St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1864-04-14
THE PERSONAL CHARACTER OF
''''< - MIR. LINCOLN. !5ii*4: i
itSSE !ltitt fI'5$ .5tFt - .5tEI8t El5tE
Remarks of Mr.. Arnold in the House
h!'& nH;of Representatives. ;g +

--f.. .iyf<tf+ ,s, .,-.,...
In the co1rsc ,ot an elaborate and abIce'
speech On the question Of reconstruction,
delivered ii The House OF Representatives
on the III inst, b1r. Arnold, Of Illinois,
spoke in this wise Of the personal charac-
ter Of Mr., Lincoln ,.-.., .f
"Let us see what had been lis previous
training for his great work II was not the
training Of the schools - it was better 1t
was a struggle with difficulties among the
people. He had the foundation of perfect
integrity, truth, candor, sob,iety, selfco
troll, self reliance, nedcsty. With clear
knowledge of human nature. he is the most
single term in Congress, but his education,
his preparation was among the people,
ia humble aid ho:Eely POSITIONS; /. fat
boatman, q rail splitter, u surveyor, mem
Der of the Legislature in frontier .Srate,.-a
lawyer in the log houses Of the West
Willie he had no university schooling, few,
if any, have llai better training to devel-
op and strengthenshis intellectual POWERS
than. he. This may scem strange :but let
ne explain, and its truth will, think, be.
conceded. .:''' j.. ''''t
u .'!le}was train at the bar,ls~a scaoo,,
where giants We're his 7eompe,ilors, and h he.
bore off the crown = = '''0
':sene twenty years ago there gathered
around ihe plain pine. tables Of the frontier
cyprt houses of Illinois very remarkable
ccr hinat;on of men. Among them, and
conccdedly their leader, was Abraham Lin
coin; Stephen A. Douglas, his great polit
ical rival; Lyman TrumDull, chairman Of
the Judiciary Committee OF the Senate; X.
d. Baker, the able, the eloquent senator,
soldier, and martyr to liberty; General
James Shields, who won high reputation
at Washington and On the battlehelds of
Mexico; General John J. liar in, an able
and eloquent lawyer, who fell on the body
field of Buena Vista; James n. Mcpugal,
the preseut senator from California Will
liam "A. Richardson, present senator from
Illinois, and General John A. McClcrnand.
now in the field Besides these was the
late Govconor Bissel1. whose manly vindi-
cation Of the bravery of the Illinois yolun
teers in Mexico against the aspcrsicns OF
jefferson Davis will be we'll remembered;
vindication which resulted in a challenge
from the traitor Davis, which was accepted
y.
down, it is said, under the advice of Gen
eral Taylor These men OF national repu-
tation. and others equally able, but whose
pursuits have been confined at home, were
the competitors with Lincoln. These were
the men in contest with whom Abraham
Lincoln Yasirained sfcr the terrible. or deal.
through which he is passing. -: 49,:
81 The contest between Lincoln and Doug
las, in 1858, was the most remarkable in
American history. They were the acs nowl-
edged leaders, each of his party. Both,
men of great and marked individuality of
character. The prize was the Senatorship
Of the great State of Illinois, and the sue
cess of the Republican or Democratic par
ty. Douglas had the additional stimu'a ant
of the Presidency in view. These trained
leaders met, at designated places. and in
the presence Of immense crowds Of people
debated the questions at issue. ="
douglas went through his carpcign
like conquering hero. He had his special
tram of cars; his baad Of music, his body
guard of devoted friends, cannon carried
on the train, the firing of which an
nounced his approach to the place of meet
ing. Such canvass involved, necessarily,
very large expenditures, and it has been
said Douglas did not expeni less than $780,
OOO in this canvass. S,)me idea of the
plain, simple, frugal habits of Mr.. Lincoln
may be gathered, when. I tell you tha. at
its close, having occrpied several months.
Mr.: Lincoln said. with the idea, apparently,
that he had been somewhat eA1ravag CANT,
4 do not believe that I have spent cent
less than five hundred dollars in this can
yass.'': -
Mr.. Arnold sketched the soene at tnc in
auguration Of MIR. Lincoln, rapidly review
ed the condition of the coun ~ at the out
break of the rebellion, and Continued as
follows:
''However others have doubted and hcsi
tated, Mr.. Lincolns faith in the success
of our cause has never been shaken He
has been radical in all, that concerns sla-
very, and conservative il all that relates to
liberty. d .~s s.
His course upon the slavery question
has shown his love Of freedom, his sagaci-
ty and his wisdom. From the beginning
he has believed that the rebellion would
dig the grave of slavery. lie has allowed
the suicide of slavery to be consummatea
by the Shareholders themselves. Many
have blamed him for going too fast in his
anti-slavery measures, more,' i think, have
blamed him for, going too slow, of which
have been one. History will perhaps give
him CT edit for acting With great and wise
discretion. The calm, intelligent, philo-
sophie abolitionists of the old world, uhin-
auenced by the passions which surround
and color our judgments, send across the
ocean congratulation and admiration on
tie success and wisdom of his course.
The three leading features of his adminis
tration on the subject of slavery we're: he
Il. His proclamation Of emancipation,
III ''2. The employment Of negroes IS sol
diers. - t5vf .,~1t-o, s...,-...5.. VI
"3, The amnesty proclaMationn =: making
liberty the o6rner-stone of reconstruction
TheEmancipation proclamation wilfli
IN history as one Of those great events
which measure the advance of the world
The historian will ,rSaik it along side with
the acquisition of magma ,chQrta and the
Declarati ion Of Independence. This great
state paper was issued after the most care
full and anxious reflection, and concludes
with these solemn wcEds4; 'And upon this
act, sincerely believed to be al act of JUS
tice, warranted by The Constitution and mil
itarys necessity, invoke the considerable
judgment Of. mankind and the gracious fa-
vorief Almighty God. .'4;H5E yrEIsIsa:ss
:..'The considerase judgment of mankind,
on both sides Of the ocean,, have already
arprovedit, and God has seemed to favor
it With series of victories TO- our arms
never witnessed before its issue-a, series
Of victories, for which We are more 1ndebt-
ed to the Presidentgt than ! ny other man. .
Mr. Arnold has enjoyed the intimate ac-