Omaha daily bee., 1895-09-22

u lully III dCCOIu VII HIS
principles, a pastorate which he retained for
seventeen years.
During this %eventful period the liberty, or
abolition party, which represented the radi-
cal anti-slavery sentiment Of the country,
attained its growth and prominence, and in
the face of the ~fiercest opposition welded an
influence against slaver> and its encroach-
ments which led to the organization Of the
more practical free soil party of 1s4S, into
which it was merged and from which, In
1856, the republican party arose.
Lovejoy was prominent as a leader in all
these political movements, and both in the
pulpit and in the political arena was a con-
slant, fearless advocate Of the great princi-
pie of the declaration of independence, en-
bodied, as he believed, in the constitution Of
the United States and based on the word of
God, that all men, irrespective of race or
color, were created free and equal and en-
dowed with the inalienable rights of life,
liberty and the pursuit Of happiness. In the
advocacy Of these principles he had the
warm support and sympathy of his church,
to which the lovers Of freedom, repealed from
other churches and communities, were nat
urally attracted, so that Princeton became
one of the great anti-slavery centers Of I'LL
nois.
A striking illustration of his self-sacrifc-
ing devotion to this cause occurred during
his delivery Of a sermon in January, 1912.
After graphically describing the murder OF
his brother, he said: Come life or death, /
Will QeVOte the residue OF my Gays 10 the
anti-slavery cause. The slave holders and
their sympathizers have murdered my
brother, and IL another victim is needed 1 am
ready" Then, turning to his aged, widowed
mother, he said: Mother, you have given
one son to liberty; are you willing to give
another?"
"Yes, my son." she replied with Spartan
firmness, you cannot die in a better cause"
This was no mere idle boast, for we'll he
knew that there were men around him who
thirsted for his blood.
| TRIED FOR AIDING SLAVES TO ESCAPE.
Illinois, like the other northern border
states, was then the great hunting ground
for fugitive slaves, who were constantly es-
Gaping from the south and fleeing to Canada.
And to aid in their capture and return the
Infamous Illinois black laws were enacted
and, later, the equally Infamous United
States fugitive slave law, both of which made
| it a crime, punishable with fine and lmprison-
ment, to render the slightest aid to a fugi-
tive. And, as II that were not enough, a
special clause, voted on separately, was In
corI Grated into the new constitution of NJ
inois, adopted in 1854, forbidding free negroes
to come into the state to reside.
In defiance Of the pains and penalties OF
these infamous laws, the Underground rail-
road as it was called, was organized, Off
| cered and equipped for the aid of these
fleeing fugitives, and Princeton became one
of it's principal stations, and Lovejoy's house
| the main depot, to which fugitives, concealed
in wagons, were brought at all hours of the
| night to be forwarded by similar conveyance
to the next station north.
This led to his arrest and trial at different
times for aiding these people. The first and
| most noted Of these trials occurred in Octo-
Der, 1912, at Princeton, before Judge Cation