, 1827 (of Quaker parentage), where I grew to manhood. In m}- twenty-second year I was married and a few years later located in A'ermilion County, Illinois. In the early fifties I formed an acquaintance with Abraham Lincohi, which ripened into a permanent confidential life association between us. I was often, in his council wdien he was a prospective candidate for the nomination for the I'residency. I devoted much faithful service in promoting his opportunity for that position, which was crowned with success. At his solicitation, as in my inexperienced, youthful condition, I entered the campaign service and was termed "the farmer campaigner," and acquitted my labors in such a way as to win the approval of Mr. Lincoln, as the sequel dis- closes, in the reminisance published herewith, to wdiich I solicit your most respectful consideration. Ira Hawortii. sDl^f REMINISCENCES. Being the Observations of One of Lincoln's Early Co-work- ers, Concerning Events of More Than Fifty Years Ago, and Later. (By Ira Haworth, Kansas City, Kansas.) In the dawn of the 20th century, looking backward through the vista of time, I recall my first knowledge of Lincoln. Early in the forties, my father, then a resident of the state of Indiana, had correspondence with him pertaining" to business of the anti-slavery cause, in which my father was a zealous worker; and previous to this Lincoln had declared his opposition to slavery and its extension, basing his opinion on facts experienced in the South where he had been reared. Thus I came to know something of his individual character and sterling qualities of mind and heart prior to meeting him. Having been requested to present a pen picture of his per- sonal appearance as I saw him, I will cheerfully do so, be- . fore proceeding' further with this narrative. He Avas to the casual observer a peculiarh' attractive figure, indeed quite as much so in his general appearance as in his character ; he was tall and commanding in stature, of spare proportions, yet quite muscular, measuring six feet four inches in height in bare feet, weighing 180 pounds. His hair a very dark brown, of coarse growth ; his eyes were hazel, tending to a grayish hue in color, deep set, with a serious expression which quickly lit up Avith a very merry twinkle at the prospective intriduc- tion of a mirth provoking jest or humorous anecdote. His nose was alcove medium size and slightly of the Roman type; mouth large, lips firm of medium thickness, his chin covered with a thin beard, his features rather large to attract admir- ers, yet his demeanor was that of extreme simplicity, together with deliberate movements and cordial, dignified bearing, characteristic of a high and nrijjle manhood, an exemplifica- tion of the Creator's handiwork — an "hr)nest man,"" and among the large number of great and good men that have occupied the earth, I l^elieve that Lincoln has had ])ut few equals and no superior since Christ, the world's greatest moral teacher, dwelt among men. Both Lincoln's and my father's ancestors were members of a religious society knoAvn as Quakers. One of their declarations or tenets of faith consisted in prohibiting members from owning slaves, or by other means to give en- couragement to the system of slavery. LTence it was but a natural coincidence that thev should l)ccome co- workers to the end that the nefarious system sliould be removed from our fair land forever, their motto being' "Freedom for all. and all for Freedom." In the year 1846, Lincoln was elected to Congress and his services were snl^ciently appreciated by his constituency that they desired to secure them for another term, but he ecphat- ically declined to accept their proferred offer, stating as his reason that the associations of home were preferable to the uncongenial surroundings of life in Washington. In 1847 Lincoln stated in a public address his fidelity to the cause of temperance and then pledged his assistance for its advancement in all future time. Those statements attract- ed my profound admiration, and I was both by precept and practice a teetotal abstainer and on having found a public man living a similar life, my attachment for him at once became more than ordinary. During a private conversation we once had, he remarked that he had never in his life taken a drink of any kind of intoxicating liquor. And here permit me to state, lest I may be suspected of narrowness in my opinions, that while the two great sitbjects. slavery and tem- perance, were instrumental in form.ing the mutual acquain- tance by which 1 gained so much valual^le information of that good man during the time he was permitted to live, he was ever found on the side of justice and right, — at heart a Chris- tion. "Whatever appears to be God's will, I will do it." The above remark was made by Lincoln to a deputation composed of different denominations of religious societies in Chicago, 111., who called on him at the White House, September 13th, 1862. He was gifted with mysterious ways. His "wonders to perform," and in justification of his pure and upright life, I desire to mention a worthy incident which is recorded on page 47 in the history entitled. "Words of Lincoln," published by Osborn H. Oldroyd in 1895: Remarks made to the com- mittee who notified him at his home in May, 1860, of his nomination for the Presidency, "Gentlemen, we must pledge our mutual health in this most healthful beverage which God has g-iven man. It is the only beverage I have used, or al- lowed in my family and I cannot consistently depart from it on the present important occasion. It is pure Adam's ale from the well." And belt known that he was the one excep- tion of our chief magistrates who have had the integrity to establish a grand and noble record of this character, which I trust each of his successors in all future time may seek to emulate, not alone honoring themselves thereby, but the nation as well. The campaign of 1848 was closely contested by the most eminent and eloquent orators of that time. Lincoln took an active part in i)resenting- the issues then agitating" the public mind, and thus achieved notoriety, not alone in his home state, l)ut the neighboring- states also. The result of that campaign was in favor of the candidate of the Whig- party, but four years later that grand old party went down under defeat, to come up no more forever. In the year 1854, an agi- tation arose and soon a convulsion of no small magnitude en- sued. The signs of the times became propitious; the political horizon was disturbed as never before; conferences and con- ventions were the order of the day throughout the common- wealth. The final result terminated in calling a nationl con- ference to meet in the city of Philadelphia, for the purpose of considering the propriety of organizing a new political party. The voice of that conference was unanimous for such organization, and conferred upon it the euphonious title of the Republican party of Reform, and among other delibera- tions advised by that body, was an invitation extended to all ' the states to form organizations, preparatory to a presidential campaign for the year 1856, as in uity there would be power. This invitation gave Lincoln another opportunity of using all honorable means at his command to execute the work of organization throughout the state and to render such assis- tance to surrounding localities as circumstances would permit. The work was arduous. The anti-slavery party discouraged the new movement by urging those wdio werethen without a party to join their ranks. The old Democratic party was safely in possession of the government, so well fortified that they were defiant and uncompromising by the slavery^ agita- tors and were therefore far from being asleep at their signal posts, and those Avho were in favor of slavery extension and that had originally affilliated with the AVhigs, had joined the oligarchy, who received them joyfully. Lincoln was expected to advance the new movement by organization thorughout the state, and having received a request from him to that effect (I then resided in Eastern Illinois), I published a call. A\"e proceeded to form an organization by electing officers and adjourning to give a more extended notice of a subse- quent meeting, which was attended by a large number, a part of whom were ladies, who rendered good services later on, as the sequel will disclose. A\'e next formed a county organ- ization, which in due time was merged into a state organiza- tion, and each county thus being auxiliary thereto, we com- pleted the preliminary arrangements for conducting the ap- proaching presidential campaign, and as my signature was attached to the first call, I was complimented by having a very familiar title conferred, — that of "Father" of the Repub- lican party of that vicinity, and when a few years later, hav- ing arranged to remove from that locality, my good friends adoption yet another title, that of "Great Grandfather" of the called on me in a social body to extend their parting saluta- tions, and as I was the only survivor of the original six who met under the call, the sons of ni}^ co-workers conferred the additional title of "Grandfather" of the party. As sixteen years have passed since this title alluded to was conferred, and in view of the further fact that I have completed my four score years of life, I will, by your permission, add by grand old party, and as I will soon "wrap the drapery of my couch about me and lie down to pleasant dreams," farewell, old party, farewell. And may your successors, as they go down the annals of time, commemorate and perpetuate the name and the fame of the party's first chosen Chief Magis- trate, Abraham Lincoln. But at this stage of the organization of the new party, the excitement in the South, as a result of the uniting of the forces in the North along the lines of thorough and effective organization (the lack of which caused the party's defeat four years previous), the slave rulers of the South issued their oft repeated warning of "54-40 or fight." and this time they meant business, as they had all the government munitions of war and its treasury in their possession, yet under such discouraging circumstances the new order of organization proceeded en- couragingl}'. Llany of those who were opposed to the insti- tution of slavery and had served in the ranks of the old Dem- ocratic part}^ took this opportunity to identify themselves with the new organization, and this proved to be the straw by which the wind indicated the approaching election of Lin- coln. Here I wish to mention another incident very creditable to him., which transpired previous to the meeting of the Na- tional Convention. Lincoln was approached by a party who desired to be empowered to negotiate reward for promises of influence at the approaching convention, to whom he gave this emphatic reply: "No, gentlemen, I have not sought the nomination, neither will I attempt to buy it with pledges. If I shall receive the nomination and be elected, I shall not go into office as the tool of this or that man, or the property of any faction or clique, and the people's choice will be my choice. I desire that the result shall be to keep the jewel of liberty in the family of freedom." The National Convention to which I was a delegate met in Chicago in Alay, 1860, and the result of its deliberations was selecting Lincoln as the standard bearer of the Republican party for the pending cam- paign. But at this juncture permit me to call your attention to an incident that occurred near the closing hour of the con- vention, while of minor importance, yet worthy of mention as having a bearing upon the present time. After the count 6 of the ballots and Lincoln's name was annonnced as the choice of the convention for the nomination, and while enthnsiasm was at high tide, two stalwart ushers entered the outer door of the wigwam, bearing" on their shoulders a unique design, consisting of two walnut fence rails, decked in National col- ors, in the center of which mounted upon a shield, was a por- trait of Lincoln, decorated by the American flag. As the men slowly pressed their way up the densely packed aisle, with the excitement at fever heat, the audience went wild. Cheers and huzzas rent the air, hats and handkerchiefs were thrown frantically throughout the apartments, the vast as- semblage rising to their feet, en masse, as the men deposited their standard on the platform in front, while the band struck up "Hail to the Chief," silencing" the babble of voices wdth its soul-stirring- music. From this episode the opposing polit- ical party designated Lincoln as the "rail-splitter'' candidate. The rails presented on this occasion were made l)y Lincoln in ^vhat was then Sangamon County, State of Illinois, when he was twenty-one years of age, and they had been in use those intervening" years on the farm of John Hanks, Avho was Lin- coln's uncle, until transported by Llanks to Chicago, to be held in readiness for display in the event of Lincoln being the nominee. I may remark here incidentally that Lincoln ordered made from one of those rails a cane and gavel and presented them to me as a token of friendship, formed by several years' intimate association with him. and in appreciation of services rendered in the memorable campaign of 1860, and it is an in- spiring thought today, a sublime reflection, that the hand that felled the tree from which these momentoes were made, was the same master hand that by "one stroke of fen broke the shackles ailnrs: and to have a rolling or raisino- a husking or "hoe-(kw\n- anywhere about, without it^ was hositivelv uusiittcrablc. So, too. it was everywhere a respectable article of manufacture and merchandise. The making of it was reo-arded as an honorable livelihood, and he that could make mot( was the most enterprising and respectable. Large and small mann- tactories of it were everywhere erected, in which all the earthly 15 goods of their owners were invested. Wagons drew it from town to town ; boats bore it from clime to clime, and the winds wafted it from nation to nation ; and merchants bought and sold it, by wholesale and retail, with precisely the same feelings on the part of the seller, buyer and by-stander, as are felt at the buying and selling of plows, beef, bacon or any other of the real necessities of life. Universal public opinion not only tolerated, but recognized and adopted its use. It is true that even then it was known and acknowledged that many were greatly injured by it; but none seemed to think the injury arose from the use of a bad thing, but from the abuse of a very good thing. The victims of it were to be pitied, and compassioned, just as are the heirs of consumption, and other hereditary diseases. Their failing was treated as a misfortune, not as a crime, or even as a disgrace. If then, what I have been saying is true, is it wonderful that some should think and act now, as all thought and acted twenty years ago, and is it just to assail, condemn and despise them for doing so? The universal sense of mankind on any subject, is an argument, or at least an influence not easily over- come. The success of the argument in favor of the existence of an overruling Providence mainly depends upon that sense ; and men ought not, in justice, to be denounced for yielding to it in any case, or giving it up slowly, especially when they are backed by interest, fixed habits or burning appetites. Another error, as it seems to me, into which the old reform- ers fell was the position that all habitual drunkards were utterly incorrigible, and therefore must be turned adrift, and damned without remedy, in order that the grace of temperance might abound, to the temperate then, and to all mankind some hundreds of years thereafter. There is in this something so repugnant to humanity, so uncharitable, so cold blooded and feelingless, that it never did, nor never can enlist the enthusiasm of a popular cause. We could not love the man who taught it — we could not hear him with patience. The heart could not throw open its portals to it, the generous man could not adopt it, it could not mix with his blood. It looked so fiendishly selfish, so like throwing fathers and brothers overboard to lighten the boat for our security-^ that the noble-minded shrank from the manifest meanness of the thing. And besides this, the benefits of a reformation to be effected by such a system were too remote in point of time to warmly engage many in its behalf. Few can be induced to labor exclusively for posterity, and none will do it enthusiastically. Posterity has done nothing for us ; and theorize on it as we may. practically we shall do very little for it unless we are made to think we are, at the same time, doing something for ourselves. What an ignorance of human nature does it exhibit to ask or expect a whole community to rise up and labor for the tem- 16 -poral happiness of others, after themselves shall be consigned to the dust, a majority of which community take no pains what- ever to secure their own eternal welfare at no greater distant day? Great distance in either time or space has wonderful power to lull and render quiescent the human mind. Pleasures to be enjoyed, or pains to be endured, after we shall be dead and gone are but little regarded, even in our own cases, and jnuch less in the cases of others. Still, in addition to this, there is something so ludicrous in promises of good, or threats of evil, a great way ofif, as to render the whole subject with which they are connected, easily turned into ridicule. "Better lay down that spade you're stealing, Paddy — if you don't you'll pay for it at the day of judgment." "^'Be the powers, if ye'U credit me so long PU take another jist." By the Washingtonians this system of consigning the habit- ual drunkard to hopless ruin is repudiated. They adopt a more enlarged philanthropy, they go for present as well as future good. They labor for all now living, as well as hereafter to live. They teach hope to all — despair to none. As applying to their cause, they deny the doctrine of unpardonable sin, as in Christianity it is taught, so in this they teach — "While the lamp holds out to burn The vilest sinner may return." Jind, what is a matter of the most profound congratulation, they, by experiment upon experiment, and example upon exam- ple, prove the maximum to be no less true in the one case than in the other. On every hand we behold those who but yesterday were the chief sinners, now the chief apostles of the cause. Drunken devils are cast out by ones, by sevens, by legions ; and their unfortunate victims, like the poor possessed, who was re- deemed from his long and lonely wanderings in the tombs, are publishing to the ends of the earth how great things have been done for them. To these new champions, and this n,ew system of tactics, our late success is mainly owing; and to them we must mainly look for the final consummation. The ball is now rolling glori- ously on, and none are so able as they to increase its speed, and its bulk — to add to its momentum and its magnitude — even though unlearned in letters, for this task none are so well edu- cated. To fit them for this work they have been taught in the true school. They have been in that gulf from which they would teach others the means of escape. They have passed that prison wall, which others have long declared impassable ; and who that has not shall dare to weigh opinions with them as to the mode of passing? But if it be true, as I have insisted, that those who have suffered by intemperance personally and have reformed are the most powerful and cfificient instruments to push the rcforma- 17 not the world M^ould he va^t ly be efil. 1 ^'''^^'"V ^^^^^^her or ishment from it of all intoxLtn dr^ J^ ' '°'"^ ^"^^ ^"^^ ban- an open question. Three-foirtlsSfn ''■'"'""'' ^° "'" "°^ "°^ ative with their ton^rues anr T h i "'^"^;^/"d confess the affirm- ^s in their hearts. " ' ''' ^ ''''^'^^' ^" ^he rest acknowleSge fo^\^'^:'^^^Z:^''^^:^ '^"^^ ^^^'^^^ ^-^^ ^be for that reason, excused f' he rlJ ^'^^^^^'^ cannot do much be '^vhato-oodcanldob 1 in:%i^^r\^^'"^ "^-^^^t," says one, without signino,- Thi3 ?; " fio ifas £' / V ^'^"^^' ^^^" answered more than a mil ion ime T ef ^^ ''''" "^^"^^ ^"^ more. For the man suddent ly o in a^n oth ""'^''^^^ °"^^ off from the use of drams who has urh? f '^^^ ^^^y. to break course of yearr, and until^I^ annefif f ^'^ "^ ^'^''" ^■'^^- ^ lon^ oi- a hundred J .Id strongi.L'KlTo e ."' •'''"", ^''' ^^"^^'^ t^" appetite can b. , required a o Towe^f";^' '^''", ^">' "^^^^^^ such an undert,A-ino' he needs everv '"°'^' ^^^^^^ I" ence that can pcssibly be brSoht fn ,.; '"1 '"F^'°'^ '''^^' "^A"" hmi. And not <.nlv so, but eve' ^^^^^^ and thrown around from ^vhatever argunaent no-h7n^^e n hi ^'""^ f^'°"^^' ^' ^^^en his backsliding-. When he rp I i ' '"'"'' ^o 'n^'e him to be able to se^all d!;:; 1 % ^^^ ^j^'^ /;---' bim he shouM he loves, kindly aiid anxiously poimiof- '' '''^'''''''' ^^^ that l-ckomng him back to his foJ;rsJb;^■ i:^;:;^^-^^^ fbem^Je' ^hattne^vm dLi^lpi;^" ^^■^^' '^i^^^ -<' -^ ^or b-s neighbors do; and that mo -al H ' " ''"^'^^'"- '^'^ because engine contended for. Le^ Tsexam"'"'^ -^^ "? ^bat powerful man who would retain dii. n.c . "^ *^'''- ^^t me ask the t-n he will accept to o-;^ chu ' Ii" '''"'' f^'^ '''''^' compensa- Ihe sermon with l,is .Jife s bo^e- !?"'? -^^"i"^'"-^' ^"^' '^' during- I ".venture. And why not' Th r wonl n ^'''^' \ • ^'''' ' ^^'A^ n' It; nothino- immoral ^.l".! ■ ^'^°"'^^ be nothing irrelio-ious Is it not beca^i"e ^e" \ru Idl ""--/.-^^ble-then why C ^nable in it? Then it s d nfluence^'";^, egreg-iously unfash- tbe mfluence of fashion but /he fl?, °^ ^'/i'^'^" ' ^"^' what is actions have on our own action ."^"f"^^ ^.b^t other people's ns feels to do " as we see al o7r ^' -'^T^ niclination each of ;nflnence of fashion confii ed o anv naf 'T' '^?- ^^°^ ^'^^ ^he things. It is just as stront on n2 P^/!'^"Jar thing or class of n^ake it as unfashionable fe w tlSd '^''' '' """^^^^'■- ^et us Perance pledge as for husband oiL";i"'"^'-'- ^^""'' ^be tem- ebnr.h, and instances will be i,°,T ' ''"' ''''''''' bonnets ta the other. ' "'' J"-'t as rare m the one case as '•I^"t," say some, ^ve are no drunkards, and we shall not 18 acknowledj^e ourselves such by joining a reformed drunkard's society, whatever our influence might me."" Surel}- no Christian will adhere to this objection. If they believe, as they profess, that Omnipotence conde- ;sccnded to take on Himself the form of sinful man and, as such, to die an ig"nominious death for their sakes, surely they will not refuse submission to that infinitely lesser condescension for the temporal and perhaps eternal salvation of a large, erring and unfortunate class of their fellow creatures. Xor is the conde- scension very great. In my judgment, such of us as have never fallen victims have been spared more from the absence of appe- tite than from any mental or moral superiority over those who have. Indeed, I believe if we take habitual drunkards as a class their heads and their hearts will bear an advantageous comparison with those of any other class. There seems ever to have been a proneness in the brilliant and w^arm-blooded to fall into this vice — the demon of intemperance ever seems to have delighted in sucking the blood of genius and of generosity. What one of us but what can call to mind some relative, more promising in youth than all his fellows, who has fallen a sacri- fice to his rapacity? He ever seems to have gone forth like the Egyptian angel of death, commissioned to slay, if not the first, the fairest born of every family. Shall he now be arrested in his desolating career? In that arrest all can give aid that will; and who shall be excused that can and will not? Far around as human breath has ever blown, he keeps our fathers, our brothers, our sons, and our friends prostrate in the chains of moral death. To all the living everywhere we cry, "Come, sound the moral trump that these may rise and stand up an exceeding great army" — "Come from the four winds, O breath! and breathe upon these slain that they may live." li the relative grandeur of revolutions shall be estimated by the great amount of human misery they alleviate, and the small amount they inflict, then, indeed, will this be the grandest the world shall ever have seen. Of our political revolution of '76 we are all justly proud. It has given us a degree of political freedom far exceeding that of any other nations of the earth. In it the world has found a solution of the long-mooted problem as to the capability of man to govern himself. In it was the germ which has vegetated, and still is to grow and expand into the universal liberty of mankind. Eut with all these glorious results, past, present and to come, it had its evils too. It breathed forth famine, swam in blood and rode in fire ; and long, long after, the orphans' cry and the widows' wail continue to break the sad silence that ensued. These were the price, the inevitable price, paid for the blessings it brought. Turn now to the temperance revolution. In it we shall find .a stronger bondage broken, a viler slavery manumitted, a greater 19 tyrant deposed-ni it more of want supplied, more disease healed more sorrow assuaged. By it no orphans starvLf no widows weepnag-. By ,t none wounded in feeling, none injured i^imer- es ; even the dram-maker and the drantseller wi 1 have o d«l mto other occupations so gradually as never to have feh he change and wdl stand ready to join all others in tlTuniversal s<.ig o gladness. And what a noble ally this to the caTe of ?nZf "n °"' "'^^^ -^"f' ^" '''^' ^'^ -^^^h cannot fad to be on and on, tdl every son of earth shall drink in rich fruition the sorrow-quenchmg draughts of perfect liberty. Happy ay when m uT: r"' '°"''""'^'' ^" J^"^^^'°"-^ subdued, all mat'er^ub^eJt d "e toH l"rT"""^' """' ■^'""•^'"^ ^"^^ "^°-- ''^^ monarch of orr^aTj^^n'MT-^ consummation! Hail fall of fury! Reigu And when the victory shall be complete-when there shall be neither a .slave nor a drunkard on the earth-how proud the t.tle ot that La;,,/, which may trulv claim to be the birthplace "/tharvS^'v °h'''' ^J--, -volutions, that shall havfrded 1.1 that victory. How nobly distinguished that people who shall have panted, and nurtured to maturitv, both he politicaland moral freedom of their species. ' P^'uieai ana hirt J^'" 'f ^^r^ u"^ hundred and tenth anniversary of the birthday of Washmgton-we are met to celebrate this day Washmgtcn is the mightiest name of earth-long since mi^t' mati'n OnTh%°' "^" ''^^1^' ''''' "^^^^^^^^ ^ moralrefor- tTJ!^u u ^^ "^""^ ^ ^"^°Sy ^^ expected. It cannot be To add brightness to the sun, or glory to the name of Was' ington, IS alike impossible. Let none attempt it. In solerm. awe pronounced the name, and in its naked deathless splen- dor leave it shining on. ctuucbs spien 20 A MASTERFUL TRIBUUE To the Memory of President Lincoln, Delivered at the Columbia Theater, Washington, D. C. April 14, 1907; (Fourth Anniversary of Mr. Lincoln's Assassination.) By Wm. J. Bryan. Ladies and Geuticmcii : — I am glad that circumstances were such that I could accept the invitation extended to me by the Union Veteran Legion to participate in this memorial occa- sion. It is fitting that this sad anniversary should be com- memorated and that the exercises should be in charge of those A\ ho, in that great crisis in our nation's history, were soldiers in an army of which Abraham Lincoln was commander-in- chief. I have felt that while these veterans of the Civil War still live there is no one nor class to dispute their right to preeminence in all such occasions as this. My militarv ser- \ ice was so brief and so free from the dangers that these in- curred that I do not count myself a soldier, although in the Spanish-American War my offer of ni}' services was dated on the day that the Avar was declared, and my resignation was made on the day that the treaty was signed. So that con- structive service covered all the real war; and herein, my friends, I realize that we who knew only the camp, knew nothing' of war. I bow to the suj^eriority of the veterans, who were no4. only willing to fight their country's battles and to give their lives in defense of the flag, but who had an opportunity to prove their patriotism by long and painful and arduous service. I appreciate the very kind \yord that has been spoken by General lUack. He violates one of the Bible injunctions when he praises me. for the Bible says that one should not praise the work of his own hands. He was a judge in one of my first oratorial contests, and he not only marked me high, but he did more than that — he gave me advice after the contest that I have always treasured, for I believe it was of great service to me. I am glad, therefore, that on this occasion he should be the president, the chairman, and present me to you, even if his words are more generous than T am willing to admit that I deserve. I am glad tonight to speak of Abraham T^incoln. I was little more than five years of age when the tragic death con- \erted a nation's joy into a nation's mourning, but I had scarcely reached manhood's estate when T became an ad- mirer of Abraham lincoln ; and when I was a student in the law school I took him as my subject in one of the contests which I entered, and the more I have studied him the larger 21 lias become my appreciation of him. T am o-iad thaf .t ,h- time we are so far removed from the vreluhr. 1a '^ eng-endered by a strife that we can beho cM f. ^^''-^^ figure in our nation's history and that in th" ^ .^^o^^^g liim all sections of our rema'ited land ^^^Vi^i^''-'^^^^^" °^ this occasion I desire toll-awl ew\e?sonf fri^m^Hfe' S" was one of the o-reat nm^r^rc ^f +i • ''-^^'^"^ irom hte. He V- i Lut, j^iCdL orators OI this rnnnfri- T K T ,1 when the history of onr nnKi; '"'^ .^'^""y^}'- i believe that testify, beJusXnZ^s h"a d h m t;:V''"^^•r'*?" ^^" ing the speaker the other left fh'li ^^-^ audience admir- mmsssm mmsmi lucid Ser„^"Tn,',"/T '■'"■''''"^■' °f "'<= ^■■' °f ':'^="- and jcct clear and easily understood. He understood the use of the interrogator}' he could put an argument in a question ; and that is one of the arts of oratory. Some of the strongest argu- ments ever presented in speech have been presented in the form oi a question. Christ c;aye us an illustration of that; "^^"hat shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" How many volumes can you w^rite before YOU will present that argument as strongly as it is presented in that question? An unanswerable argument presented in a question. I do not believe we have any illustratinn in inil^lic life in this country of greater power of statement, or clearer, greater force in questioning than that presented by Abraham Lincoln. There is a question that he presented in one of his messages, and if the country had not been wrought up. if passion had not at that time clouded the vision, if the blood had not at that time been so hot that calmness was impos- sible, the question that he put must, it seems to me, have car- ried conviction with it. You will remember the powerful plea he made: 'AA'hat if we do have Avar, it must end sometime; we must live here side by side in peace — we cannot separate, nature placed us so," and then the question, "Can aliens make treaties easier than friends can make laws?" A\'hcre will you find an argument that is stronger than the argun^.ent carried in that simple question? r.ut he A\as mare than a great orator, he was a great statesman. ( Hir crmntry has j^roduced no superior to him as an executive dealing with prol.^lems as a practical statesman, with a grasp on things that he had. ]\Iorse defines a states- man as a man who foresees and foretells. I^incoln was a statesman ; he could foresee and he foretold, f^incoln under- stood the human heart; he understood the American people; he understood the principles involved in the great contest ; and he could look ahead and s- , and he spoke out. It is said that when he was preparing th.at speech that was the first in his national career, the s])eech at Springfield, he walked the fioor trying to find some expression that would bring to the people the thought that was in his own mind ; and at last he said, "I have found it. I'he A.merican people are a Bible- reading people, and a I'ible quotation will not only be recog- nized by them, l)ut it will have more infiuence with them than anything else I could (|Uote ;" and then he quoted this; "A liouse divided against itself shall not stand." In my judgment it is the most effective T'ible quotation that was ever used in the discussion of a public issue. And then, gning beyond the strife, he foresaw the time when the house would cease to be di\ided. Forty-two years ago he passed from cartli at the very- climax of his great career. How happy he is tonight if from Ills abode above he can look down upon this country and see his prophecy fulhlled ; the house no longer divided the root of bitterness taken away, the people reunited, a nation one as he wanted it to be. He foresaw, he foretold. He had another quality of statesmanship : he had moral courage. I am not sure but moral courage is a finer virtue than physical courage; I am not sure but it is more difficult lor a person to meet great opposition that does not endanger Ihe body than to meet the opposition that imperils the body It moral courage is not more difficult to exhibit and more rare, it is certainly an indispensible thing for a statesman • and Lincoln had it. Lincoln dared to stand alone; he dared to speak his thoughts; he dared to have his position; he dared to submit his reasons and abide the consequences He had pas- sions—wonderful passions. On the one side he had some which would hold him back, and on the other, some which would push him faster than he felt he ought to go. I never read the letter he wrote to Horace Greeley without feeling that my admiration for Lincoln rises a little more It was the statement of the man who saw the light that he was to follow who was determined to follow it, and who was willing to wait and suffer any kind of criticism until the time came to act He fitted into his time; we needed then just such a man. The kindness of the man! Have you read Markham's poem, Abraham Lincoln?"' Markham has about a dozen lines that contain similes that I think have not been surpassed for their beauty; and the one that I like best of them all was that in which he described Lincoln by saying that he had the lov- ing kindness of the wayside well. I could see the well by the wayside where the traveler passing along stopped to quench his thirst; the well that is always at hand; the well that is triend to everyone. I do not know that I have ever read a phrase that better describes a great, loving, overflowing heart than that— the loving kindness of the wayside well. He fitted into his time because he was great enough to hate slavery without hating slave-holders. And do you know that that is one of the God-like things to which man should aspire— to hate wrong and love the wrongdoer? To recoo-nize honesty on the other side as well as on vour side, and let your fight be egainst wrong. (Applause.)' My friends I do not know of another man anywhere who was his equal in depth and breadth of view. Born in Kentuckv and reared in Illinois, he seemed to have been prepared for 'the great work he had to do. He loved the southern people, but his heart revoltea against the institution of slavery. He wanted to get nd of slavery and he did not want to hurt anvbody who dif- fered from him on the question. A great man in a great time ' But there were two sections of the countrv, and thev differed 2i upon a great question, and there was honesty on both sides. There was conscience behind the gun that pointed north and conscience behind the g"un that pointed south. (Applause.) These people met questions that they had to settle ; these peo- ple met to settle the questions by th only way that seemed possible. A difference that defied a peaceful settlement. There were some in the North who were not broad enough to love the people of the South, in spite of the institution that was doomed ; and there were those in the South not broad enough to love the ])cople in the Nortli in spite of their opposition to slavery. But Lincoln was large enough to love the people, North and South, and only hate the things that made two peoples where there ought to have been one people. (Applause.) Lincoln was the typical American. I think we have not pro- duced a man who better illustrated the possibilities of Amer- ica. I believe we have not produced a man whose life gives more inspiration to the people than his life gives. We have never produced a man whose career was better proof of the fact that man's greatness is not of himself but in the vir- tues and the ideals which his life presents. Lincoln grew, not because he was a great orator, although that helped his growth ; he grew, not l^ecause he was a great statesman, for until he became invested with power he had not had an oppor- tunity to prove that he was a statesman, and his reputation as an orator was far greater after his election than before, for few of the people of this country had a chance to know him well until he became President. He attached himself to an idea and he rose with that idea. To every young man Lin- coln's life ought to be an inspirationfi for Lincoln's life teaches that the man wdio takes hold of a great idea and forgets him- self in his devotion to it will gather strength as the idea grows, and rise as the idea rises. (Applause.) Lincoln's life has well illustrated that. Lincoln's power was more of a heart power. I believe, judged by intellectual standards, that he is inferior to none. I do not mean by educational standards, be- cause he lacked education, but by intellectual standards. Measured by mind, measured by power to comprehend, meas- ured by accuracy of judgment, measured by aptness of ex- pression, he was inferior to none. Rut he was greater in his heart than he was in his head, and he proved that which has been demonstrated so often before, that while we brag about the head we after all respect the heart. Carlisle, in the closing- words of his "French Revolution." presents a very important thought. He says that thought is stronger than artillery and moulds the world like soft clay, and that back of thought is love and that there never was a great head unless there was a genuine heart behind it. (.Applause.) Lincoln's heart took in the world. Lincoln's heart linked him to the common 25 people. Lincoln once saul that God must have loved the com men people, because he made so manv of them. It vas 1 s way of expressmo- ^t, but Lincoln never' used the phrase 'con mon people" as a term of reproach, for the hig est como " p^op e"'Tn'?^he Pi^Ie'^>" "' Kl'""'' T^ ^^^^ to^he conZon people. In the B ble it says that when Christ presented the it is a gieat comphment. Lincoln believed in the commJn people. Lincoln trusted the common people. Lincoln e that the common people in this country were the na ion's streno-th. They were then; they are now; thev ever wi be The common people produce the nation's wealth in thi es of peace; they hght the nation's battles in times of wa Thl volunteer sokher. of wh.nn we have heard so eloquenilv to n.ght, Ks the common man. The common people work when the country needs workers ; they fight when the country i7eeds fighters. They make the laws, they enforce the laws and because they niust enforce the laws, if necessary the^ a e careful when they make them. The common peopk were the pople whom Lincoln looked up to. They were^ the peo e with whom he Identified himself. lie had struggle in thei? lanks and he knew their strength, and he knl^w ha they would not fad m any crisis. Lincoln had faith; he was a man of ta.th His name was Abraham Lincoln, and it was Abra the call of the Almighty, went out a thousand miles from home among a strange people, to establish a new relioio \\onderfui fa,th it was. And from that faith there gew one of the greatest races of the world; and from that flitTtha? he estab ished thei;e grew a religion until nearly four hu urec million human beings worship" the one God 'at who e caT mir"]"" "r"-VT''i ^'''''' \' ^'^^' P^^^-^ influencing all o fa [h in iV If ^If '',"?■ '^ '^° ^"^^ ^'^^■^- A"d Lincoln had faith in himself. He believed that he could do thino-s He understood that which he believed he could accompTish-he was able to accomplish. He had faith in humanity and tha? IS an important aith. He believed in mankind; he km ew the human heart and he knew that when he came ti the heart he found that all were much alike. .i;ff ^^yJl'^^'f'- ^V ""^ *^^" ^'^""'^ that we all meet. Travel in o "r.'io',;'' Mri^l".^j" ^^^^ P^°P^^ ^P^^^^"^§- ^^^ff--t Ian" is icf ai'nd f r -"^'^i '''"' t'-aditions and race character- istics and diffeiences m history; you will find differences in shirb^ t^'^^r'""''"^ ';°'l ''']^^ ^"^ differences in church wor- is nV.rb ^r " ^''°" ^"^ ^^\' ^''^'^ -^°" ^^^'" fi"d that manhood IS much the same everywhere, and that if you would reach ^ou'h^ve"/" r °^'"'^'"^'"- ^'^ >-^"^" arguments at the head 3'ou have to direct your arguments at the heart. It is out 26 of the heart that the purpose comes. It is the heart that directs the life, and from the heart comes the ideals and moral virtues upon which civilization rests. Buckle describes civil- ization as a state of the human mind, the principal element of which is the moral element. T would ask to differ with him. The moral element is essential to civilization, and the nations that have i^'one down have gone down because they were rotten at the heart. (Applause.) The heart, the heart is that upon which we must build, and Lincoln had faith in mankind because he knew that in the heart of every man was a sense of justice to which an appeal could be made. He had faith in the government. He believed in our theory of government. He took as his great instructor the author of the Declaration of Independence, and in his speeches and in his letters he spoke as eloquently of the wisdom of Thomas Jef- ferson as any man has ever spoken. (Applause.) He be- lieved that our form of government woulcl live; he believed that it would spread. It has lived, and it is spreading. A century and a quarter ago and a little more, certain ideas of government were planted on this soil. They have grown here. Our nation did not make these ideas great ; the ideas made our nation great. Our nation's position today is due more to any other thing to the fact that these ideas have emanated from this country. They have girdled the globe. The light that \\as shining here has .'^ent out its rays to every land, and in all the years our inHuence in the world has been a high and holy one. For more than a century our nation has been a world power. Not only that — for more than a century our nation has been the great power in the world. (Ap- plause.) Other nations had their thrones and their armies and their ships, and yet our nation with its little army and its little navy has been strong enough to force its ideas, through- out the world, on all countries. Have you noticed the growth of its ideas in the last two years? A\"ithin two years the Em- press Dowager of China has sent envoys throughout the world to gather information for the adoption of a constitu- tion. Within two years Austria has enlarged the basis of her representation in the Reichsrath. Within a year the govern- of representation in the popular branch of the legislature. In England now the great political question is between the House of Commons and the House of Lords : vShall the people rule through their elected representatives, or shall electorial pow- er "put down" the people's power? And look at Russia, who until recently, has been a synonym for depot ism. Our blood has ])oiled as we have read of people dragged from their homes and imprisoned or executed, and. after a while the people by infinite suffering and sacrifice, secured the rivilcge of a donma, and when an election ^vas held and thev had a chance to express themselves they took advantai^e of it In St Peters burg- -60,000 votes were cast, and 58,000 were cast aoainst the Czars ticket, 2,000 for his ticket. In his votino- precinct 300 voters were sent to the polls in guarded carriages Ficrhty of them voted for him and 220 voted for the opposition \nd when the douma convened they did not indorse parties— they . were all reformers, differing only in the degree of their rad- icalism^ Ihe Czar dissolved the douma and held a new elec- tion. The new douma is more radical than the old one It was my good fortune to see the first douma in session I believe no more remarkable body of men has assembled in this world for many years, and as thev sat there you could read m their faces the history of a nation's suffering, and a grim determination that Russia's wrongs should be* righted I he new douma is m session ; the people have spoken again and the Czar announces through his premier that the govern- ment will approve the people's measures providing- for free speech, and free press, and uniform education. Thus is Rus- sia moving forward. Thus is the voice of the people beino- heard. Ihus are the ideas for which Lincoln contended spreading throughout the world, and when Russia enjoys these reforms to which she is entitled, and for which she has struggled, she will take her place among the great nations ot the world, for people who are willingr to die for liberty have m them the material of which great nations are made I here are three kinds of governments: Monarchy, Aristoc- racy, and Democracy. I dissent from two-thirds of them. (Laughter.) Lincoln was right when he contended for a o-qv- ernment of the people, by the people, and for the people. Neither the monarchy nor the aristocracy is among the strong- est of governments. A republic is not only the strongest and wisest, but the most secure of governments. Why is our government stronger? Because the people are willing to de- fend It. Our government is stronger because the people love It. and they love it because it is good, and it is good because the people speak and their voice is loud. (Applause.) My friends, it needs not that we should praise Abraham Lincoln, his fame is secure. Nothing that we could say would reduce his station. Fixed is his star in the firmament, and rising higher and higher. It will be seen by increasing millions, and wherever seen it will represent that which is highest and noblest and best in the life of a government like ours. Lin- coln delivered an oration that has no equal in the same num- ber of words in this language. The speech that he made at the battlefield of Gettysburg, for the size of it and the length of it. has never been approached by any human being. If'he had never made any other speech, his fame as an orator might have rested on that. And in that speech, great because of its 28 simplicity, far-reaching because of its dei)th. he said that they had not met there to hallow that grottnd, that those who had fallen there had hallowed it ; that they were there, not to con- secrate it, but to consecrate themselves to the unfinished work which they who fell there had so well advanced, that it was rather for those who had assembled there to dedicate them- selves, to consecrate themselves, to that unfinished w^ork that a government of the people, by the people, and for the people should not perish from the earth. And so we are met here tonight, not that any feeble words of ours can bring peace to one who sleeps, n.ot that any flowers of rhetoric can l)e added to the flowers that have been piled upon his tomb, but rather that in the spirit which he manifested we shall dedicate our- selves to that work which was so dear to him. He could look beyond the strife and the turmoil and see a united ]:»eople ; we now realize the ftilfillment of his dream and of his vision. And as we meet on this anniversary, forty-two years after his death, when we can see the completed work which he began, but was not permitted to see entirely rounded out, we can understand, even better than those who lived then, the price- less value of his service and the greatness of the work which be left to us that follow him. I come here tonight to \ie with the soldiers in their hom- age to the great, dead President, to mingle my words with theirs, and to have my heart beat as their hearts beat in sym- pathy with his aspirations and his hopes. I come to join with you, with all of you, as he would have us join, in the resolu- tion that this nation shall be what he and the others who toiled for it hoped and desired and expected that it would be. Mr. Thurston has spoken of the effect of the Spanish war in bring- ing together people who had once been fighting each other. I was where I could realize something of the seaming process, for short as was my service it was suflicient to enable me to testify from what I saw and heard that the rivalry in the Spanish war between the sons of those who wore the blue and the sons of those who wore the gray was to see who could show the greatest devotion and the highest loyalty to the flag which they both loved. (Applause.) But of all these regiments, gathered from the northland and the southland, I heard them playing the sectional airs, and then I heard them join in the national hymns, and I felt that indeed our people M^ere one — no north, no south, no east, no west, a larger fam- ily our country is today. The glory of our Civil War was not that one side whipped the other; it was that victors held the vanquished in such close end^race that they soon became good friends, and one nation now leads the world in all that goes to make up the greatness of a nation. If I ever doubted the superiority of my nation, T would not doubt it after having a 29 chance to compare it with other nations. We complain of our money worshippers, and with reason, but my friends there IS more altruism in the United States than there is in anv other nation on earth today, and our nation is doin- more in a disinterested way than any other nation that lives or has hvecl. Our nation today is giving the world ideals, and the Ideal is the most important thing. Our nation todav is set- ting the example, and that example is having its hifluence around the world. Our nation is a peaceful nation. These soldiers who bared their breasts to the enemy's fire were lovers of peace, not professional soldiers, and when the war was over they went back to their occupations. And today there are no stronger forces for peace in this world than those who bore the musket when their country called them These people m this country who. when the necessity arose, were wil ing to fight, these are the champions of peace, and these understand that a nation's position is to be demonstrated not by the force It exerts on other nations, but bv the good we can do other nations. Our greatness is not measured by our army or our navy, but by our ideals. Our greatest products are not the products of the farm or factory, but minds and bodies developed according to high ideals, and our greatest factories- are not our factories with their towering smokestacks but our .schools and colleges and churches that take in raw' ma- terial and turn out such a finished product as the world has never known before. (Applause.) This nation, with its gov- ernment of the people, for the people, and bv the people is destined to impress the world as no other nation has impressed it, not by force or violence, but by developing here the high- est civilization T,ver known, and our nation's rise through this development will influence every other nation bv the power ot a noble example. ' I thank you. (Applause.) 30 Lincoln Memorial Association. There was organized in Kansas City, Kansas, on the 15th day of April, 1907, a Lincoln Memorial Association, for the State of Kansas, with the following officers, viz: Ira Haworth, president; Frank Gibson, vice-president; Mrs. A. A. Bmoks, secretary; Miss Bertha Ball, assistant secretary; and Mrs. Elmaker, treasurer; with an executive board of seven members. The object of the association is to keep alive the spirit of patriotism and the fame of the martyred presi- dent, and encourage a spirit of loyalty in the rising gen- eration. To this end. it is important that this organization should ba augmented, and auxiliary societies established throughout this State and the West. Persons desiring to assist in this laudable undertaking by promoting auxiliary organizations, here or elsev/here, should correspond with the president, Mr. Ira Haworth, Kansas City, Kansas, and receive blanks and instructions. This is an excellent time to start such a movement, start- ing out with the centennial anniversary of the birth of Lincoln. 31 I 0^ t .^^ \l is ''<^^ ^ K'i>' ^.;^ '^'^ .f^- r\^ x - \. • "^isi^ .V <>. O ^^ '•"* ,\^ •"'^ V .^^ -5-- 4:-^ ah .*iq. "^oV^ jPv\ ^^•^^^ 'a»c,- iV*>» . °o . .0'' V*^--,/ "o^^^^-^o'' v-^-'\/ '^- V » « • o *^ • .^