Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1894-09-21
AN EDITOR ON LINCOLN.
HORACE WHITE TELLS HIS
VIEWS TO KATE FIELD.
he Was Intimate Acquaintance OF
the Illinoisan for Seven Years--Some-
thing About the Inside History of o
Famous Speech. M

| Famous Speech.
It is easier to catch q weasel
asleep than to interview one who
causes others to undergo the inter-
viewing operation. But ] caught a
real live metropolitan editor the
other day in most interesting fash
ion. We had driven out to Rock
| Creek cemetery to see the wonderful
statue by st. Gaudens that marks
The grave of brilliant woman. and
as we drove away / asked my escort,
Mr.. Horace White, one OF tine editors
OF the New York Evening Post, what
he thought of the silent bronze fig
ure to which all Washington visitors
make pilgrimage.
sit seems to me that ST. Gaudens'
statue represents Agnosticism. 1t
| seems to say: j do not know
whether there is a future state or
not. II there be one, | do not know
event, | am helpless; to resist or
complain would be useless. That is
all the statue says to me. If this be
the artists conception it is work
of genius. At all events St Gaudens'
statue of Lincoln, in Lincoln park,
Chicago, is a masterpiece. 1t has
brought out the inner thought of
Lincoln when about to address an
audience.
Il saw him in that attitude many
times on the stump in Illinois. and
| while never saw so much dignity
and grace of form as the artist has
depicted, it is nevertheless true and
artistic in the sense already men
| toned. 1t represents the thought
| and purpose of Lincoln when en-
gagged IN a political debate. The
! figure is penetrated with truth high
purpose and responsibility. Lincoln
never within my personal knowledge
| addressed an audience for the pur-
! pose of amusing or entertaining
them. have read some of his
earlier speeches in which humor was
the most striking feature, and /
have never seen a man whose sense
of numor was keener;but at the time
| speak OF, his power of ridiculing
an opponent was rarely exercised.
When he presented himself to an
audience seriousness was in all his
ways. He seemed to feel that all he
said would have some influence upon
the nations fate. This feeling was
SO expressed in face and gesture
that his hearers were penetrated
with it by sympathy. That is why
ic tat1 OF
park is an inspiration. He has given
it an expression which will 60 down
to posterity as the inmost thought
and purpose of the man Lincoln.
'sDid you accompany Lincoln on
this campaign in 1852"
Eyes; somebody had to write it
up and | was selected by the editors
of the Chicago Tribune. Accord
ingly | presented myself at the first
meeting of his regular campaign and
followed it to the end. OF course,
the seven joint debates. where both
Lincoln and Douglas spoke, were at,
tended by q great number of news
paper men from different parts Of
the country, but the smaller meet
ings, at which Lincoln alone spoke,
seldom had any chronicler but N.Y.
self | noted then, as remarkable
circumstance, and | still consider it
so, that Lincoln never repeated him
self"
Did he differ from Douglas in
this respect?"
Eyes, all the time. Douglas acted
on the belief that the thing he said
in the beginning touched the vital
point and could not be repeated toe
often, and I don't know but he was
right. He certainly won the cam.
paign.'
"What was Douglas plea2"
1.-The people of the territories had
the right to regulate their own do
nestle institutions in their own way
just as the states had.
'.Lincoln's keynote, "A house di-
vided against itself, etc, never was
repeated by him unless asked for, be-.
cause the people understood it. Ha
launched upon sea OF debate from
this point, while Douglas repeated
one speech verbatim, except at tho
seven joint debates.
Ibid you compare the two mene''
Indeed | did. All my sympathies
were enlisted with Lincoln This
fact predisposed me to underrate
Douglas powers. Looking back.
ward, I now think that Douglas in.
tellectual gifts at least equaled Lin
coins, while his personal magnetism
and his power to command men were
far greater On the other hand, Lin.
coins moral superiority was such as
to dwarf Douglas. Lincoln never
could deceive anyone in debate nor
would he allow anyone to be deceived,
if he could help it. Douglas was d
master of trickery, and dealt it out
everywhere. at all times.
didn't he know how to be hon>
est2"
1.-The fact is that Douglas was
riding two horses at once-North
and South. Deception was inevita.
bic"
..Did you think Lincoln ugly ply.
,ically?"
Gin u room he was awkward.
When speaking his homeiy features
became animated and actually hand.
some. His action was angular, but
lot ungraceful. Thought positively
him.
What quality OF voice had Lin.
,oln?''
"a thin, piping treble voice that
vas heard at a long distance, much
urther than Douglas deep, oratorl-
al VOICE !,