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Show Lincoln and War Tuesday we celebrated the anniversary of the birth of Abraham Abra-ham Lincoln, and this paper has always admired . the Great Emancapator for his sterling qualities and for the backbone to do and dare. Lincoln was a man of deep convictions and stood boldly for. these, regardless of friend or foe. Our President today to-day is experiencing many of the great problems that Lincoln had to solve when he was in the Civil war. The people of America today should remember in commemorating the great deeds of Lincoln that President W'ilson needs the same sympathy and pray-' pray-' er which the great Emancapator needed in the sixties. Honor the memory of Lincoln and pray for Wilson tomorrow. , . The time may come soon when a certain passage from that i masterpiece of imaginative biography, Ida M. Tarbell's "He Knew i Lincoln," will deserve careful rereading by many Americans: I The country was just petered out with the everlastin' taxes ! an f ightin' an dyin'. It wasn't human nature to be patient any I longer, and they just suit it out on Mr. Lincoln, and then, right ; on top of all the grumblin' and abusin', he up and made another draft. Course he was right, but I tell you nobody but a brave i man would 'a' done such a thing at that minute ; but he did it. It jwas hard on us out here. I tell you there wasn't many houses in this country where they wan't mournin' goin' on. : It didn't Seem as we could stand any more bloodlettin'. Some of the boys ! round the State went dofwn to see him about it. They came back lookin' pretty sheepish. Joe Medill, up to Chicago, told me about it onct. He said: "We just told Mr. Lincoln we couldn't stand another draft. We was through sendin' men down to Petersburg to be killed in trenches. He didn't say nothin'; just stood still, lookin' down till we'd all talked ourselves out; and then, after a while, he lifted up his head and looked around at us, slow-like ; and I tell you, Billy, I never knew till that minute that Abraham Lin- coin could get mad clean through. He was just white, he was that mad. 'Boys,' he says, 'you ought to be ashamed of yourselves. You're actin' like a lot of cowards. You've helped make this war, and you've got to help fight it. You go home and raise them men, and don't you dare come down here again blubberin' about what I tell you to do. I won't stan' it.' We was so scared we never said a word. We just took our hats and went out like a lot of school boys. Talk about Abraham Lincoln bein' easyl jWhen it didn't matter mebbe he was easy, but when it did you ; couldn't stir him any more'n you could a mountain." |
