The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-03-22
TIE GREAT EMANCIPAT0R
PRESIDENT STRYKER'S ELOQUENT
EULOGY OF LINCOLN.


A Man of Decision and Sound Judgment
His Tender Heart and Honesty-A Man
of Integrity Before CODA Large Audi
enee Present Last Evening.
President Stryker of Hamilton college
delivered his famous address on Abra-
ham Lincoln at the United church be-
fore the Mems club last evening. The
fame of the speaker and the address,
which was first given before the Lin
coin club at Brooklyn, last year, filled
every seat of the church.
President Stryker said, in part;
Chronology is the basis of history.
If one has a hundred dates of Ameri-
can history he can almost write the
history itself. 1t is a great thing to
remember the annals of the month and
pre-eminent among these stands the
month of February, sacred to the mem
ory of the father of his country and
our martyr president. on request, this
evening, l shall talk to you of that pre-
eminent man, Abraham Lincoln.
The recollection of the last day of
that great life is one of the strange
days of my own life. He belongs to
history; he is one of humanity's type,
and so long as patriotism shall con-
tinue to exist the memory of Abraham
Lincoln will survive.
He was a man raised up of Coda
prodigy of his power. Read all the
lives of him that you can, for this life
is a treasure ineXhaustible and all
that we can lay hands on of that story
is precious,
I'VE should be deeply indebted to
McClure's magazine for their history of
his life for every new incident 1t fur
nishes and above all for the portraits
in which We can trace the history of
his life. There was never life that so
gave the lie to heredity and environ
ment as his. He had one years school
ing only. He was a man who only
knew one language. He worked out his
problems by the light of the fireplace
on the back of a shovel, which was
planed smooth the next day ready TO
be used again.
He had few books. but those he had
Were great books-Bunyon's Pilgrims
Progress SHAKESPEARE, Milton and the
Bible.
He was brought up first among the
common people. he was a great com
moner; no Brahmin he. 1t is said that
God must love the common people be-
cause he made so many of them. Lin
coins great power lay in his knowledge
of the common people. He knew what
plain men and women thought. He
staked himself upon the plain common
people. He believed in them. He be-
lieVed them The great orchestra out
of which comes the sweetest music.
From a boy he known by the name of
Honest Abe because of his honesty.
He adapted himself to the simple
mind and the honest heart He was
not posturing for office. He was doing
right seven days in the week regard
less of what men thought.
He had a. large heart. He let off
men who We're to be shot, every time he
got a chance, A woman with babe in
her arms came to him asking that her
husband, who was sentenced to be shot,
should be reprieved and Lincoln grant
ed her petition. The baby did the
business said one of Lincoln's ad-
visers.
Another woman who asked a re-
prieve for her husband was also grant
ed her request. AS he came down the
stairs she said, It's lie; copperhead
lie
whats a lie?' asked bystander.
What they said about Lincoln,' said
the woman They said he was ugly,
but he is the handsomest man in the
world
He was a man of great judgment l
think judgment is a harder thing for
most men than knowledge. He was
brought up to make decisions from the
time he was a toddler, and he was de-
Gliding, deciding, deciding constantly.
Trained in the school of decisions Abra-
ham Lincoln was brave when it came
the time to act. He was braver than
those who thought him timid.
Wonderful days were those of the
great conflict and through them all his
soul never blanched, but was ready
with word and thought and deed for
the needs of the hour.
Years before he had said at the slave
market IN New orleans, relative to
slavery, IF ] ever have a chance to hit
it, will hit it hard and ten years later
he received the blessings of emanci-
pated slaves
Let us above all emphasize his faith
in God. He pitied the widows and the
fatherless. In his heart he fought all
the battles of the war, and he prayed
for his people as a priest prays.
Let inf1dels on the one hand and
theologians on the other deny the in
tegrity of that soul before God and /
will laugh them all to scorn.
Thank God for such a heritage as
this life-of the life of Abraham Lin
coin. Take that lad on your lap, moth
er. and tell him of that lifeI will de-
clare than those who knew him will not
have lived in vain.
Some times a boy declores. Il will
try and be like Abraham Lincoln but
you will never be like Abraham Lin
coin. for he never tried to be any other
person than himself"