Show rev villars talks to kiwanis club there was a record attendance at the regular meeting of the kiwanis club tuesday evening at the new park pails hotel everyone entered heartily into the singing of a number of 0 kiwanis and patriotic songs bongs being st valentines D day ay all all especially the bachelors sang most feelingly loves old secret song miss vyla yates made a fine impression in reading the friend a beautiful lincoln story miss yates tates had won the high school contest with this reading the club seeks to add its ita boost to the am ambitious bilious young people of our high school by special consideration V S villars spoke on lincoln and kiwanis objectives the most unsatisfactory biographies of abraham lincoln are those written by men who knew him lest best and shortly after his death they were too conscious of 0 the national environment to be able to discuss the real man his character and spiritual power but as the years pass the world gets a better perspective e ind and abraham lincoln the first amerlan can americas greatest citizen and patriot stands more clearly revealed and Is fast cast becoming the worlds idiol of loyal integrity and self sacrificing devotion in public ablio station i some years ago mcclures mcclunes McC lures magazine bei gan to publish instalments installments of a bloe biography of napoleon bodalia bonaparte e T the h e r series er was never completed milliie time 1 has ss revealed the selfish cruel ambitious character of the man and the character of napoleon could not stand the revelation of 0 a cent but there Is an ever increasing flood of lincoln biographies character sketches which in spite of their number do not exceed the demand each may repeat much of what others have written but he in turn seems never to tall fall to find something new those who have studied the life of lincoln the roost most carefully are the most eager readers of the new books on lincoln because the subject appears inexhaustible once in a while one has the privilege which wets was mine in minneapolis minnesota at the conclusion of an address on lincoln man of providence a japanese jape student graduate of th the e imperial university tokio japan who was sent by his government to study american agriculture in the minnesota college of agriculture said to me this Is the first time I 1 have heard the story of your hero mr lincoln I 1 shall think much of him of course he had studied american history but it was my privilege to give him his first view of the heart of lincoln and his place in the hearts of the american people because of the many sidedness of his character and the perennial character of his life and influence nce I 1 have undertaken to to you tonight on lincoln and kiwanis objectives I 1 shall take them up in their order as they appear in n our literature ot of course I 1 can only touch a spot here and there in the circumference of the great circle tor for there Is available material for a separate address on each objective 1 to give primacy to the human and spiritual rather than to the material values ot of life always he exhibited this ideal both in private and public life to him blin the toller teller bond or free was a soul and not a hand 11 in his earliest oratorical ef fusions and in his latest OfIl official cial utterances this Is most conspicuous perhaps his most comprehensive declaration Is this gold Is good in its place but living honest and patriotic men are better than gold so consistent were his words and deeds on this score that none will contradict general rushing when he be said in any other age he be would have been canonized as abraham the just or st abraham the good 2 to encourage the dally daily living of the golden rule in all human relationships nicolay Nl colay his chief biographer has said of him his nature was deeply religious but he belonged to no denomination he had faith in the eternal justice and boundless mercy of providence and made the golden rule of christ his bis practical creed he declared he would join that church which would make its sole condition of membership thou shall love the lord thy god with thy mind soul and strength and thy neighbor as thyself striking illustration of the force of the golden rule in his public life ille are found when he tut put aside all personal feeling and appointed stanton and seward to ills his cabinet and chase to the supreme court 3 to promote the adoption and application of higher social business and professional standards what better can words do than to adopt for ourselves and seek to win others to the standard lincoln set tor for himself 1 I am not bound to win but I 1 am bou bound nd to be true I 1 am not bound to succeed but I 1 am bound to live up to the light I 1 have I 1 must stand with anyone who stands right stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong 4 to develop the precept and example a man intelligent aggressive and serviceable citizenship in 1832 when at the age of 23 he be ran for the legislature much of his earn campaigning paig pai ning gning was made on the need of education uca tion because it was a most important factor in creating a loyal righteous citizenship that he be sought opportunities of service is evidenced in every stage of his life mid and finds find eap exp expression res slon in his declared desire to be remembered as one who had ever r planted flowers where he be had bad fo found und thorns growing with all his gentleness he was aggressive in his citizenship when he believed himself to be right against the wishes of his friends and political advisors in his debate with douglas he declared this nation cannot exist halt half slave and halt half tree free A house divided against itself cannot stand that speech lost him the united states but it made him president and gave us the great emancipator and the world its ideal ruler rulef 5 to provide a practical means to form enduring friendship to render altruistic 1 service and build a better community here we have time only to cite the fact that his capacity for friendship was never failing while in washington never were his old friends from the illinois made to feel that high public position had made a gulf between him and the humblest of men it was that I 1 had almost said divine friendliness that rad radiated from his very face that made mad e that mother whom he had befriended say mr lincoln you are the handsomest man I 1 have ever seen 1 and that spirit will ever lend lead to altruistic service of which his bis life was full and will furnish a finer foundation tor for the best community life 6 to cooperate co operate in maintaining that sound publio public opinion and high idealism which make possible the increase of righteousness justice and good will he believed that the common sense public opinion of the people would be always right and always ultimately prevail it is here we find him Ort standing anding with anybody that stands right and saying so not only does he declare for freedom and the union but tor for law and order temperance and the ultimate destruction of that vice and the le legion gion traffic its feeder for the sanctity of the and the name of god the rights of labor and of the common people and loyal unfaltering support lort of the constitution of the united states thus do we fan find d at every step that the words and the deeds of abraham lincoln coincide with the ideals of he be Is our ideal in loyal devotion to the ideal of free government flags wave bands play shouts are raised and the orator proclaims the greatness of americas patron saint but of what avail Is all this if we ourselves do not carry into our public and anda private ire ife as neighbors in the community L 0 unity and citizens of a free golem government th his is ide ideals a we so loudly applaud awl ww arh |