The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-10-29

| table, the apartment containing no
seats save rude, rough benches-such
men as Douglas, the silver-teBgued
| Baker, Trumbull, and Browning, and
| Shields, and Harding, and Bissell-
the men who followed the Circuit
! Courts Of Illinois; and among whom
| Mr.. Lincoln was the foremost man.
TO Douglas more than to any other
man was Abraham Lincoln indebted
| for his greatness and his fame They
Were. the, lea ders of their respective
[ parties and had met long before 1888.
In 1910 Lincoln and Douglas were
stumping Illinois, and in the course
Of 5hescanvass Mr.. Douglas charged
that thezWhigs were in favor of negro
suffrage. Mr.. lincoln replied that
such "a charge came with bad grace
/ froma man whose candidate for the
Presidency-Mr Van Buren-was in
favor of the very same thing, quoting
in proof his assertion from Holland 5
Life of Van Buren,. Douglas retOrted
! fercely that it was false, aud that
| Holland was Wing libeler. Mr.
Lincoln got friend to address a note
ito Mr.. Van Buren,, requesting infor-
nation on the point. Mr.. Van Buren,
l. 4SpliO0 I1bb IL ndS II nCs4 DOuSActS
again repeated the charge in the
presence of Lincoln, and Douglas
again Indignantly reiterated the
assertion of its falsity, when
Mr. Lincoln read Van Buren's
note. Lincoln never made state
ment which he did not know to be
true. In 1858 Douglas came home
to seek reelection, and Lincoln by
his party for the Senate. Douglas
was one of the most accomplished de-
baters In the country. He had met
Davis, Cass, Benton, and, more re-
Gently, Chase, and Sumner, and Sew
ard, and had rarely been discounted.
His style was confident, vigorous and
aggressive Lincoln was deeply in
earnest; he was ever candid, cool,
courteous and eloquent; and it
was wonderful how, in these dis
cussi0ns, as In every act OF his
! life, he impressed the people with
truthfulness and frmness. Every
one felt, after hearing him, with the
honest Quaker, who said, :" Doubt
less Aiming hty God might have made
a nobler man than Abraham Lin
iceln,i but doubtless he never did.
In this canvass, the people learned
hiss wonderful manner of putting
things which. enabled him as a
writer and speaker to exercise a larger
influence on publicjopinion than any
i0ther American. douglas travelled
in state in the canvass carriages and
,corteges, and music and banners,
spending,it was said, half his for
tune.. Lincoln's expenses did not
amount to more than $500. Speaking
of the bred Scott decision, Mr.. Lin
coin in his quiet way said 1t is
strange that while our courts uniform
lydecide that if a mans property is
stolen, he may take it wherever he
finds it, yet if a man is stolen he in
stantly loses his right to himself" MIR.
Arnold then alluded to the first inaE-
guration of Dir. Lincoln, when he adj
dressed loving wordsfof peace to the
throng of secessionists who surrounded
him,and who held the high places in
the land. The war came, and while it
lasted, though he was slow to learn,
he felt that he was merely an instru-
ment in the hands of Providence, for |
the great ends, he felt the injustice of
Slavery, and that God would never
permit the Rebels to succeed. The
Proclamation of Emancipation was
next alluded to, and the noble words
of Owen Lovejoy on that occasion. !
The dedication of the Vicksburg GEM
etry next received the attention of
the lecturer, and the address of Ed
ward Everett; and then the. second
Inauguration of Mr.. Lincoln, when !
the scene was so changed, peace Sc
cured and the Rebellion at an end.
Specializing, at the close Of the lee !
ture, which lasted over an hodry on
the probable course Mr.. Lincoln !
would have pursued in the Recon-
struction policy, Mr., Arnold said
past life, and we " may yq feel e s6 int
that under his administration wei
would see traitors in the back seats
and loyal men in the front ones: ZAP
nfausa ''' go