Daily Republican., 1890-01-01

LINCOLN AND HIS BRoTBER.
The two following letters were written
by Abraham Lincoln about ten years be-
lore he became President, TO his shiftlcss
John johnson, whom he had
vainly tried to assist. They show how
memorable and masterfui, IS well a.
ganerouS we're the relations that Mr..
Lincoln held to these friends and com
panions OF his childhood:
"DEAR JOHNSON: Your request Tor
eighty dollars do not think II best to
comply with now. At the various times
when l have helped you little, you have
said to me, We can get along very we'll
now but In very short time ] tind you
In the samo difficulty again. Now this
can only happen by some defect In your
conduct. What that defect Ia think |
know. Sou are not lazy and still you ara
an idler. doubt whether, since saw
sou. you have done good whole days
work In any one day. You do not very
much dislike to work, and still you do
not work much. merely because IL does
not seem 20 you that you could get much
for II. Thia habit OF useleasly wasting
time 10 tho whole difficulty, aud 1t Ia
vastly important to you, aud still mo re
so to yonr children, that you should
break the habit. II 10 more important
to them because they have longer 10 live,
aud can keep out OF an Idle habit before
they are in IL easier than they can get
out after they arc iu.
'You arc now in need of some money
and what propose 10 that you shall 20
to work tooth aud nail for som cbody
who will give you money TOR IL. Lot
father aud your boys take charge OF
things at home, prepare for q crop, and
make the crop; and you go to work for
tho best money wages, or In discharge Of
any debt you owe, that you can get; and
to secure fair reward for your labor,
now promise you that for every dollar
you will, between this aud the first OF
next Nav, get Tor your own labor, either
In money or Is disrhsrging your own In
debieiness, | will then give you one
other dollar. By thls, If you hire your
self Al ten dollars month, from me you
will get ten more, making twenty dollars
q month for your work. In this do not
mean that you shall go of to st. Louis
or the lead mines, or the gold mines Of
Californs; but mean for you to 90 al
1t for the best wages you can get close Ia
home, In Coles county. Now, II you will
do this you will soon be out Of debt. and,
WnaL 10 UttttT, yOu VIII HhNO u uhDll tudl
will keep Jon from getting In debt again
But II l should now clear you out o.
debt, next year you would he Just a,
deep in rs ever. You say you woult
almost give your place In heaven iol
seventy or eighty dollaas. Then 20,
would value your place in heaven very
cheap, for am sure you can, with til,
duer make, get the seventy or eighty
dollars Tor four or five months work.
you say II | will furnish you tn,
money you will deed me the land, aud 1
you don't pay the money back you will
deliver possession. Nonsense. IL yoJ
can't live now with the land, how will
you then live without IN You have oil
ways been kind to me, and | do not meat
to be nnkind to you. On the contrary,
You will but follow my advice, you viii
mud 1t worth more than eighty timel
eighty dollars to you"
Here Ia later episile, still more graph,
aud terse in statement, which has th,
unusual merit OF pointing both coniessq
and pen tent to the life:
| sHELBYNILLE, Nov. 4, 1851.
| .'DEAR BROTHER: When ] came lntt
Charleston, day bo'orc yesterday,
| learned tnat you are anxious to sell tllt
land where you live and move to Mit
souri,. have been thinking OF this eyel
since. and cannot but think such notidI
Is utterly foolish. What csn yon do 4
| Missouri better than here? Is the lane
any richerl Can you there, any mot,
than here, raise corn and wheat and oail
without work. VIII auyt ody here, All,
more than here, do your work Tor yoil.
IL you intend to go to work. there is Nc
better place thin right where you are; il
you do not intend 10 go to work, you
cannot get along anywhere. Squirmi,Ig
aud crawling about from place to place
| can do DO good. You have raised no error
this year, and what you really want Is b
sell the land, get money, and spend
ii. Part with the land you have and, nj,
life upon 1t, you will never alter own /
spot big enough TO bury you in.
Half you will get Tor the land you viii
spend In moving to Missouri, and th,
other hall you will eat and drink aud
wear out, aud no foot of land will b,
bought. Nov, 1 ieel It 10 my duty to
have no hand in such q piece of foolefy
l feel that 1t is so even on your own 40
count, and particularly on mothers &C.
count. The eastern forty scrcs intent
to keep for mother while she lives; II yo,
will not cultivate It, 1t will rent Io
enough TO support her; at least, 1t viii
| feut iOT sothclutuk htE uoWcr ~ lu'
other two forties she can let you have
and no thanks to me. Now, do not mis-
understand this letter. do not writt (
In any unkindness. l write 1t In order. /
possible, to get you to face the truth
which truth IL. you are destitute becans'
you have id'sd away all your time. Ypu
thousand protenses deceive nobody bu
yourself. Go to work Is the only cur
for your case"
A volume OF dIsquisition conld not pu
more clearly before the reader the differ
ence be ween Abraham Lincoln and th,
common run Of Southern aud Westerl
rural lAhorers. He had the same dit Ad
vantages that they had. He grew up il
the midst OF pow, rty and ignorance; h
was poisoned with the enervaling malAr
of the Western woods, as all his fellow
were, and the consequences of 1t wer
seen In HE character and conduct to tn,
close Of his life. But he had, what yer,
few of them possessed any glimmefinl
notion Of, a fixed and innex bls will Il
succeed. He did not love work probabl,
any better than John Johnson; but Ii
had all innate self-respect, and pon
sciousness that his self was worthy @
respect, that kept him from idleness As
kept 1t from all other vices, and mad
him better man every year that he lived