The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1893-02-16
ABOUT LINCOLN.
Ingersoll, the Eloquent, Deliv-
ers a Glowing Eulogy.
TEE MARTYR PRESIDENT.
Last Nights Lecture in the Broadway
Theater, New York.


Figure of tho Ficrcest Civil War; the
Gentlest Memory OF the World 49, A
Grand Word Picture of the Most Ma
jcstic Character in this Country.
NEW YORK, Feb. 13.-Colonel Robert
G. Ingersoll delivered a lecture at the
Broadway theater last night on Abra-
ham Lincoln. He opened his remarks
by saying:
"Eighty-four years ago today two
babies were born-one in the woods Of
Kentucky amid the hardships and pov-
erty of pioneers; one in England sur
rounded by wealth and culture. One
was educated in the university Of nature,
the other at Oxford. One associated his
name with the enfranchisement of labor.
with the emancipation of millions, with
the salvation of the republic. He is
known TO us as Abraham Lincoln. The
other broke the chains of superstition
and filled the world with intellectual
light and he is known as Charles Dar-
win. Because Of these two men the
nineteenth century is illustrious. A
few men and women make the nation
glOriOus-Shakespe made England
immortal; Voltaire civilized and human
lied France; Goethe, Schiller and Hum
boldt lifted Germany into the light;
Angelo, Raphael, Gallileo and Bruno
crowned with fadeless laurcls the Italian
brow, and now the most precious treas
ure of the great republic is the memory
of Abraham Lincoln"
After briefly summarizing the events
leading up to the civil war, Colonel
Ingersoll went on to say;
The sympathies of Lincoln, his ties
of kindred were with the south. His
convictions. his sense of Justice and his
ideals were with the north. Lincoln
was statesman. And there is this
difference between a politician and q
statesman: A politician schemes and
works in every way to make the people
do something for him. A statesman
wishes to do something for the people.
With him place and power are means to
an end, and the end is the good of Lis
country.
Not Common to Elect Great Men.
ut is not a common thing to elect
a really great man to fill the high
est official position. I do not say
that the great presidents have been
chosen by accident. Probably it would
favorites Of a happy chance. The aver
age man is afraid of genius. He feels
as an awkward man feels in the presence
of a sleight-of-hand performer. He ad-
mires and suspects. Genius appears to
carry too much sail-lacks prudence;
has too much courage. The ballast Of
dullness inspires confidence.
by happy chance Lincoln was NOM
mated and elected in spite of his fitness,
and the patient. gentle, just and loving
was called upon to bear as great Il
burden as man has ever borne. After
the proclamation Of emancipation was
signed Lincoln held it, waiting for some
great victory before giving it to the
world, so that it might appear to be the
child of strength. This was on the 22d
of July, 1862. On the 22d of August of
the same year-after Lincoln wrote his
celebrated letter to Horace Greedy, in
which he stated that his object was to
save the Union; that he would save it
with slavery If he could; that if it was
necessary to destroy slavery in order to
save the Union he would, in other
words he would do what was necessary
to save the Union.
"This letter disheartancd to q degree
thousands and millions of the friends Of
freedom. They felt that Mr.. Lincoln
had not attained the moral height upon
which they supposed he stood. And yet,
when this letter was written, the emgu-
cipatiOn proclamation was in his hands
and had been for thirty ydays waiting only
an opportunity to give it to the world.