The times., 1897-06-20

stitutton upon military necessity
1t was in full accord with the principles OF
jefferson and the best thought OF the age,
and has proved to be an unseen blessing to
the South as well as the Republic. Restor-
tions of liberty and equality as designed
byits immortal foun nders, and removing, we
trust, the last obstacle toits unity and per
petuation, the act was characteristic oi
the man. His humanity included all classes
andraces Of men. To use his own words, in
a letter to Hon. H. w Hoffman:
81 wish all men to be free. / wish the
prosperity OF all those already free
The almighty dollar did not control
him or Influence his judgments. Principle
was mis- polar star and shaped his course
and conduct. On one occasion he said:
Gold is good in its place, but living,
brave and patriotic hearts are better than
gold.' Such are some OF the teachings
which this great man has left as ii legacy
to his countrymen.
In speech at Pittsburg, delivered when
on his way to Washington as President
elect, he clearly defined his position on the
tariff The Morrill, bnl was then before
city sought his opinions ON the subject. He
declined to interfere with legislation in
Congress except to recommend measures
for the general welfare or veto such meas
ures as he deemed injurious, saying that
Congress should originate as well as per-
fectits measures without external bias, and
then said.
L would, therefore, recommend TO every
gentleman who knows he is to be a MEM
ber of the next Congress to take an en-
iarged view, and inform himself so as TO
contribute his part to such an adjustmen
of the tariff as shall provide sufficient
revenue for the Government, and in it's
bearings, as far as possible, be Just and
equal to all sections of the country and
all classes OF our people,
1t is evident from this language that he
favored a tariff for the support Of the Gov
ernment. not to foster trusts and monopo-
Hes. His position on this question is
strengthened by paragraph taken from
his first message to Congress:
.'This is a struggle for maintaining in
the world that form and substance OF
government whose leading object is 10
elevate the condition of men; to lift arti-
ficial weights from their shoulders: to clear
the path of laudahle pursuit for all. and to
afford ali an unfettered start and a fair
Glance in the race of life''
These are sound, coninon-sense princl-
pies. that commend themselves to the inner
consciousness OF nlen-sef-evident and irre-
futable.
At this time, when political leaders are
seeking to retire the greenhacks by con-
yefting them into interest-hearing bonds,
for the speculation of bankers, it may be
well to recall the opinion of Lincoln in ref
erence to this kind of our currency In
letter to Col. f. d. Taylor, of Chicago ia
milarly called {" Dicll'D, who was the father
OF the greenback idea, the President wrote:
I'VE gave to the people Of the republic
the greatest blessing they ever had-their
own paper to pay their own debts
Among the last acts of his life was u
message for the miners OF the far West
This was embodied In a letter addressed
to Mr.. CoIfax, and dated April IA, 1865,
In which he said:
''Tell the miners for me that intend to
promote their interests to the utmost OF my
ability, because their prosperity Is the pros
perity OF the nation, and we shall prove in
few years that we are the treasury of the
world
Lees than eight years afterward this wise
policy was reversed by wicked conspiracy
between the bankers OF Europe and Amer
lea. by which the act of February IL, 1879,
was passed, and one OF the great industries
of the country, which Lincoln declared to
be ''the prosperity of the nation,' was
stricken down. crippled and destroyed.
no m hat
ing good in any one who holds different
political views. He formed his opinions
from the evidence, without bias. In a
letter to Carl schurz, who had complained
OF him for intrus:ing responsible commands
to Democrats, Lincoln wrote:
Baker, Lyon, Roflin and Richardson,
did all that men can do (giv-
Ing their lives for their country, but did
they any more than Kearney, Stevens,
Reuo, or Mansfield, neither of whom were
His cutting reply to the Albany Demo
Gratis, Who complained of the use of arhi-
trary powers in a case which the language
will itself explain, must have been con-
elusive:
The general that arrested Vallanding-
ham was Democrat, and the judge that
refused TO discharge him on habeas corpus
was n Democrat of better da US than these,
having received his judicial mantle at the
hands Of President Jackson. OF all those
Democrats who are nobly exposing their
lives and shedding their blood on the battle
field, have learned that many of them
approve 1t and none condemns it," The
reader will notice the fling at the Bu-
chanan and Justice Taney brand of De
Democrat of better da Us than
Jacksonian Democrat.
Thirty-two years have passed and the
American people are turning to thelife and
public services of this great patriot with
marked unanimity and veneration. His
fame and character have passed the test
Of public scrutiny, and the general verdict
s that he was one Of the greatest men of
the Republic. Among all the great minds
Of that stormy period he rises above
them all-the central figure Of his day.
His deeds have outlived the prejudices
md passions of his time, and a just mead
of praise is now accorded him by his once
bitter opponents The verdict of the peo-
pie is always right when they have time
20 consider and weigh the evidence. En-
erson, the great philosopher, paid him the
tribute:
g He stood before US as a man of the peo-
Die. ewasthoroughly y American; had never
crossed the sea; had never been spelled
,y English insularity, or French dissipa-
ion; no aping offoreigners, no frivolous ac-
Kentuckian born, working
IN farm, flatboatman, a captain in the
war, a country lawyer, a rep
esentatiye in the legislature of Illinois
IN such modest founda ton the broad struc-
ure of his fame was laid. How slowly and |
yet by happily-prepared steps he came to
lis place. There. by his coiIra re his iustica