The age-herald., 1897-09-19
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rom the St. Louis Globe-Demoerat.

nOlS. A Splflr or taSIe1ul pflue IS IdSl making Springfield one of the most beautiful of state capitals. The magnih- cent building which houses the govern ment was in the days of approaching completion described as a palace in a cornfield. Since then the city surround ing has been improved to worthiness Of the setting. With paved streets well shaded. a look of general thrift in the business center and long vistas of pret- ty homes in well-kept grounds, 1t now corresponds to a noble capitol which has no superior in massive symmetry and in convenient adaptation to it's purposes, and is exceeded in liberal expenditure by only one other building of the kind, that at Albany. Springfield is an honor to the state. But in strange contrast to all else that commands admiration Is the condition of the tomb. Illinois as sumed a sacred trust when the ques- tion of the disposition of the remains of the martyred President was sstt,ed. That trust has rot been kept The many friends of Lincoln feel the neglect keen ly. They are anxious to see public sen- tment aroused and the legislature re- minded of it's duty. There Is neither de- fense nor explanation of the neglect. When the custodian opens the grated doors and takes the visitors into first the crypt and then the memorial cham Der his introductory words are regret ful. n the crypt the plaster has fallen from the arched roof, and, more than that, gaping crevices have opened in the brick masonry. X little longer of this inattention and the roof will cave down upon the floor under which, cov- cred by concrete, are the casketS of President and Mrs. Lincoln.
 On the other side of the burial crypt the memorial room is in scarcely better condition With every rain the water comes through the vaulted roof. It has blackened and stained ceiling and walls. It has made great bloteh of the once bright colors of the coat of arms. Pre- vailng dampness has mildewed and rusted the none too numerous relics. In this chamber are kept the surveying in- strupments Lincoln as young man used, the gun which failed to save the life of his grandfather in Kentucky when an Indian crept upon him at work on his farm the great book in which every child in the public schools of Phil adelphia wrote his or her name attached tO LIE cApicSSlOn Ol SOIIOW at L.lC litlC of death. The stone tablet which the Romans sent from the walls of the Eternal City to commemorate emanei- patton, likening the act of Lincoln to that of one of the early Emperors who freed the slaves, is in the chamber. The bronze bust of William the Silent, who died by assassination, has a place. The walls are covered with the memorials forwarded from all parts of the eoun- try. For such a collection of historical value the state Is not manifestipg sufi- cient care to keep the rain out.
 The tomb cost $270,o This money, the most of 1t, was raised by voluntary con tributions Large sums came from the troops in the field, single companies con- tributing several hundred dollars. It is little enough that Illinois should nain- tain the granite pile in state of tolera- ble repair. On the outside the cement has dropped from between the courses and many of the blocks are cut of line. Even the approaching walk is cracked and broken and uneven.
 Four blocks to the eastward and the same distancc south from the court house centsr of Springfield is the Lin coin residence" as the plain board sign over the front door identifies it. The state has done little better in the pres eryation of tha home from which MT. Lincoln went away to Washington in the spring Of 1861 to be inaugurated president than it has in caring for the tomb. This house and lot on a corner represents abopb all that MT. Lincoln ever owned. It was almost the only home he had. It grows in interest with the public. With the years a rev erent desire to see where and how Lin coin lived spreads and strengthens. It brings to the house numbers of people, steadily increasing. And these visitors show sentiment that is not idle curl osity. One of them, a man in middle life. was being shown through the rooms ;l few days ago by The custodan's wife, who was a little girl living on the nsxt corner when Mr. Lincoln was practic- ing law in Springfield and who always depended upon him to take her to the circus. When they came to the upper room which was Mr. Lincoln's bed chamber and upon the walls of which is still to b. seen some of the paper which was there when MT. Lincoln oc- cup:ed it, the visitor stepped forward and kissed it.
 q can't help it," he said brokenly, as apology for his weakness.
 With the same week that this occurred an old man who was going through the house sat down in a chair and sobbed aloud. Then, as the tears fell, he told that he had known MT. Lincoln in the Blackhawk war.
 .He cried as he talked said Mrs. Ed wards, the wife of the custodian, "and almost before we knew it we found our s=lves crying, too.'
 A clergyman from the east was re cent visitor. When he had seen all that was interesting he sat down and talked long about the character of MT. Lincoln. He had curious theory that in the days to come the world might recognize in the great personality al most second Christ. He went on to unfold his belief that the honor which the world now bestows upon the memory of MT. Lincoln is slight in comparison