The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1895-02-15

was MI. seward rcslpnutlOn anu DIS
unwillingnoss to serve in an admins
tration with that strong right arm lop-
ped OFF, The two papers were shown to
Morton, Wade and Others of the aston
ished coterie, and rather than havo Chase
go they expressed their Willingness to
yield the point as to Seward. So Mr..
Lincoln's craft disarmod thoir obstinacy
and saved tho integrity Of his cabinet
without giving offenso to tho "conscript
fathers" so suavely hoodwinked by this
master hand
Tho presidential campaign of 1864
affords an illustration OF tho cunning in
practical politics which supplemented
the loftier aspects of the statesman and
tho patriot. To mako sure of Pennsylva-
MIA, which was the native state Of Nc
Clellan, and which seemed very doubt
full, was grave problem. Alta conclave
held il Washington the president end
ed discussion with the following die
tum: "Let tho right men, soldiers hot
from tho battlefield and full of enthusi-
asm, be furloughed homo by the thou
sands for the week preceding election.
One of these missionaries will make
moro votes than q score of stump speak
ers. Dut tho president, no continued,
must not DO know as privy to 1t, nor
must it be an order from the war do
partment Assistant War Secretary
Charles A. Dana was sent to General
Meado's headquarters to negotiate this
piece Of finesse, and that general was
very unwillingly persuaded to spare his
battalions. But Pennsylvania went
Lincoln" by ON overwhelming major
ity. Tho versatility of Lincoln, master
in power and mental resource even as
political juggler, astonishes the mind.
One is interested in such incidents main
ly as they blazon his complex makeup
and wonders that q man SO equipped on
the noblest side of craftsmanship should
nave had these lesser gifts Of the work
ing politician, an endowment rarely
united in the samo man.
Whatever credit may be justly given
to the staff of great lieutenants in coun-
Gil and camp who held up tho hands Of
Abraham Lincoln, his genius over
shadows them all. His was the initiative
Of all great measures, his the power to
see things ASSOCIATED from party or tenn
pCrary bias in luminous perspective.
Stanton, Seward, Chase, great men as
they were and of domineering wills,
recognized tho master, who had them
bitted and bridled, yet never let them
feel the gall of tho curb, so firmly gen.
tie wal his touch. 1t was not really till
the last year of Lincoln's life, the year
Of his denomination, that there was a
fully adequate notion abroad in the
land, however, Of just what measure of
greatness there was in him. But that
was the year when tho nation made a
stock taking of tho four years, posted
tho ledger and struck the balance. The
sharp cut, salient bigness of him, cleav-
ing upward like an Alpine peak, stood
out monumental. All cloud of miscon-
ception had blown away. Men could
look back and SEQ in true proportion the
presidents management Of the slavery
question as in its threefold relation, a
military, political and international
weapon. The emancipation proclama-
tion probably saved the country. Had it
not been for that downright step, which
stiffened tho backbone Of English liberia
ton, Earl Russell would probably have
had free hand to havo smashed tho
blockade So too, Lincoln's treatment
Of tho ''Trcnt" incident, Of tho Mexican
imbroglio aud of TIC other great oxigen-
cies which rose with repeated threat,
shono in its true light Men felt that
here was ga man sent Of God when
tho polling booths Of November, 1864,
were tho scene of the most important
battle Of the war
Mr.. Lincoln rose greatly to occasion
in Tires of action. In rising to occasion
in fitness Of speech he was equally sure
Scores of his utterances have got imbed-
ded as unwritten sections OF the Ameri-
can constitution. That, for example,
where he spoke Of this country rs one
'where every man has right to be
equal with every other man." is lamp
set In the midst OF the Declaration of In
dependence. At least two Of his utter
ances will live, while the speech Of men
endures, among the greatest monuments
Of eloquence The first of these thought
out incidentally within few hours Of
delivery and only 260 words long, spo-
ken at tho dedication Of the Gettysburg
battlefield. completely dwarfs every
thing similar in history. The simple
Doric phrases were elegy and trumpet
blast. They are intellectually chiseled on
the worlds memory, and Edward
Everett's brilliant Grafton Of two hours
at tho Same timo has already gone to
the dust heap. So Lincoln's second in
augural takes rank among the matchless
things of human speech, the becoming
Of the hour and the man.
Lincoln's fame has broadened and
deepened and heightened with tho flight
of years Unlike most great men, no in
spires love equally with awe and admit
ration. When wo think Of him now, it
is not merely tho figure of tho great
statesman and the savior OF nation
that rises. 1t is tho man Of many sor-
rows, the big tender heart in the I'M
couth giant frame, tho intense humani-
ty Of him that sounds tho magic stop
and tells why Lincoln is Lincoln.
G.. T. Ferris.