Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1860-08-02
Abraham Lincoln.

| 1he Hon. Richard ateS, Repu0llcan
candidate for Governor in ILL.,, addressed
mass meeting at Springfield, the home
of Lincoln, on the 7th inst. We regret
that we have not room TO copy the whole
of his speech, which was lucid and forci-
bic exposition of Republican principles; !;
but we extract from it the following pas
sage relative 10 Mr.. Lincoln.
"Now, fellow citizens, it may strike you
a rather strange matter that the people
of so great nation as this should come
to Illinois for its President, that the mighty
Republican party should look to this far
away Prairie State for its Standard bearer
in such momentous contest. Yet, | say
here to-day, that have heard the great
men of this nation, North and Sonth,
East and West, for four consecutive years
in the Hall of the House of Representa-
tives, and in the Senate of the United
States; l have heard the Stephens and
Toombs of the South, the Stewards, Cha
ses and Corwins of the North; l have
the most renowned orators on the floor of
this Senate and House, daily for years; l
say here to-day that for clearness of state
ment, for penetrating of thought for pow
er of irresistible logic, for broad, compre-
hensive, statemanlike views, for exalted pu-
rity of private and public character, your
own Abraham Lincoln is the clearest, no.
blest and purest of them all. In the his
tory of his life-in all the elements which
inspire with enthusiasm the hearts of the
masses of mankind, and rouse the millions
TO action, l stand up here to-day, in this
the capital of the State, and in the pres
eDce of my countrymeu, to say that the
name of Abraham Lincoln is this day and
hour the mightiest name upon the CONT
nent of North America. prolonged
cheers.
my friend Green, who introduced me,
told the first time he ever saw Lincoln, he
was in the Sangamon River with his pants
rolled up some five feet more or less, try
ing to pilot fiat boat over mill-dam.-
Lincoln finally contrived to get her PROV
over, so that it projected a few feet, and
there it stood. But he then invented a
new way of bailing flat boat. He bored a
hole through the bottom of the projecting
PROV to let the water run out, and then
she launched right over. Great laughter)
l think the Captain who proved himself
so fitted to navigate the broadhorn over
the dam, is no doubt the man who is TO
stand upon the deck of the old ship; "the
Constitution" and guide her safely over
the pillows and brakers that surround her.
Enthusiastic and prolonged applause.
81 said Lincoln was once poor boy
And yet it is nothing!. Is there no lesson
in his life TO you fellow citizens? Is not
his example and his achievements lesson
to the hopeful And will you blame the
people if they love their own. He is the
best friend of labor, who himself has labor
ed. He can best sympathize with the
people in their wants. Is the story of his
life nothing? He is the representative of
the great idea of the Republican party
labor-tree labor. The representative of
the genius Of our free institutions. A
boy, the son of poor parents, himself poor
begins life unaided, save by his own indus
try and genious, struggles on, advancing
step by step, through many years of pa
tient and earnest endeavor, until he rises
to TINT proudest of all humane elevations,
the Presidency of the United States.
"What an example here is for our chill
dren. Hereafter, the poor boy who fol-
lows him in his history as he leaves the
State of Kentucky at the age of six years
and grows up in Indiana, laboring faithfully
with his hands, going to Illinois and work
ing on step by step, until he becomes the
mighty statesman and honered chief of
thirty millions of freemen-as the poor
boy of future years reads the story, he will
feel strange emotions in his breast and de-
termine to emulate the example of the no
bic Lincoln. (Cheers.) The poor boy,
the poorest of you, though his parents may
be humble, though he may have to face
the colds of Winter, and the Summers
sui, however poor he may be, in this land
Of freedom, where the avenues to office
and success are open to all, he can point
to Abraham Lincoln straighten himself up
and say, 81 have the same right and the
same opportunity to be President as any
other boy"
"Fellow citizens, the name of Abraham
Lincoln, which we present to you, is a
winning name-a name to rally on when
ever you would point to an honest man or
patriot-a name TO love whenever affec-
ton would seek warm-hearted and gener-
Gus spirit-a name which is a spell to
gather millions wherever free hearts and
strong hands are to be summoned in favor
of liberty and humanity" tremendous
applause.9