Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1882-02-28
lasting enmity. He believed with equal con-
fidence that an essential forerunner to new

era of national progress must be feeling OF
contentment in every section of the Union.
and generous belief that the benefits and
burdens of government would be common to
ALL Himself conspicuous illustration of
what ability and ambition may do under re-
publican institutions, he loved his country
with q passion of patriotic devotion. and
every waking thought was given to her ad-
vapcement He was an American in all his
aspirations. and he looked TO the destiny and
influence of the United States with the philo-
osophic composure OF Jefferson and the dem
illustrative confidence Of John Adams.
The political events which disturbed the
Presidents serenity for msnv weeks before
THAT fatal day in July, form an important
chapter in his career. and, in his own Jud2-
ment, involved questions Of principle and of
right which are vitality essential to the con-
stitutional administration Of the Federal Gov
eminent It would be out Of place here and
now to speak the language of controversy !;
but the events referred to, however they may
continue to be source Of contention with
Others have become, 30 far "a GARFIELD -
concerned. a. much matter Of history "a his
beroism at Chickamauga or his illnstrious
service in the House. Detail is not needful.
and personal antagonism shall not be re-
kjn1led bv any word uttered today. The
motives of those opposing him are not to be
here adversely interpreted nor their course
harsbly characterized But Of the dead Pres
ident this is to be said, and said because his
own speech il forever slenced and he can be
no more heard except through the fidelity
and the love of surviving friends: From the
beginning 10 the end of the controversy ne so
much deplored, the President was never for
one moment actuated by any motive Of gain
10 himself or Of loss to others. Least of all
men did he harbOr revenge, rarely did he
even show resentment and malice was not in
his nature. He was congenially employed
only in the exchange of good Offices and the
doing Of kindly deeds.
There was not an hour, from the beginning
Of the trouble till the fatal shot entered his
body. when the President would not gladly
for the sake OF restoring harmony, have re-
traced any step he had taken If such retrac-
ing had merely involved consequences per-
sonal to himself. The pride of consistency.
or any supposed sense of humiliation that
might result from surrcndering his position,
had not a feathers weight with him. No man
was ever less subject to such influences from
within or from without. But after most
anxious dellberation and the coolest survey
of all the circumstances. he solemnly beliey-
ell that the true prerogatives of the Executive
were involved in the issue which had been
raised. and that he would be unfaithful to his
supreme obligation if he failed to maintain. in
all their vigor the constitutional rights and
dignities Of his great office. He believed
this in all the convictions of conscience when
in sound and vigorous health, and he believed
il in his suffering and prostration in the last
conscious thought which his wearied mind
bestowed on the transitory struggles of life.
More than this need not be said Less than
this could not he said. Justice to the dead.
the highest obligation that devolves upon the
living demands the declaration that in all the
bearings Of the subject, actual or possible,
the President was content in his mind, justi-
fed in his conscience, immovable in his
conclusions.
The religious element in Garfield's charac-
ter was deep and earnest. In his early youth
he espoused the faith of the Disciples. a sect
Of that great Baptist Communion, which in
different ecclesiastical establishments is so
numerous and so influential throughout all
parts of the United States. But the broad
cning tendency of his mind and his active
spirit OF inquiry were early apparent and
carried him beyond the dogmas of sect and
the restraints of association. In selecting a
college in which to continue his education he
rejected Bethany, though presided over by
Alexander Campbell, the greatest preacher OF
his church His reasons were characteristic
first, that Bethany leaned too heavily toward
slavery; and. second, that being himself y
Disciple and the son of Disciple parents. he
had little acquaintance with people of other
beliefs and he thought it would make hin
more liberal quoting his own words, both in
his religious and general views to 90 into q
new circle and be under new Influences.
The liberal tendency which he anticipated
as the result of wider culture fully real
lied. He was emancipated from mere
Hi &c ,tl
pushed his investigation in the direction OF
modern progressive thought, He followed
with quickening step in the paths of explora
ton and speculation so fearlessly trodden by
Darwin, by Huxley. by Tyndall and bv other
living scientists of the radical and advanced
type. His own church. binding its disciples
by no formulated creed, but accepting the
Old and New Testaments AS the word of God
with unbiased liberty ofprivate Interpretation
favored. If it did not stimulate. the spirit OF
Investigation. Its members profess with
sincerity, and profess only. to be of one mind
and one faith with those who immediatel,
followed the Master, and who were first called
Christians at Antioch.
But however high Garfield reasoned o
''fixed fate. free will .torckuowledy &c absolute, 81
he was never separated from the Church o.
the Disciples in his affections and in his
covenant. To him it was the gate of Heaven
The world of religious belief il full o.
soleeisms and contradictions. A philosophi,
observer declares that men by the Thousand
will die in defense of a creed whose doctrine,
they do not comprehend and whose tenet.
they habitually violate. 1t is equally true
that men by the thousand will cling to churcl
organizations with instructive and undying
fidelity when their belief in maturer years is
radically different from that which inspired
them rs neophytes.
But after this range of speculation, and
this latitude of doubt. Garfield came back
always with freshness and delight to the
simpler instincts of religious faith. which.
earliest planted. longest survive. Not many
weeks before his assassination. walking on
the banks of the Potomac with friend, and
conversing on those topics of personal
religion, concerning which noble natures
have an unconquerable reserve, he said that
he found the Lords Prayer and the simple
petition learned in infancy infinitely restful
to him. not merely in their stated repetition,
but in their casual and frequent recall be
went about the daily duties of life. Certain
texts of scripture had very strong hold on his
memory and his heart. He heard. while in
Edinburgh some years ago, an eminen,
Scotch preacher who prefaced his sermon