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Show ' ELMO SC0TT WATS0N fj XjJm BECAUSE of the radio, It will ffi A J be possible for millions of ' t77rTT,,r ZTQii Americans during the next S, w ! ( iHfef'S' two and one-half, months fri" I t if i2 1 SWrV Pto listen to Herbert O. J ' L t I i : Hoover and Alfred E. Smith fe' NCX tOU5t LINCOLN tHfe discuss the Issues in the ww-w V 1928 Presidential campaign. (f $ I 7r"'rL'J A H But u is doubtful if the ir v r, r v.,. r:. r!' tt r -x. vAj contest this year, for all 4 $ WtfWl"jW- - i the millions who will hear ,? lIV" -1 .L(.A Us various issues debated, will excite T the intense interest and have the far- 2 I'Sl;' 1' reaching results in our history that a v l- J'ft sJV senatorial campaign In Illinois did just $3 i a - ? r''! . 70 years ago this summer. For It was , ! . h Mf- V - fSTi during that campaign that there took 1W!4F 'i place the now-famous series of "Lin- ? - "? il 1L -AsH coin-Douglas Debates," held in seven I i V-, Vf?lT ' Illinois cities In August, September i' tAt ! . , 1 K? 'J f and October, 1858, one of the most pic- ! , ' J f ? ' turesque and important Incidents in 41 f 1 1 all American political history. Ss.A .At y' llit?juA . - k i, T By ELMO SCOTT WATSON B IKCAUSE of the radio, It will I be possible for millions of I Americans during the next J two and one-half, months Jffj to listen to Herbert O. f Hoover and Alfred E. Smith Mi 7$t"l. d'scuss tHe issues in the wMsf$ 1928 Presidential campaign. WqsS' I5ut It Is doubtful If the ( contest this year, for all the millions who will hear 113 various issues debated, will excite the Intense Interest and have the far-reaching far-reaching results in our history that a senatorial campaign in Illinois did just 70 years ago this summer. For It was during that campaign that there took place the now-famous series of "Lincoln-Douglas Debates," held in seven Illinois cities In August, September and October, 18DS, one of the most picturesque pic-turesque and important Incidents in all American political history. The opponents for the office of United States senator from Illinois were Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Abra-ham Lincoln. Douglas was the Democratic Demo-cratic Incumbent, seeking re-election. At the age of forty-five he was a national figure, having served three terms In the house of representatives and 12 years in the senate. Only five feet, two inches talL he was known as the "Little Giant," a man of great personal per-sonal charm, with his clarion voice, his dominating way of tossing his mane of curly black hair, his Napoleonic Napo-leonic frown and his gift of oratory, inherited from the school of Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. He had been a poor boy on a New England farm, working bis way up by his own In-domitnble In-domitnble effort to a position of wealth and great influence. He was the author of the Kansas-Nebraska bill which had reopened the old slavery slav-ery dispute after it had apparently been settled by the Compromises of 1S20 and 1S50, and this measure, which had an appeal to both northern and southern Democrats, he fondly hoped would make him the Democrats' next candidate for the Presidency. His Republican opponent, Abraham Lincoln, apparently lacked everything which Douglas had to make him a popular and appealing public figure. At the age if forty-nine, he was a tall, gaunt, awkward-appearing country lawyer, who had been a popular enough political speaker to have served In the Illinois legislature and one term In congress. But he was virtually unknown outside the borders of his own state and even two years later a New York paper was referring to him as "a third-rate western lawyer . . . who cannot speak good grammar." gram-mar." Against the advice of Seward and Greeley, the sages In the newly-formed newly-formed Republican party, the Illinois Republicans had nominated him for senator against Douglas. When he accepted the nomination In a speech at Springfield, he threw something some-thing of a bombshell Into his own political camp when, against the advice ad-vice of his conservative friends, he declared de-clared : " 'A house divided against itself cannot can-not stand.' I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved. I do not expect the house to fall, but I do expect It will cease to be divided. It will become be-come all one thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of It, and place it where the public mind shall rest In the belief that It Is the course of ultimate extinction, or Its advocates advo-cates will push it forward till it shall become lawful alike In all the states, old as well as new, North as well as South." As the campaign progressed Lincoln began to trail Douglas, whose supporters sup-porters with their bands and torchlight torch-light processions In the leading cities of the state were making a powerful impression upon the electorate. Incl-dentiy, Incl-dentiy, Douglas had another powerful ally In his beautiful young wife, a grandniece of Dolly Madison, whose "mere presence gained votes for her husband." Sometimes at the end of a Douglas meeting Lincoln would rise and announce when and where he would make his reply. Sometimes dodgers of the Lincoln meeting would be handed out to the Douglas crowd as it dispersed. Finally Lincoln decided to challenge Douglas to a joint debate and on July 24, 1S5S, he wrote a note from Chicago to Douglas suggesting that they divide the time and address the same audiences audi-ences during the campaign. Douglas did not want to debate with Lincoln, for, from the speeches Lincoln had already al-ready made In reply to his, he realized the strength of "Honest Abe's" logic. But to refuse might lose the election, so he agreed. Nor did Lincoln's friends view the idea with any particular enthusiasm. en-thusiasm. True, Lincoln had met and skillfully refuted all of Douglas' arguments, argu-ments, but they were fearful that In a joint debate in which the voters would have a chance to see the two men side by side their candidate would show to but poor advantage when compared to the brilliant Douglas. However, the arrangements were made, according to Douglas' terms, for seven debates, one in each of the seven congressional districts. Douglas was to speak one hour at the first, Lincoln to reply for an hour and a half and Douglas to close with a half-hour rebuttal. At the second Lincoln was to have the opening and closing speeches and so on alternately and although this arrangement gave Douglas Dou-glas the advantage of four openings and closings to Lincoln's three, Lincoln Lin-coln agreed to the terms, for as he said humorously, "My consenting to it was not wholly unselfish, for I suspected, sus-pected, If It were understood that the Judge wa3 entirely done, you Democrats Demo-crats would leave and not hear me; but by giving him the close, 1 felt confident con-fident you would stay for the fun of hearing him skin me." The debates were held as follows: Ottawa, LaSalle county. August 21 185S; Freeport, Stephenson county, August 27; Jonesboro, Union county, September 15 ; Charleston, Coles county, coun-ty, September 18; Galesburg, Knox county, October 7; Quincy, Adams county, October 13, and Alton, Madison Madi-son county, October 15. As the debates progressed it soon became apparent how groundless were the fears of Lincoln's friends that he could not hold his own with the "Little Giant." The humor which had made "Honest Abe" such a favorite when he was riding the circuit was used time and again with telling effect against his opponent. On one occasion, after Douglas had thrilled and swayed his audience with his oratory and sat down amid a storm of applause, Lincoln Lin-coln rose, and drawing himself to , his full height, slowly took off his coat, a gesture which in the pioneer settlements settle-ments meant business. Handing It to some of his friends, he said, "Here, boys! Hold my raiment while I go In and stone Stephen!" Amid a gale of laughter from those people who knew their Bible, he did "stone Stephen" with facts ! Long before the debates were over It was apparent to all who heard them that for once Douglas had met his match. Through all the windings and turnings of the debates, there shone forth the fundamental fact that Douglas was the disciple of expediency and of "trimming" and that Lincoln was the exponent of protest against wrong and the proponent of the right At the second sec-ond debate, the one at Freeport, Douglas sealed his political fate. Lincoln Lin-coln forced Douglas to quibble on the effect of the Dread Scott decision and the South labeled him a "double-dealer" "double-dealer" whom It could not trust. Although Al-though Douglas eventually won the election to the senate, he had killed his chances for the Presidency in 1860. Lincoln had lost the lesser prize In 1858, but he won the greater one two years later. One of the things which helped him dj It was his part In the historic Lincoln-Douglas debates, which led some to prophesy even then that they had "sounded the death knell of slavery and prtved the way for the election of Lincoln to the Presidency of the United States." f f f ' |