The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-02-10

The publication Of Mr.. Lincoln's col
1ected works makes it possible to
print. in their proper sequence, d few
of the letters written by him, which
set forth, with all the spirit and inter
est Of an autobiography. his feelings
and actions at the several earlier
crises of his political career. These
crises resulted at least as often in de-
feat as in victory; but from each de-
feat his great qualities of head and
heart gathered new resources Of eX-
perience, of hope, and Of steadfast ad-
herence to principles. which carried
him ultimately to that browning sue
cess that has enShrined his name
among the immortalS of history.
LincOln's Advent Into Politics at
TyYenty-Threes
His advent into politics is marked by
The publication of his first Address
10 the paople of Sangamon county, -
dated March 8, 1892, and printed in the
Sangamor Journal of March 10 At
the time writing this document, he
was 2S years old. He was then living
In the village Of New Salem, into which
he had come one year before, an en-
tire stranger, and, as he afterward de
Scribed himself, a ''friendless. unedu-
Gated, penniless boy, working on fat
BOAT * S1N per month"; Even d I9EA
of that year had been taken up by a
journey to New Orleans on the fiat
boat he had helped TO build. Practic-
ally, therefore, he had been among the
conS &eents whom he offered to repre-
sent Eslly eight months, and those
spent in the seclusion Of a little village
of twenty houses; an infnitesimal cor
ner Of the county which formed the
legislative district estimated to con-
. i
have prompted this unheralded, I'M
friended, inexperienced stranger to as
pire to the honors Of leadership and
The responsibilities of legislation for a
county he had scarcely seen, and q
people he could not know, but that
intuition Of genius, that consciousness
of pGwers, which justify their claims
by their achievements?
The confidence which inspired il
grew partly out Of the primitive con.
dition Of local politics. One OF the
strongest characteristics of the pioneer
was the feeling Of equality. Wealth
did not yet exist; there was no recog-
milton OF rank or privilege and but lit
lie difference in conditions or pros
poets. Every man was free to Offer
himself; every other free to choose
whom he preferred. Population was
too sparse to engender combinations
:
dreamed of. Lincoln had, therefore
to only do what his twelve competitor:
did-haVe himself announced as
candidate in the newspaper, and thi:
was accomplished by the card" o.
address, mentioned above.
# we carefully read this address, W.
shall see that mis- description Of him
self as being "uneducated" Wal
prompted by that modesty with which
a od
ments and powers, for the document j;
quite as we'll worded, as clearly
phraSel. and as cOgently argued a!
fhefAgerage of political manifesto;
froFS 1ollegianS in their tWentieS. TIL,
same may be said of the subject mat
ter of his address. The prominence
given to the Improvement of the San
CANON river as the central topic Wa
due to local and accidental causes. I'm
usual freshets were prevailing tina
spring, which, for the moment, gay'
the little stream a respectable widtl
and volume, and the whole county wa:
On tiptoe at the widely announced an(
expected arrival of the steamboat Tai
isnan from Cincinnati and st. Loui:
with mails, newspapers and a cargo o.
ii new goods. The Talisman did come
N and rf1us justified the argument OF TIT
81 -ro,lr(r yoolitician. He could not ther
= Know that neither she nor any Other
steamboat would ever make the mir
acuIous voyage again. But the adj
dress does not conf1ne itself to the i'm
proyement of the Sangamon. 1t mus
III be noted that, among other topics, il
81 already. recognizes the coming riva
and conqueror of steamboat naviga
"a fion-the railroad mo other improve
uent," it says that reason will JUST
n ~ us in hoping for, can equal in util
sty the railroad"
1t must be borne in mind that wher
Lincoln wrote this, the first railroad
a in the United States-a line at Quincy
Mass.. four miles long. and run by