The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-17
Lincoln on the Night of His Election.

Lincoln on the Night of His Election.
In the January Century is described the
secret history of Lincoln's Cabinet There
is distinguished authority for the state
ment that the work of framing the new
Cabinet was mainly performed on the even
ing of the Presidential election. After the
polls were closed on the 9th of November
$50 Mr. Lincoln related a year or two later,
the superintendent of the telegraph at
Springfield invited him to come and remain
in his office and read the dispatches as they
should come in. He accepted the offer; and,
reporting himself in due Tina at the tele-
graph office, from which all other visitors
were excluded at 9 o'clock, awaited the re-
suit of the eventful day. Soon the tele-
grams came thick and fast, first from the
neighboring precincts and counties; then
frbm the great Western cities, Chicago, st.
Louis, Cincinnati, and finally from The
capitals of the doubtful States, Indiana,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the Empire State
of New York. Here in this little room, in
the company of two or three silent opera
tors moving about their mysteriously click
ing instruments, and recording with lmper
turbable gravity the swift-throbbing mes
sages from near and far, Mr.. Lincoln read
the reports as they came in, first in vague
and fragmentary driblets, and later in the
rising and swelling stream of cheering news.
There was never a nicer or closer calcula-
tor of political probabilities than himself.
He was emphatically at home among cleo
ton figures ALI his political life he had
scanned tables of returns with as much
care and accuracy as he analysed and scru-
tiniZed maxims of government or plat
forms of parties. Now, as formerly, he
was familiar with all the turning points in
contested counties and close districts, and
knew by heart the value of each and every
local loss or gain and its relation to the
grand result. In past years, at the close of
many a hot campaign he had searched out
the comfort of victory from discourag
ing and adverse looking column of figures,
or correctly read the fatal omen of defeat in
some fragmentary announcement from
precinct or county. Silently, as they were
transcribed, the operators handed him the
messages, which he laid on his knee while
he adjusted his spectacleS, and then read
and re-read several times with elaboration
He had not long t. wait for Indications
From a scattering beginning, made up of
encouraging local fragments, the hopeful
news rose to almost uninterrupted tidings
of victory Soon a shower of cOngraLula-
tory kilograms fell from the wires, and
while his partisans and friends from all
parts of the country were thus shaking
hands with him by lightning over the re-
sult he could hear the shouts and speeches
of his Springfield followers, gathered in the
great hall of the State-house across the
Street, and fairly making that building
shake with their rejoicings.
"Of course his first emotions were those
of kindling pleasure and pride at the
sweeping completeness Of his success But
this was only momentary glow. He was
indeed President-elect; but with that con-
seriousness there fell upon him the appalling
shadow of his mighty task and response
bilitv. It seemed as if h. suddenly bore
the whole world upon his shoulders; and
could not shake it off and sitting there in
the vet early watches of the night, he read
the still-coming kilograms in sort of alb
sent-minded mechanical routine, while his
inner man took up the crush ng burden of
his country's troubles, and traced out the
laborious path of coming duties. When
finally babe my friends goodnight and left
that room said Lincoln, i had substantially
completed the framework of my Cabinet as
it now exists
"If the grouping and combining of the
new Presidents intended counselors occur
red at this time, it is no less true that some
of them wereselected at much earlier date.
In the meantime no one was informed OF
his intentions in this regard. For full
month after the election he gave no intima-
tion whatever of his purpose"