The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-05-07
AN UNFOUNDED AND MISLEADING ANEC-
D0TE.

In his lecture Oh AOrauam LlncOln, IN
this city, Colonel Ingersoll appears to
have omitted the more open assertion Of
the New York delivery to the effect that
Mr.. Lincoln was not a believer in Chris
~tianity, but contented himself with a
story to the effect that when he read the
Emancipation Proclamation to his Cab
met, a member remarked that it would
be well to insert some allusiOn to the
Supreme Being, whereat Mr.. Lincoln
remarked, "Put it in; it can't do any
HARM" This may do for an anecdote.
which need not be true and is not his
tory. The Emancipation Proclamation
was written out in full and read TO the
Cabinet as it was issued. The words,
81 invoke tho considerate judgment of
mankind and the gracious favor of AL
mighty God,n we're the words of Abra-
ham Lincoln. When Mr.. Lincoln called
his Cabinet to consider the wording of
the proclamation. DIG of it's members,
Secretary Welles, made a record in his
diary of what occurred on that occasion.
Among other things which Me-. Lincoln
said. the following is recorded by Mr..
Welles:
/ have made o vow-a c~ovenant-that II
God should give rs victory in battle l
would consider il an indication OF divine
will, and that 1t would be our duty to
move for ward to emancipation. You may
think it strange that ! have thus submitted
matters when the way was not clear TO my
mind as to what ought to do. God has
decided the question in favor of the slaves.
NJ B. 49, NJ -.l- r.
lever in the Christian religion and pro-
foundly believed in a Providence who
rules the moral world, does not rely
upon the last sentence in the Emancipa-
ton Proclamation alone for proof. He
rarely made an address during that
eventful period in which he did not ex-
press dependence on and faith in cal
mighty God" In an address to his
townsmen, when he left for Washing
ton to take up his work as President,
Mr.. Lincoln said:
/ feel that / cannot succeed without the
same divine aid which sustained Washing.
ton. and on the same Almighty Being l
place my reliance and support; and i hope
you, my friends. will oil pray that l may
receive that divine assistance without
!" hAS
success Is certain.
Mr.. Lincoln's first message to Con-
gress closed with these words:
And having chosen our course, without
guile and with pure purpose. let us renew
Our trust in God and 20 forward without
fear and with manly hearts.
Every subsequent message contained
expressions of Mr.. Lincoln's abiding
faith in the being whom he SO often in
voked as almighty God" At Gettys-
burg he made the speech which has be-
come q classic, in which he prayed shat
ais Nation, under God. shall have a
new birth of freedom" In his thanks
giving proclamation of Oct. 8, 1868,
he used the words "the ever-watchful
providence of Almighty God.""the gra-
cious gifts of the Most High God" and
"our beneficent Father" After the sue
cesses Of Sherman in September, 1864.
he called upon the people to express
"dev0ut acknowledgment to the SUI
preme Being, in whose hands are the
destinies cf nations" To the colored
men of Baltimore who presented him a
beautiful copy of the Bible. Mr.. Lincoln
said:
In regard TO the great book. / have only
to say that ii is the best gift which God
has ever gwen to man. All the good from
the Saviour of the world is communicated
to us through this book.
Pages of similar expressions of Abra-
ham Lincoln could be culled like the
few quoted, showing that if he was not
a profoundly religious man be was the
most consummate hypocrite the world
ever saw. No enemy v did his COM
mon sense such an injustice as to stig-
Matte Mr.. Lincoln as a hypocritc.