The morning call., 1893-09-17

ouly 10 leave uS III WoIs5 stdte lHau
ever"
here asked Senator Cullom as to the
panic of 1873 and his experiences in it.
II replied Il don't think the panic of
1873 or that OF 1888 is to De compared to
this. | was in business at the time of the
panic in 1873. l left Congress in 1871 and
was president of bank In Springfield
We had six or seven banks in the place and
the situation for lime was critical. The
New York banks had closed their doors.
The banks OF ST. Louis and Chicago had
suspended payment and the bank pres-
dents Of Springfield debated for a week
whether they should not follow suit. We
bad meetings every day and every evening
of this week up TO Friday night. The next
day was Saturday and we knew that the
farmers would come in from the country
and that many Of them would demand
their money. At the beginning of the
meeting the oldest bank president in the
city made motion tLat we all suspend on
the morrow. This hung fire until late, and
at last the chairman said: i suppose Il is
the sense Of this meeting that all the banks
will close tomorrow morning. All this
time had said nothing. | was
thinking of the effect of the
action upon my political career rather
than upon myself as banker. / was very
ambitious, and / did not want 20 appear
before the people in the future as the eX-
president of a burst bank. l got UP ana
est bank president here. NV bank has no
more capital than the others. probably
know less about banking than any of you,
but l say here aud now that, rather than
close my bank while | have a copper cent
to pay out. l would put my hand and arm
In red-hOt stove This speech changed
the sense of the meeting. II restored con-
fdence TO the others. We decided not to
close, and we passed through the next day
without trouble. We have not had fail
ure since that time, and my speech saved
us. What the country needs to-day is
more backbone and nerve. A large part of
the panic is due TO fright, and what we
need is confidence in ourselves"
you knew President Lincoln quite WELL
Senator. What kind of a fnaucier was
hep"
Theoretically and on political economi-
cal grounds be was great Practically be
knew little about money and took no care
of it, He kept no books to speak of. and |
have been in his law Office when he had re-
turned from riding the circuit. H prac-
tieed at the courts of all the counties about
Springfield. After trying case he would
take piece of paDer and wrap up the lee
that he received from his client and write
on the back of the paper the name of the
case. He would put the money thus
wrapped away in his pocket. The next
fee would be wrapped up in like manner
and stored away in another pocket, and
fees from the different pockets one at
time and divide them with his partner"
Was Abraham Lincoln great lawyer?"
YES" replied Senator Cullom. Il think
there is no doubt OF that. My father knew
him very well, and when asked 10 advise
as to lawyer for any person he would
say. Get Judge Logan if you can, but if
YOU can't there is young man in his office
by the name of Lincoln who will do just as
we'll Lincoln was very strong with both
court and jury. He had a great deal of
personal magnetism, and his honest, COM
mon. plain way captured the jurors. he
would lean over them. gesturng with his
long arms. and would hold them by his
homely eloQuence."
President Lincoln, Senator CullOm went
on, was the greatest man this country ever
produced. he was a great writer and his
papers are full of literary merit. lie
grasped things intutively. He knew how
10 handle men and he was able 10 make
Congress do as be judged best. L Temem-
ber being one day at the White House
when the news Of Owen LOvejOy's death !
IN New \ OTk was received. President
Lincoln was very much affected by it. He
walked up and down the room and during
the talk about the death said: 'LovejOy
was a great radical in Congress. but
could send for him and tell him ne was
going too far and he would 60 back TO the
House and DO as | said
Did President Lincoln decide things
QuicklyY | asked.
mo, he never jumped at conclusions. he
first viewed all sides of a subject and then
acted. He judged for himself and fol-
lowed ont his own judgments. He was a
great all-around man and had he lived he
would have maintained his greatness"
Suppose President Lincoln had not
been shot, would the history of this coun-
try have been changed?"
II think not" replied Senator Cullom.
I a h.,
more lenient to the South than we were,
and he would not have been more severe.
l think he would perhaps have brought
about peace and good feeling between tn
sections more quickly, but il would have
been the same as it is now. l don't see
how he could have followed out different
policy"
Would he have been an equally great
man in history, had he lived?"
81 think so. Abra ham Lincoln was too
great a man to have been dwarfed by the
latter part of his life. He was a giant.
and as such he would have left his mark
on the days after as he did on the days
during the war"
Were you here at the time of his assas-
sination? ?"
No. but I came as one of committee
from Springfield to take the body back
there for burial. At the time of his death
there was talk about buryiDg him in Chi
cago or in Washington. THIS excited the
Springfield people. who wanted him buried
at Springfield, and l was one of the COM
mittee sent on. l met the funeral train at
Harris burg and went with it TO Philadel-
phia, New York. Buffalo. Cleveland and
oD via Indianapolis and Chicago to Spring
field. He was, you know, put in vault
there and great monument erected over
him."
"Were you in Springfield at the time
that the robbery of his grave was at
tempted?''
YES" replied Senator Cullom. "It was
in 1876, the night of the election. l remem-
ber it very well. for was elected Governor
of Illinois at that time. A set of whelps
had conspired together to steal tie body Of
Lincoln and hold it for ransom. Their
plans were carefully laid, aud they would
have succeeded had they not been betrayed
by one of their own number The monu-
ment was built over a great pedestal, in
which were two rooms. One of these was
q sort If memorial-room. 1t contained
relics of President Lincoln and other
things memorial of him. The other room
held the body of Lincoln. 1t was laid away
in a zinc casKet inside of a marble sarcoph-
agus, securely sealed. As soon as the
conspiracy was known preparations we're
do hafn