The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-12-10
THE GREAT EMANCIPATOR
STIRRING EULOGY ON LINCOLN BY
BISHOP CHARLES III. FOWLER.

Church for Nearly Three Hours
Lincoln's Life, Character and Work
Portrayed.
Bishop Charles Fowler of Chicago lee
tured on abraham Lincoln" at the
First Methodist church last evening.
A large audience was present. The
lecturer was introduced by Rev. DR..
Chapman, and gave an address of such
striking eloquence and interest that the
closest attention Of the audience was
retained till the close, a period of near
ly three hours. His enthusiastic eulo-
gy of Lincoln did the great emancipation
no injustice. After speaking of the
early training and life of Lincoln, he
said: 1--WE has several pictures of Lin
coin in this period. One is as he lies
upon the floor of the rude log cabin
writing what he had learned upon the
back of wooden shovel. When the
shovel was covered 1t was planed
smooth again. So he may be literally
said to have shoveled the books he read
into his head. But don't tell the boys
over yonder. CThe speaker added point
ing in the direction of Yale college.)
Mr.. Lincoln had very good physique.
I am very grateful for that. I believe
in mans body as much as I do in his
brain; in some cases more, for the rea-
son that there is more body In which
to believe. I have heard Of student
who applied for admission to Harvard
and failed. He was summoned before
the board of examiners and the follow
ing dialogue ensued: DO you know
anything" He replied, Not sminch.'
DO you know anything about Greek?'
Not Bit DO you know anything
about algebra and geometry?' I never
heard of such a thing Well, such be-
ing the case. do you think you ought
to be admitted?' Strengthening himself
up to his full height, the candidate
said: why not? Amt I six feet two
inches tall? Don't I measure 4S inches
around my chest over my Jersey? Don't
| weigh 237 pounds? And can't kick
the wind out of football five times?'
Lincoln was 6 feet inches in height,
and powerfully built. He dressed not
according to his architecture, his legs
sticking through his pants II inches.
%Aio oiSiA I Nuo lIlduC ia LOW anu Ills
clothes Of homespun wool. We should
not have shot him for dude. He was
not a pretty man. If there is anything
I hate worse than yellow dog, it is a
pretty man. I can't say the same
about the ladies'. He could lift a barrel
of beer by the chimes and drink out Of
the bunghole. But he never drank.
His great physical strength made him
champion in that wild western wilder
ness in which his lowly life was pass
ed and it enabled him to bear the great
burdens of the nation in the time Of
danger and need. Having described
his physique, let us consider some Of
the circumstances that surrounded him
at the time he became president. Illi-
nois, his own state, was a free state.
If I say anything that is not agreeable
about Illinois, it is because it will not
bear saying anything better. Illinois was
free only in name. The United States
had annexed large portion Of Mexico
by war that is the blacklist page in
the history of the nineteenth century.
The story is told Of Frederick the Great
that when he was desirous of going to
war his secretary started in to write
out the usual declaration of war with
all the usual fourishes beginning:
Whereas, In the wisdom of an all wise
providence it has pleased God to bring
this war upon us Frederick stopped
his secretary here saying, Don't write
any more lies; say, whereas King Fred
erick wants more lands this war is nee
essary' So we when we annexed Mex
IA y l. ~
ed another tier of slave states
I'm the early days Of the war many
found fault with Lincoln because he
did not emancipate the slaves, but slow
as he was he was leagues in advance
of the people of the day on the question
of slavery. I am not here to abuse the
south for it's position at that time. 1T
would not be honorable for me to do it
on this platform; it would not be safe
for me to do it on some platforms, and
T do not say I should do it there SO I
will not here. I will simply say that
we had a little debate with the south
in the early COS, in which we got the
best of it at Appomattox, and 1 have
been pleased with the debate ever
since. We of the north at that time
were CalleQ Inuu SlllS ny lllOSe ol tL0
south We got down on all fours and
said to the south, ride us, and they
rode u.s. Virginia was called the moth
er of presidents. thank God that the
mantle has fallen upon Ohio to-day.
The south was greatly stirred by the
little paper published by a man named
William Lloyd Garrison in town CIV
en- in the old maps as Boston. The hero
General Logan, asked of Jefferson Da.
Wis, who has lately gone to his reward,
what the south wanted He replied,
The recognition of the complete inde-
pendence of the Southern CCnfederacy'
Logan replied: That means war; You
will see me at the head of loyal union
men putting down the rebellion. On
February %, 1861, Lincoln stepped on
the train at Harrisonburg and was con-
veyed in secrecy to Philadelphia and
then to the national capital, through
the very midst of rebel marauders who
had sworn not to eat or sleep until they
had taken his life. At Washington he
found the army and navy scattered and
nearly powerless, and he had few adj
visers about him. The treasury, the
financial sinews of the government were
worse scattered than the army and
navy The officers of the arIny craZed