Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1896-09-12
HE STUDIED LINCOLN.
HENRY WATTERSON AND HIS LEG
TURE ON THE WAR PRESIDENT.
How the Great Southerner Came to Write
His Lecture and What He Learned by
Looking Up the Facts of His Subject.
News to the Reporter.

his Lecture ana WhaC he Learned Dy
Looking Up the Facts of His Subject.
News to the Reporter.
That a southern man, honorably iden-
titled with the Confederacy and withal
Democrat of national character and
standing, should select Abraham Lin
coin as the subject for popular lecture
was in itself sufficiently anomalous, but
that the result of such an enterprise
should be eminently successful, drawing
great and enthusiastic audiences, no less
in the south than in the north, was, to
say the least of it, surprising, and, as
Mr.. Watterson had declined to talk
politics, reporter of The Tines-Dem-
ocrat asked him how he came to aban-
don the very interesting party warfare
of the period to plow in what upon the
surface seemed so unpromising field.
"The discourse upon Abraham Lin
coln," said Mr.. Watterson, "was the
offspring of few chance words of mine
used in characterizing Mr. Lincoln as "a
man inspired of God' was taken to
task for this and put upon my defense.
Knowing less then than I know now of
Mr.. Lincoln, naturally fell back upon
the superficial aspects of his life, en-
bodying the career of man who lacked
all opportunity to prepare himself for
the great estate to which-late in life,
without name or fame or official train
ing-he had been called, plucked as it
were by caprice Of fortune from OBJ
scurity, and at supreme moment ele-
waited to supreme command. I must
have made out my case-or at any rate
the Lincoln Memorial association Of
Chicago thought so-for they invited
me to deliver an address upon the great
war president on the next celebration
of his birthday at the Auditorium in
that city. This was not then possible,
but a year Or two later yielded to their
wishes. There followed so many calls
for its repetition in the form of a lee
ture that in the end I found that I had
imposed upon myself an undertaking
far more reaching than had originally
dreamed of. "
"You have delivered this lecture to
southern audiences. Mr.. WattorsUn.''
asked the reporter.
ooh, yes," quickly returned Mr.. W.,
"and to none more responsive. The
truth is, when 1 came to investigate the
subject, to look closely into the record,
among the many surprises found none
was more unexpected to me than the re-
lation of Mr.. Lincoln to the south and
to the people of the south. He was the
one possible Republican nominee for
president in 1860 who wore no scars
and nursed no griefs or grudges growing
out Of the antislavery battle. While
Seward and Sumner and Chase and the
rest were engaged in hand to hand COM
bat with the southern leaders at Wash
ington, Lincoln, a philosopher and hu-
morist, was successfully and serenely
practicing law away out in Illinois. His
southern connections were many and
close. He was himself southern man.
His people were southerners. His first
sweetheart was Rutledge. His wife
was Todd"
"That is news to me-" said the re-
porter.
"That is news to me, too," replied
Mr.. Watterson, and then proceeded:
"In none of his great speeches during
the debate with Douglas did he use
harsh, narrow word against the south
ern people. Assailing the institution of
African slavery, as system, he declar-
ed that he would despoil no man of his
property rights in the constitution, ad-
mitting that the slaveowner had many
reasons for his belief in slavery and
was entirely honest and sincere. During
the whole period of the war he employ
ed no vindictive Or proscriptive express
sion, while there was not day of his
lie that he was not projecting his great
personality between some southern man
or woman and danger He issued the
emancipation proclamation as a war
measure, and as late as Feb. 8, 1865,
proposed to his cabinet plan to pay
$4OO, 900, 900 to the southern states for
the slaves upon the basis of the census
of 1861"
"Is that possible?" interposed the re-
porter.
1T is more than possible-a part Of
the record. He who doubts it has only
to read for himself. He will find that
and much more bearing upon the char
acter of Abraham Lincoln as an enlight-
ened and conservative statesman and
generous, humane man. All these things
Were new to me. I thought knew
something about Mr.. Lincoln. discov-
cred that in reality knew very little
that was accurate and was wholly ig-
horant of a great deal additional that
was true. The consequence has been
mat my southern audiences have shared
the pleased surprise which filled me
when first broke into this storehouse
OF historic revelation. The fact is that
Abraham Lincoln was mans height
ABOVE the men around him. Soon Sew
ara and Chase were pasteboard men by
tne size OF him. New Orleans Times
Democrat