The record-union., 1898-02-13
How the Anniversary Was Observed
: at Eastern Cities.
Exercises in Schools and Banquets the
Order at Chiclgo.
The Marquette Club Gives a Ban
quet in Honor of the Martyred
President, at Which Ex-Presi-
dent Harrison and Secretary Of
the Treasury Gage Delivered
Addresses.

CHICAGO. Feb. 12.-The anniversary
of the birth of Abraham Lincoln was
generally observed here to-day by ex-
ercises ir the schools and by various
banqu,ts. The principal banquet Of the
evening, however, was the twelfth an
nual affair of the Marquette Cub,
which was held at the Auditorium.
Fully Coz members of the club were
present, and the speeches in reply to
the toasts were received with great
applause. Ex-President Harrison was
the speaker of the evening, and his ad-
dress on Abraham Lincoln was re-
ceiyed with enthusiastic manifestations
of applause.
President E. G.. Paulding of the Mar
Quette Club opened the exercises with
a brief address, and then introduced
Congressman Boutelle of Illinois, who
spoke OF "Chicago-a Political Storm
Center
Congressman Boutelle was followed
by ex-President Harrison, who said in
part:
The observance of the birthday of
Abraham Lincoln, which has now be-
come SO widely established by public
law Or by general custom, will more
and more force the orators of the occa-
sons to depart from the line of bios-
raphy and incident and eulogy, and &c
assume the duty of applying to pend
ing public questions the principle illus
trated in the life and taught in the pub
lie uttefances of the man whose birth
we commemorate. And after all, we
may be sure that the great, simple-
hearted patriot would have wished it
so. Flattery did not soothe the living
ear of Lincoln He was not unappre-
ciative cs friendship. not without am
bition to be esteemed but the over
mastering and dominant thought Of his
life was to be useful TO his country and
to his countrymen.
mo college of arts had opened to his
struggling youth. He had been born
in a .rabn and reared among the unlet-
tered He was a rail splitter, flat
boat man, a country lawyer. Yet, ia
all these conditions and associations
he was a 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 know
him. To the South and to not a few
In the Northern States, he was an un-
couth jester. an ambitious upstart, a
reckless disturber. He was hated by
the South not only for his principles.
but for himself The son of the cava-
lier. the man who felt toll to be stain,
despsad this son of the people, this
child Of toll.
He was distinguished from the abo-
lition leaders by the fairness and kind
illness with which he judged the South
and the stakeholder He was opposed
to human slavery, not because some
masters We're cruel, but upon reasons
that kindness TO the slave did not
answer
",AIl men included the black man.
Liberty is the law of nature. The hu-
man enactment cannot pass the limits
of the states. Gods law embraces Gre
alton. @A
Mr. Lincoln had faith in time. and
time has justified his faith. In the
panorama of the years from 1861 10
1865. could they have been unrolled
before the eyes of his countrymen,
would they have said--would he have
said-that he was adequate 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 capacity and
adaptation of the duties of the Presi-
dency.
Mr.. Lincoln loved the plain people ;
out of whose ranks he came; but not
with a class love He never pandered
to ignorance or sought applause by ap-
peals to prejudice The equality of men
Government by all the people, for all
the people. was. his thought-no favor
stism in enactment or administration
the general good.
He had the love Of the masses and
he won it fairly, not by art of trick
He could therefore admonish and re-
strain with authority. 4. He was a man
who could speak to all men, and be
heard. Would there We're more such
There is great need of men now who
can be heard both in the directors
meeting and in the labor assembly
Qualities of heart and mind COM
ebined to make 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 beam of courage to those
him reverence. We bless tonight the
memory Of Lincoln
Following Mr.. Harrison came Justice
David ]. Brewer Of the United States
Supreme Court, who spoke eloquently
on The Nations Anchor" the court of
which he is a member.
He was followed by Lyman j. Gage
Secretary of the Treasury, who spoke
as follows on Government and FL
nance" After giving brief financial
history of the nation during the admin
fstration of President Lincoln and up
10 the time of resumption of specie pay
ments in 1879 the speaker said
The expectation existed that re-
demption meant retirement, at least a
gradual retirement, Of the demand OBJ
legations Statesmen, with scarcely an
exception, while supporting their issue
deprecated the seeming necessity and
plead for narrowest and briefest use
OF the dangerous agency.
why were these notes not retired? :?
BY what strange witchery of the imag-
ination has II come about that they
are widely regarded not as evidences
of an unpaid debt, but as money itself?
That has happened which Mr. Sumner
foreboded when, speaking of such forms
of Government issues. he said The med
icine of the Constitution must not be-
come its daily bread We have seen
that at the beginning of the war. with
a banding system heterogeneous, unre-
lated by any common laws of rules Of
action. yet with these disabilities the