Omaha daily bee., 1896-06-28

man, but Of that famous abolitionist, owen
Lovejoy. But 1t was the presence Of
neither Bryant nor Loyejoy that made 'he
day historic. II was the fact that the chief
Grafton of the day was made 10y ;he man
who was to be the central figure in set
thing the question: Are all men created
equal? Shall the Fourta OF July stand
for something greater than the nrecrecker?"
This man was Abraham Lincoln. The re-
publican party of Illinois had been regu-
larry organized only six weeks before and
Lincoln had made a speech at the con-
vontion which gave him by general consent
the leadership of the new party. What
would he say ~today-the first Fourth of
July since he had publicly declared himself
a republican?
The crowd which gathered at Princeton
was an immense one for a town of its size.
The people came from every direction on
foot, in wagons. on horseback. As a rule
they moved in delegations or professions,
II being the intention to combine the various
representation at Princeton in a gigantic
parade. The experiences of a member Of
one Of these deleGations-that from It's
EilwR-were published in a local paper a
few days after the celebration. 1t is evil
dent from the letter that the Fourth of
July, 1886, was a great day for that
part of the world.
AT an early hour says the correspond.
ent, "the wagons commenced pouring into
our town by scores, bound for Princeton,
with their flags flying, and bearing on them
in large glaring letters different inscrip-
lions. We noticed a banner in the Henry
delegation with the motto Liberty or
Death" inscribed thereon. Load after load,
not wishing to wait for the procession,
passed on and could not be prevailed on to
stop and fall in with the rest. We got in our
conveyance, and. after taking our place in
the procession, we looked ahead of us and
the procession in front reached as far as
the eye could extend. We remarked that
we must be near the last end of the pro-
cession-looking around, We came to the con-
Clusion that this was not the case-just at
that time the Henry delegation, which num-
bered in all about forty or fifty wagons and
carriages, was heaving in sight-thus maxi
ing quite an addition to our numbers and
increasing our length. Before arriving at
Princeton, the wagons and carriages were
counted. and, we were told, numbered 100
vehicles, many of which had from fifteen to
eighteen persons, and, in fact, there were
several that had as many as twenty-five
persons in each. From this a partial con-
clusion can be drawn as to the number in
attendance at the celebration. On arriving
at Princeton we found all the principal
streets so crowded that 1t was an impossi-
bility for our wagons to get around in any
thing like order. We therefore were COM
PEELED to turn as best we could"
LINCOLN, THE ORATOR OF THE DAY.
Lincoln's speech on this occasion was ev-
identity not written out, for it does not APP
pear in any Of the complete" collections
Of his speeches. The only report of it of
which we know is the one given by the cor
respondent quoted above, who says:
Mr.. Lincoln commenced back at the for
nation of the American government, and
made a hasty review of our history, giancing
at all the most important features in our
legislation. lie spoke in the first place of
that declaration made to the world, by our
forefathers, That all men are born free
and equal and from that time he moved
on down to the famous ordinance of 1887.
the ordinance which was passed, and under
which Virginia Gf our memory serves us
Alright, granted the five states of Ohio, In
diana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, to
the general government, and in that vast
territory, slavery and involuntary servitude,
except for crime, was forever prohibited. He
then came to speak of the Missouri compro-
mise, and on this point he dwelt at full
length, as the repeal of this act is the
measure that is now causing so much eX-
element throughout the country. He said
that the people had lived in comparative
peace and quiet, with only an occasional
brush. During General Jackson's admins
t%ration, the Calhoun multiplying doctrine
aprung up, but General Jackson, with
that decision of character that ever
characterized him, put an end to
it. Then again in 1915. when Texas
knocked at the door and requested adj
mission there sprang up another excite
en- vi Nit ldNti question:. lIdl HIltily
passed off until the excitement in regard
to the territories of Washington and Utah '
came up, which was the cause OF the pas |
sage of the compromise measures OF 1856. !
1t then ran on until 1854, when Douglas,
in announcing his bill for the organization
of the territories of Kansas and Nebraska,
congress to repeal the Mis-
souri, compromise, which move raised such
an excitement around Che white house
and throughout the country as never be
fore was heard Of in this union. Mr.. Lin
coin took his seat amid loud and enthusi-
astic cheers"
And this is all we know of Lincoln's J.
speech on this critical Fourth. But it is
enough to show that he was doing his best
to carry out the advice which he had al
ready given the young republican party,
that ballots, not bullets" were the
weapons to use in settling the fate of the
Declaration of independence. He said
nothing evidently to infame the excited
and outraged people. He simply used his
toric arguments to prove to them calmly
that they were right in their opposition
to the extension of slavery. There prob
ably was not another political speech made
on the Fourth of July, 1856, which was so
full of hard facts and so free from those
appeals to the emotions which are ordi-
narily reckoned as the only eloqlence.
IDA M TARRETI,