Evening star., 1895-07-27
GREATNESS OF LINCOLN.
How the War President Impressed
Senator Voorhees,,

senator voorhees,.
Abraham Lincoln" said Senator Voor.
hees. while conversing with a Star writer
one day during the last session, was known
to me long before he ever came to the
White House, or I dreamed of Congress.
remember him when was a young man as
tall angular figure, with a shaggy shock
Of dark hair, who used to ride the circuit
as a lawyer, and whose business occasion
ally brought him as far as my bailiwick in
Indiana. Even in an early day Lincoln had
considerable fame as a successful trial
lawyer. He told stories as effectively then
as he did in after years, when, as a Presi-
dent his stories were bound to be a sue
cess. He was a singularly good talker to
juries. and had that convincing gift which
few men possess Of talking with his audi
ence rather than to 1t. Most speakers talk
to an audience. Lincoln talked with his,
and that with his homely rhetoric, through
which ran an eternal current of sentiment,
was the real secret of his victories
Few lawyers cared to meet Lincoln on
even terms Even when he had a weak
case he was dangerous. Douglas once said
beat him: when he is wrong you must be
ID careful. or he'll beat you. This makes
a strong man of Lincoln Douglas was
right, and the history of his later collisions
contest with him at the ballot box, might
60 long ways toward proving it.
Lincoln was man of tremendous phys
ical strength. He had long, gorilla like
his younger days he had great fame as a
wrestler. 1t was the common practice of
lawyers in that day to put in the noon
hour in wrestling, leaping and running
known for their wrestling as for their
strength before judge and jury. Lincoln
was unquestionably the champion wrestler
of his time and circuit. No one ever sue.
Lincoln's strength and facility for physical
exercises, 1t should be no wonder that he
was a famous rail splitter.
Mentally Lincoln was much more pow.
erful man than men of his time were will
ing to credit. 1t Is significant that in the
most trying time in our history there never
was an occasion SO great but Lincoln was
greater than the occasion; never a crisis SO
formidable but what Lincoln was powerful
enough to dominate it. I have often
thought Of the labors Of this man during
his four years Of civil war, and wondered
what some of our later and 'overworked'
Presidents would think If they had been in
Lincoln's place. If, in addition to the or
6inary business of the government they
had had navy in every water of the Globe
and an army of 100000 of fighting men in
the field.
'I was in Congress while Lincoln was in
the White House and saw a great deal of
him. He was man VINO knew nothing of
physical fear, and while men about him
used to tell him stories of possible assassi-
nation, and the necessity Of care, Lincoln
never seemed to pay much heed to them.
He was often seen walking about the
streets, or making frequent excursions to
the forts and camps and other points about
Washington. don't think he was afraid
of anything on earth.
with all his care and with all his work.
he always had time to listen to or tell a
n n mir h
he used to walk up and down his Office at
the White House, rubbing his shaggy head
with one hand, while he held the other
against the small of his back, and laughed
delightedly at some story which was being
told. Lincoln always laughed as hard at
his own stories as he did at yours, so he
had great many laughs in the course of a
occasionally he would seem wrapt in a
fashion of sentimental gloom. The war
panied him exceedingly IN personal way.
The thought of the slaughter of men and
the sorrow and trouble of their families
would worry him as much as If every SOL
dier who was killed was his long-t time per-
sonal friend. Now and then somebody who
had deserted, or in some other fashion vio-
lated military law, would be sentenced to
be shot. Lincoln never failed to pardon
every one of them If the case was brought
to him. He would not let one Of them be
executed. One day he said to me, when
was visiting at the White House: 'Voor-
hees don't you know, it seems strange to
me that a man of my nature and my for
mer surroundings should have been brought
to a place like this. Doesn't it strike you
as queer that I. who never had heart
enough to kill chicken, and whom the
sight Of blood never failed to make sick.
should be placed in this position, with riv-
ers and torrents Of blood flowing all about
me, and bs obliged to take part in 1t, and
live In 1t year after year?
Lincoln was certainly a great American,
and an abundant type Of the American of
his time. Ages which come after us will
call Lincoln a greater man than we do"