Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1860-08-03
A RA1L-sPLrrrER ON LINCOLN

John Hanks, Dir. LiDcoln's partner in split
ting rails, fiat boating, &C., has announced hi
intention to vote for his old friend, though h,
has always heretofore voted the Democrat.
ticket. In the course Of long letter to III.
Decatgr Chron,cle, Mr.. Hanks says;
when we have for years been opposed in
poleics, to man who has again aud again seen
bis party defeated, aud has himself sometimes
faiied' and still seen that man true to his colors,
re-afming and re-enteriDg the field to try to
uPaoid and successfully plant his colors upon
Inc SIDE OF victory, wheo all the time he knew
ne DAD but to change once TO win, and yet has
never Changed, think | may say never salter-
ed, how are We to respect him? Such man
have known Mr.. Lincoln for thirty years to be.
In boYhood days We toiled together, many are
the days we have lugged the heavy oar on the
Onlo, The Illinois, and the Mississppi rivers
together many the long, cold days We
nave lourneyed oVef the wild praires and
through the forest, With gun aud ok, and
lnoneh i Is net pleasant TO refer back to it.
We'll do 1 remember when we set out together
10 tue cold winter to cut aud maui rails on the
oangamon river, 10 Macon county, thirty years
age, 70 Inelose bis fathers little home, and
irom day to day kept at work until the whole
vas finished and the homestead fenced iu /; we
often swapped work n this way, and yet during
Inc many years We were connected together as
labeters, sometimes fat-boating, sometimes
rail- making, aud, too, when it was nearly i'm
PossiDie to get books, he was constant read
or Twas a listener: he settled all disputes of
ali young men in the neigbborhood, and his
decisions were always abided by. | never
knew man so honest uuder ali circumstances
for his whole life.
thus associated with DIR. Lincoln, learned
to l9Fe him aud when iu 1858 he was can.
dldate for the first time within my reach,
against my feelings, and / may say against my
convictions, my old party ties induced me to
vote for Mr.. Douglas. My Democratic friends
all declared Lincoln was an AboItiouist |
heard blm make speech in Decatur just be-
fore The election, aud | could see nothing bad
10 II; but / was told by the party be was
EEoQsls lsaAiu ucenld not aeshow he could be, but
they SAID so. aud was Democrat and went
It, My wife used to say to me that some day
Abe would come out and be something /
thought SO too, but could not exactly see
how man in the lower walks of life, day
laborer, aud hopelcsSly poor, would ever stand
much chance to get up very high the world; !;
at last, one day at home, we heard that the
Republican State Convention was 10 be held at
Decatur, and that they were going for Ale for
President.
GAS soon as found tins out, went into
town and told friend of A5a's that as great
aud honest merit was at last to be rewarded in
the person of my friend Mr.. Lincoln, by the
Republican party, thought of tbe hard and
trying struggles Of his early days, and recol-
lecing the rails We had made together thirty
years ago, made up my mud to present some
of them to that Convention as testimonial of
the beginning of one of the greatest living men
of the age, believing they would speak more
lu his praise than any orator could, ard honor
true labor more than the praise OF men or the
resolutions of Conventions. On our way to
get the rails, told this friend of Old Abe
that il Abe should be nominated for President
/ would vote for him. everybody knows what
he has been, and | rejoice that live to give
this testimony to his goodness aad honesty, and
| hope shall live to vote for him for Pres-
dent of the United States next November.-
Is there anything wrong in this Who ought
to refuse to vote for as good aud as great
msn as be is 2 know that in voting for him
vote with the Republican party, and will be
considered as adopting its principles; as | now
understand them sec no gooa reason why |
may not do so our own party Is divided, aud
we have no Solomon to tell who shall take the
child"