The Anaconda standard., 1898-02-13
IN HONOR OF LINCOLN
The Chicago Marquette Club OBJ
serves the Anniversary.
EX-PRESIDENT HARRISON
He Pays an Eloquent Tribute to the
Memory of the Great Statesman.
Secretary Gage Speaks on
Government Finances.

Chicago, Feb. 12.-The anniversary of
the birth of Abraham Lincoln was gem
orally observed to-day by exercises in
the schools and by various banquets
The principal banquet of the evening.
however. was the twelfth annual affair
Of the Marquette club, which was held
at the Auditorium hotel. Fully 500
members of the club were present and
the speeches in reply to the toasts were
received with great applause. EN-
President Harrison was the speaker of
the evening and his address on "Abra-
ham Lincoln was received with enthu-
sastic manifestations of applause.
President Il. G. Paulding of the
Marquette club opened the exercises
with a brief address and then intro
duced Congressman Boutelle of Illinois,
who spoke on "Chicago-a Political
Storm Center" Congressman Boutele
was followed by ex-President Harrison,
who spoke as follows:
''F'lattery did not smooth the living
ear of Lincoln. He was not unapprecia-
tive of friendship, not without ambition
to be esteemed. but the overmastering
and dominant thought of his life was to
be useful to his country and to his
countrymen. No college of arts had
opened to his struggling youth. He
had been born in a cabin and reared
splitter. a ffatboat man, country law
Yer: yet, in all those conditions and
associations he was leader at the rail
splitting. in the rapids and at the bar
and in story telling.
In the broad common sense way in
which he did small things. he was
larger than any situation in which the
life had placed him. Europe did not
not know him. To the South and to not
few in the Northern states he was
an uncouth Jester, an ambitious up
start, reckless disturber. He was
hated by the South not only for his
principles but for himself. The son of
the cavalier, the man who felt toll to
be stain, despised this son of the peo-
pie, this child of toll.
He was distinguished from the abol-
tion leaders by the fairness and kindl-
ness with which he judged the South
and the slaeN Nholder He was opposed
to human slavery. not because some
masters were cruel, but upon reasons
that kindness to the slave did not an
swer. All men, included the black
man. Liberty is the law of nature
The human enactment cannot pass the
limits of the state; Gods law embraces
creation.
Mr.. Lincoln had faith in time and
time has justified his faith If the pan
Drama of the years from 81 to '65 could
have been unrolled before the eyes of his
countrymen would they have said
would he have said-that he was ada-
quate for the great occasion? And yet,
as we look back over the story of the
civil war, he is revealed to us, standing
above all men of that epoch in his ca
pacity and adaptation of the duties of
the presidency.
Mr.. Lincoln loved the plain people.
out of whose ranks he came. but not
with a class love. He never pandered
fn lpa I1t
peals to prejudice. The equality of men
in rights and burdens; justice to all,
government by all the people, for all
the people. was his thought-no faxerit-
ism in enactment or administratien--the
general good.
He had the love of the masses and
he won ii fairly, not by art or trick.
He could therefore admonish and re-
strain with authority. He was man
who could speak to all men and he
heard. Would there were more such
There is great need of men now who
could be heard both in the directors
meeting and in the labor assembly
Qualities of heart and mind COM
bined to make a man who has won the
love of mankind. He is beloved. He
stands like great lighthouse to show
the way of duty to all his countrymen
and to send afar a beam of courage to
those who beat against the winds. We
wv llllli ltNEltbNt. " DiGsS lD-IiSnl
the memory of Lincoln"
Following Mr.. Harrison came Justice
David J. Brewer of the United States
supreme court, who spoke eloquentiy on
THE Nations Anchor" the court Of
which he is a member. He was fol-
lowed by Lyman j. Gage, secretary of
the treasury. who spoke ON Govern
ment Finances" After giving a brief
financial history Of the nation during
the administration of President Lincoln
and up to the time of resumption Of
specie payments in 1879. the speaker
said:
THE expectation existed that redemp-
ton meant a retirement, at least grad
ual retirement of the demand obligd-
tions. Statesmen with scarcely an ex-
ception, while supporting their issue
deprecated the seeming necessity and
pleaded for the narrowest and brefest
use of this dangerous agency.
why were these notes not retired?
By what strange witchery of the imag-
ination has il come about that they are
widely regarded not as evidences Of an
unpaid debt but as money itself? That
has happened which Mr.. Sumner fore
boded when, speaking of such forms of
government issues, he said: The medi-
cine of the constitution must not become
its daily bread
We have seen that at the beginning
of the war, with banking system het-
erogenous, unrelated by any common
laws or rules of action, yet with these
disabilities. the associated banks had
advanced S150. 600. 900 in gold to the
government without endangering spe-
Gle payments. Indeed. the records show
that 50 rapid were the government
disbursements and so strong the cir
cuiating current. that with the pay
ment of S15e.000 900 completed the gov
ernment reserve had been depleted
only s. 000. 600.
We have seen that the interjection
of government notes into the field of
ineXcusable as IL may have
been. crowded bank note issues back
for redemption. hled the bank vaults
with government notes in place OF spe-
Gle and led 10 the suspension OF specie
payments by both the banks ami the
government. Viewed from the present
point of time there is d consensus of
the best opinion that had there then
existed a banking system uniform in