The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1879-06-05

IICin Siaiico cui-IESi, urging tiiC iAO-
fessor to yield to inevitable destiny, and
induced the vice president, 1fr. Hamlin,
to accompany ne TO the Smithsonian.
he was oz-ofioio president Of The board
of trustees.
"Why, now, see here" said the chief
of the Smithsonian, ''this application is
the widest thing I ever heard of. /
mean no offence when I characterize it
as preposterous. This institution is not
political, and it simply won't DO to have
the hall used for appeals against the in
stitution of slavery"
eve have already" said Mr. Hamlin.
assuming tb first person to emphasize
MS advocacy of orr scheme, "fsold tickets
to more persons than any other hall in
Washington Will hold
81 am sorry, am sure, but l cannot
help it," said the professor.
Nobody can help it," retorted Mr..
Hamlin, with triumphant accent, "and
we must have this hall for our audi
ence."
"Nhat are these persons going to talk
about!" asked the professor, after a
thoughtful pause, turning to me.
About the war and how to end it," 1
replied.
eff We could only end it without any
more bIoodshedl'' said he. ''What are
they going to suggest"
81 do not know" said I. 'Hrhey have
carte blanche, they are well known pub
licists, and win say what they please"
THAT is dangerous at any time-for
every man to PROFOUND his half-consider-
ed theories" :"
''Do you not permit your scientific lee
turers to express their own opinions!" I
asked.
Never! God forbid" he exclaimed.
''They cannot speak here unless they ex-
press conclusions which agree with those
that have been established by other SCI
entiic men,"
'How il the world, I inquired, 'can
you know in advance whether what they
will say does agree with what has been
established, as you call it?"
''W'e ask them, he said, frankly, "and
if there remains any doubt about it, we
require them first to read their lectures
to us in private, and if it does not seem
justified by deductive reasoning, we do
not let them speak"
II should think you would run the
risk of dIscarding some valuable new dis
coveries," limited.
Soon after, we Withdrew; and as we
went out, Mr.. Hamlin threw behind him
the Parthian arrow: s'By the way, pro-
fessor, Mr. Lincoln wished me to tell you
that you had better let them have the
hall"
[ never know what influence had NOV
ed him, but next day Mr. Pierpont got a
letter from the professor conceding the
hall for our uses, if we would be careful
to exclude call inflammatory harangues.
And we did!
And the Swamp City" was educated
through those lectures that winter more
than in the previous fifty years.
[ wonder if Henry lived long enough
to be glad slavery was dead?
On the evening that Horace Greeley
lec5ured, President Lincoln was present
on the platform, fanked by Secretary
Stanton, Secretary Chase, and Secretary
Wellcs. It was an evening to remember
Greeley turned to Lincoln and besought
him to seize the opportunity and abolish
slavery by proclamation-''N when
emancipation would be a sword in the na-
TONS right hand,'
II have never heard Greeley speak be.
fore, said Mr.. Lincoln to those about
him, after the lecture. "How terribly in
earnest he is! Every word weighs toni"
As we passed into the little reception
room IN the rear of the stage, 10. there
was Professor Henry sitting in a chair
close to the half-open door, hearing
every word.
why, professor" laughed the presi-
dent, 81 thought you didn't atted these
lectures!' And then he told Greeley
and Chase about the reluctance have
spoken OF.
These seem to be revolutionary times,
said Henry, but 1 can't reyolve as fast
as some of you
He reminds me, said the president to
Mr.. Greeley, while the professor and the
others leaned forward to listen, .of those
three fellows that tried to row down the
Kaskaskia one dark night, from Keys
port to Carlyle. They rowed as hard as
they could. being really industrious fell
lows, like Henry here, and they spelled
each other, and they sang songs that
made the woods ring, and they steereG
some of the time by the shadow on shore,
and some of the time by the stars, like
Henry here, and when morning dawned
so they could fairly see, they were amaz-
ed to find themselves still at keysport-
| they had forgot to unite the boat"
| The ante-room rang with laughter at
the expense of the conservative professor
of the physical sciences, vino took it ex-
ceedingly well.
On New Years day, twelve months lat
/ er, Mr.. Lincoln issued his emancipation
| proclamation. showing, at least, that his
boat wasn't hitehed to the shore.
And now, almost all of those men are
/ dead-Lincoin, Stanton, Chase, Welles,
Pierpont, Sumner, Greeley, L6vejoy,
and, last, Henry. Not one of them alive
except Hamhn, who Il saw him recently
in Washington is as spry as a cricket, as
bright and radical as ever, and apparent
ly as full OF vitality as he was during
those battie-years