Arizona weekly citizen., 1881-10-02
LINCOLN AND GARFIELD.

| mere IS much Tn the hveS or Lincoln
 and Garfield to remind us of similarity
 h many phases of their lives they were
 almost identical. It is common ex-
 precision among all classes, and especial
 ly amongst writers, to say that -they
 sprang from common origin" This is
 mistaken idea. Under our system of
 Government we recognize the superiori-
 ty of no class or creed, and titles are
 things we read about as existing in other
 lands, but which we do not possess;
 therefore, we take the ground that in
 such cases they did not "spring from
 common origin" and that the expression
 is libel on our humanity. The parents
 of Lincoln and Garfield common peo-
 pie !! If they were common people what
 might we not expect from higher stand
 ard ? They may have been poor, so far
 as this worlds goods were concerned,
 but they were rich in the germs which
 produce great and good men. They did
 not "spring from common origin" but
 from noble parentage. Their life work
 proved it; and we hope the time is at
 hand when the American people
 will recognize it and cease re-
 beating such senseless expressions
 which are at variance with
 our system of government and the
 teachings of our institutions.
 
 The early life of Lincoln has its coun- terpart in that of Garfield; the only diff ference We can observe was the differ ence in time and the difference in the general advancement in the State of Illinois when Lincoln was a lad. and the more advanced state of Ohio some thirty years later, when Garfield was with bis mother at the old homestead in the woods of Cayuhoga county. Lincoln struggled on through the early years of his life without schools and without teacher, reading everything he could lay his hands upon, seeking knowl- edge and self-education through diff culties which would have disheart- ened one less courageous and deter mined. Garfield, while no better of financially than Lincoln, found his State further advanced, and the school system of Ohio, which has grown to | such perfection, had already began to bear good fruit. The stout, broad | ches.ed, intelligent boy of Cayuhoga, | by the aid of his noble mother and his l elder brother, supplemented by his own | efforts, managed to attend the country | schools of his district during the winter | season, and, like Lincoln, worked at ! anything that he could find to do dur 1 ing Ehe summer season, and was al- | ways alert for the acquisition of | knowledge wherever it was to be found. | Lincoln fought his way single handed, | and by constant industry and study ob- taining a practical education without | tho aid of schools or teacher, which with l the help of broad and comprehensive | mind was constantly being added to and | enriched through life. Garfield more | fortunate, had the aid of local schools | and district institute to prepare him for college, where he graduated with the | highest honors. But had he never seen l the inside of a school house, he would | have become a noted man in the history | of our country. It may have come later in life, but it would have come. It mat ters not what in conditions of life such men are born, they are sure to come to the surface, and though reared in poverty and obscurity they will sur mount all obstacles, and sooner or later take their places in the most advanced column, and continue to gain strength as they move on through the various stages of life until they are assigned to to the highest and most trustworthy positions in the gift of the people.
 Lincoln possessed master spirit, and when we consider that his knowledge was obtained through his own efforts and it was simply marvellous. He was man of parts, and having served his country through the most eventful period of our history with such marked ability, his name will be handed down in the pages of history as "one of the greatest and the best" Not only was he statesman of the first order, but he was an orator who had few equals, His oration at the battle field of Gettysburg, for breyity and pathos, stands alone in the history of our country.
 Garfield. with greater advantages, was enabled to acquire more thorough knowledge of literature and statescraft, and, with the exception of Lincoln, he was the ablest man who has occupied the Presidential chair since the organi- zation of our Government, and his tragic death is next to that of Abraham Lin coln, the most lamentable event in Amer lcan history.