The San Francisco call., 1896-02-13
NEW YORK'S TRIBUTE.
of Abraham Ii ncoln Before the
Republican Club.

NEW YORK, n. Y, Feb. 12.-The guests
and members of the Republican Club cele-
brated tonight the birthday of Abraham
Lincoln with dinner at Delmonico's. A
large portrait of the martyred President,
draped with American flags, hung over the
chairman s seat. Covers were laid for 300
diners.
When the sumptuous menu had been dis
cussed and the coffee and cigars were be.
ing looked after, acting Chairman Root
Chauncey M. Depew, who was received
with applause.
After paying glowing tribute to the
memory of the martyred President Mr..
Depew, continuing, said:
To-day, for the first time since Lincoln's
death, the 18th of February is legal holiday
in our State of New York, and it is proper that
the people should, without regard TO their
party affiliations, celebrate in. a becoming
manner the birth and the achievements of this
savior of the Republic. But it is equally
proper for us who are gathered here as Repub-
licans to celebrate also the deeds and the
achievements and the character of the greatest
Republican who ever lived. This party to
which we belong, this great organization of
which we are proud, this mighty engine in the
of more for the land in which it has worked
than any party in any representative govern
ment ever accomplished before, received its
teachings and Inspirations more largely from
the craftsmanship and utterances of Abraham
Lincoln than from any other man.
The first speech he ever made was speech
for that policy which was the first policy OF
George Washington, the first policy OF the
greatest creative brain In Revolutionary
md fIa ors,,
ciple of the protection of American in
dustries. With that keen and intuitive
grasp of public necessity and of the
future growth of the Republic which always
characterized Lincoln, he saw early in life that
this country, under proper system of protec-
ton, would become self-supporting; he saw
that land OF raw materials was necessarily q
land of poverty, while a land of diversifed.i in
dustries, each of them self-sustaining and pros
porous, was land of colleges and schools; a
land of science and literature; land of re-
ligion and law; a land of prosperity, happiness
and peace.
Abraham Lincoln was the emancipator of the
slave, and the Republican party from it's or
ganization in 1856 down to-day has been the
organized force for larger liberty to the people
of the United States.
Abraham Lincoln was an American of Amer
leans and believed in America for Americans
fosters business, employment and wages,
which stimulates immigration and the distri-
button of wealth throughout the land, which
encourages the construction of railroads the
digging of canals, the opening of mines, the
founding of States and the building of cities,
is the party of America for Americans.
Abraham Lincoln Stood as no other name in
our history stands, for the Union OF the States,
for the preservation of the Republic; and the
Republican party-his party-proudly boasts
that DO member of it ever fired q shot at the
flag or did aught against the perpetuity of our
Union.
Abraham Lincoln stood for principles and
measures which could be advocated in every
State the best for that State and for the whole
country; for policy that could break tte
| Solid South and do away forever with Sec
tional divisions and unite the people of the
United States for their prosperity and
progress. The Republican party in 1896
stands before the country as the only National
| party, with the Solid South broken and sec
tional lines gone.
| Abraham Lincoln would draw the last dollar
the country possessed and draft the last man
capable of bearing arms to save the Republic.
He would use any currency by which the army
could be kept in the field and the navy upon
the seas. When the peril was so great that our
! promise to pay only yielded 80 cents ON the
dollar he prevented the collapse of our credit
| and the ruin of our cause by pledging the
| National faith to the payment OF our debts and
the redemption of our notes ana bills at par
in money recognized in the commerce of the
world. The Republican party stands for a
policy which will furnish abundant revenue
| for every requirement of the Government and
which will maintain the credit of the Govern
ment at home and abroad. up to the standard
which is justified by its unequaled wealth,
power and progress.
All hail the spirit, all hail the principles, all