Omaha daily bee., 1896-10-27
LINCOLN AND wORKINGMEN.
POpocrntic Forgcrics md Misquotn.
tiOns-LincOln'sR cnI Sentiments.


Hon. Carl Sohurz at Peoria. ILL.,
This is the state OF Abraham Lincoln.
His name is its greatest glory in the past
His grave is in its soil, being monument
of all that is most patriotic, wisest and
noblest in American manhood. ! knew him
we'll | loved him, and was his faithful
adherent and it is the pride of my life to
have possessed his personal friendship. Let
me tell you that it makes my blood boil to
witness the scandalous game the regulators
and the meters of class hatred in this cam
paign play with his name in claiming him
as their spiritual ally. l will give you an
example. They are circulating among the
people a spurious quotation, purportinS to
be from some speech or message OF Abraham
Lincoln 1t is this:
LAS a result of the war, corporations have
been enthroned and an era of corruption
in high places will follow and the money
power of the country will endeavor to pro-
long its run by working upon the prejudice
of the people until all wealth is aggregated
in few hands and the republic is de-
stroyed. l feel at this moment more anX-
iety for the safety of my country than ever
before. even in the midst of war. God grant
that my suspicious may prove groundless"
l have the authority of his two private
secretaries, Hay and Nicholay, who were
almost constantly in the presence of Abra-
ham Lincoln during his presidency until the
day of his death, and who have scanned
every word wrote during that period and
every report made of his utterances, for say
ing that this quotation is false; that Mr..
Lincoln never said or wrote anything in the
least resembling it.
Mr. Bryan goes about the country quoting
from one of the messages of Abraham Lin
coin this sentence:
Labor is prior to and Independent of cap
ital; capital is only the fruit of labor and
could never had existed II labor had not
first existed Labor is the superior of capt.
tal and deserves much the higher consid-
Grafton"
He stops there, instead of rectlng the
next sentence, too: Capital has its rights,
which are. as worthy of protection as any
other rights"
No silver apostle ever thinks of repeating
speech made by Abraham Lincoln to a
delegation of workingmen, addressing them
as worklngmen, he himself being their
truest friend. It was on the 2lst day OF
March, 1864, and these were his words:
THE strongest bond of human sympathy
outside of the family relation should be one
uniting all working people of all nations
lead to war upon property or the owners
of property. Property is the fruit OF labor;
property is desirable-is a positive good In
the world. That some should be rich. shows
that others may become rich. and hence Is
just encouragement to industry and enter
prise. Let him not who Is houseless pull
down the house of another, but let him
labor diligently and build one for himself
thus, by example, assuring that his own
shall be safe from violence when built"
This is Abraham Lincoln, as history
knows him, and as his great image is en-
graved upon the American heart. And now
they seek to make him an ally OF repudia-
ton. OF class hatred and of the spoliation
OF the poor.