Show Lincoln His Lincoln His Spirit Is with the Ages Martyr Emancipator Myth Abe Is Forever By BAUKHAGE News Analyst and Commentator Like everything else in this political year preparations I for Lincoln's birthday in 1948 are chiefly a matter of scrambling scrambling scrambling scram scram- bling through the Great Emancipators Emancipator's writings to find a text I t for a partisan highly-partisan outburst But February 12 is the ocI ocI oc- oc I 1 I casion for more than a barrage of political speeches To me Lincoln Is real because he and my childhood conception of my t j grandfather are strangely blended Both like Merlin's Camelot are build- build L ed forever because to me they never were at all they all they were It I j 1 l I myth rather than fact fact fact-a a myth not of my own making but handed down O through two generations My mother as a little child sa saw like sleeping Lincoln a man she he thought as ashe t 1 he Jay in state In Chi My Chicago c ago ra rt g grandmother ran d mot her stood beside her er ii W. W swathed e in the heavy mourning f veil of the day I which she felt perhaps was as much for Lincoln 11 then as It was for I her soldier husband hus hus- husI I band who had I hM given his life in inthe inthe the same cause To my mother Baukhage staring at that t I j i coffin in Chicago there always remained re re- re- re a confused impression of mourning for tor the man she thought was not dead but sleeping and the father she never had seen Perhaps that feeling was imparted to mee me r e My mother described the scene to me It was clearly etched in her memory like iLice the rest of the strange hegira which she took westward L L with her widowed mother from a little town in New York state as a bride my grandmother had pioneered pioneered pio plo the West with her young New NewYork York state farm farm born born husband t p I o Of course the memories were blurred and blended undoubtedly r of the event with later repetition to t. but the picture was clear and I only wish I could repeat it in my mothers mothers moth- moth I ers er's own words The train trip west the arrival in the great city the crowd about her as she advanced slowly with her mother into the f great hall hail Then the coffin which she shedid did not know was a coffin for there was no such word in her tiny Her mother let go t the e little girls girl's hand band to move back her own heavy veil Then Th-en the little itle girl remembered being lifted in the strong hands of the guard About him she could recall recall recall re re- re- re call only a blue tunic shiny brass buttons and the smell of tobacco Then the face of the sleeping man and her mothers mother's quiet tears 10 I. I Sl The body of the martyred I. I President as you know was taken from the East Room of the White House to the capitol where It U lay in state Then it was carried across the country pausing for homage In sev several ral cities until it reached Springfield Springfield Spring Spring- field Lincoln's home T I I repeated my mothers mother's story after her death as best I could on oni i the air and air and there were sequels Letters one Letters one from a lady In New England for whom the broadcast broadcasts s had awakened memories her i. i t father ather had been one of the Union L soldiers chosen to stand guard at atthe the catafalque in Chicago It might well have been he who lifted lilted my mother The soldiers who had been chosen t for that tha honored dut duty were permitted permit permit- I ted to divide the gold-fringed gold drape draper i r that covered the coffin she wrote me and she consigned to me a fragment fragment frag- frag rag ment which I cherish L There were many other let let- One from the niece of one of Lincoln's cabinet members S SIJ IJ William Pitt Fessenden another another another an an- other enclosing the announcement announcement announce announce- L ment meat shown in the cut c Those were two sequels to the thet t tory atory of the little girl and her weep weep- I lag ing mother I think the everlasting t sequel can be read again and again 7 inthe story of America as the story of Lincoln is projected far on into 7 history I think I have seen it projected prot pro pro- t L In the crowds who come to Washington avid with guidebook and camera to collect souvenirs Only this week the garrulous cab cabdriver cabdriver cabdriver driver who carried me from Union station was full of a story of South t 4 Americans who spent endless I hours according to his is timing at atthe the Lincoln Memorial The memorial memorial memo memo- rial remains a shrine for all visitors native and foreign a place where e flippant chatter is stilled before that almost living replica warmed to life lite out of f cold marble by the inspired hand of Daniel Chester French It lives as the spirit of Abraham Abraham Abraham Abra Abra- ham Lincoln lives To the little child beside the catafalque catafalque cata cata- falque faique except for her mothers mother's tears there was no mourning in that moment Only something solemn sol sol- something important something something something some some- thing that touched old and young f. f alike because it had in it the cosmic 3 rhythm of the epic and as well the simple touching soul melody of the folk tolk song And I wonder if there was not some intangible some eternal qualIty quality ity of what Lincoln did or what his hla character has etched Into the his his- I o 10 Funeral Ceremonies IN HONOR BONOR OF rn PRET BOOT mi T L u I Kl ji t tTo To b w be b loS I INBA In so lb th lb ROTUNDA OF OP TE TEor THE CAPITOL I ION ION ON or Thurs ar May 1865 at 3 o'clocK P. P ML M M. MIL L f Dtp ov a Bj e 2 Rt fe at B Bj R I. I 8 T. T Li tory of America that gives Americans Americans Ameri Amen cans the assurance that his spirit especially in these times when evil gods god make their black magic to bemuse bemuse be be- muse the minds of men is not dead but sleeps waiting only the clarion call of the people whom he loved to wake it into action C S Free Speech Russian Style The Russians celebrated Christmas Christmas Christ Christ- mas nias with a public criticism of Russian Russian Russian Rus Rus- sian factories by the commercial director of the Soviets' Soviets largest department store The director director director tor complained that the factories were producing inferior products He wanted more and better goods more w washing shing machines vacuum cleaners refrigerators and decent furniture Are re you surprised that such criticism Is permitted If you are you dont don't understand the Soviet system Criticism is allowed al al- lowed Iov as a sound method of correcting correcting cor con faults although It doesn't necessarily displace the cure which means banishment banishment banish banish- ment temporarily or permanently permanently perma perma- to Siberia just as in the good old days I am reminded of columnist Lowell Mellett's story about the scope of Russian criticism On his trip to Russia he was shown around by a very clever female guide Mellett Mellett Mellett Mel- Mel lett asked her about freedom of the press and she said Oh yes they had a free press the press continually continually continually contin contin- criticized things including government enterprises Well Vell would they be allowed to criticize Stalin Mellett wanted to know Why ly the girl was surprised surprised sur sur- What has that got to do with it You couldn't criticize him because there Is nothing about him to criticize I S Secretary Marshall wants the European European European Eu Eu- recovery plan to be run by a single administrator not an eight- eight man board as has been suggested If the old saw that the working best-working committee is a committee of of three with two members out of town is correct perhaps Marshall is right S S S January saw three presidential messages presented to congress Each document had many a passage passage passage pas pas- sage born only to waste its fragrance fragrance fragrance fra fra- grance on the desert air of an unsympathetic unsympathetic un un- sympathetic maj majority rity S S S Too bad the Republicans dont don't care for Mr Truman's budget The budget message was printed up so nicely bound so neatly and it IS unique unique unique-unique unique in that it is the biggest biggest biggest big big- gest peacetime budget ever presented present present- ed to any congress |