The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-02-25

| truly. j. r. YOUNG.
duty after the expiration of his fur
| Tough.
stepped in and told me that u I would
confer with Mr.. Stephens. 1t might not
Although weak and exhausted, l was
| preparing TO take the ride in an open
buggy to Milledgeville, when a friend
lie Necessary for me to go 20 NIL edgevilIe.
So on the morning of the 18th of April,
l boarded the Georgia Railroad train at
| Greensboro for Charlottesville. l found
on board my friend, Judge S. B. Hoyt of
Atlanta. He hai.ed me, and told me that
| he had good news to tell me-that Abra.
ham Lincoln the President of the United
States was assassinated the previous
night.
| was ignorant and wicked enough TO
shout for joy that Abraham Lincoln
| the arch fiend aud foe of the Southern
| Confederacy, was no more" and Judge
Hoyt Joined me. Arriving at Crawfords-
vile, / soon found Mr.. Stephens at his
| home, Liberty Hall. I told him the OBJ
| ject of my visit, and why l came. He
says; why sir, Gen. Lee surrendered
to Gen. Grant last Sunday; that is what
your friend meant. OF course, all milf
tary operations will cease at ali points,
| and there is no reason for haste in going
| TO Milledgeville."
l then told Mr.. Stephens of Mr.. Lin
| coins assassination. Mr.. Stephens was
smoking-he always smoked a clean, clay
| pipe, with a jonted reed stem about two
| feet long.
/ saw that he was visibly affected. He
sat and smoked for several minutes. He
| then, with emotion, said "Sir, this is
by far sadder news to me than the sur
render of Gen. Robert e. Lee"
I MT. rod
for such an assertion. There was
silence for several minutes; neither spoke.
l did not understand the import OF Mr..
Stephens saying-why it was that Mr..
Stephens, the Vice President of the Con-
federacy, should, with such emotion,
speak of the death of Mr.. Lincoln, the
arch fend, who had done more than any
living man to crush and humiliate the
Confederacy.
Mr. Stephens seemed to divine my
thoughts, and said: II fear our good
Southern people never understood Mr.. Lin
coin He was a great and good man. 1
knew him well before the war and two
months ago / met him on the peace COM
mission at Hampton Roads
LAS far as his duties would permit, he
was a friend to the Southern people, and
under his administration the South would
have Jared far better than it will under
Mr. johnson is a shrewd, cunning, un-
scrupulous politician, hesitating at moth
ing to humiliate the South. He seems to
be natural-born hater of everything no.
BILE and elevating in Southern manhood.
! He will leave no stone unturned to infiict
| the direst punishment upon the Southern
Shareholder.
III you remember, In a conversation
less than two years ago / attempted TO
prepare you for the failure of the Con-
federate cause. My grief over the ex-
pected failure of the Confederacy has
been great, indeed, but has always been
mitigated by the thought that at the time
of the crash, we would fall into the
hands of so good and great a man as
Abraham Lincoln.
This is the reason that say that the
assassination of Mr.. Lincoln is sadder
news to me than the surrender of Cen
eral r. Z. Lee. At the late meeting of
the peace commission, of which / was a
member, / was more deeply impressed
with the kindly nature of Mr.. Lincoln
| than ever before. After the usual saluta-
tons, and few compliments, we went
to business. Mr.. Lincoln drew from his
pocket sheet Of paper about two feet
long and held it up to the wal and said:
Gentlemen, let me write the word union.
The Union must be preserved, and you
may III Tue Ddldlltc Vi llilS Sh6tb Will
your own terms. Several points were
then discussed. lie proposed that all
men in arms might return home unmo-
| Tested, and every Sou herner shall have
a full and unconditional pardon for any
| and every crime that he may have COM
mitted against the United States; all
rights shall be restored to everybody; no
| trials for treason. or any other crime,
and that all slaves at that time in bond
Il IL. l. l.
| Immediately introduced in congress for
the gradual emancipation. and every
| STAKEHOLDER shall have fair and liberal
| compensation for each slave so emanci-
| pated.
ITO this / replied: I am instructed to
/ say that Mr.. Davis and his cabinet will
not agree for the Southern Confederacy
90 go back in the Union And thus
| ended the peace commission. l will not
| live to see it, nor may you, but the next
| generation will, when Abraham Lincoln
will be regarded next to General Wash
| ington as the greatest and best man that
this country ever produced. He will rank
next TO Washington in the affections OF
| the American people"
l must confess that was not prepared
/ for this remarkable announcement and
! prediction of Mr.. Stephens. left very
| much disturbed in spirit to think that the
vice PRESIDENT OF the late COnfederaCy
/ should so highly extol Mr. Lincoln, who
/ had, in my humble opinion, done more to
| crush the South than any ether ten m n
| In justice to the memory of Mr.. Ste
| phens, / appeal to the American reader.
whether the prophecy uttered by him on
| the morning of the 18th of April, 1866.
thirty-six years ago-that Mr.. Lincoln
would rank next to Washington in the
| affections of the American people-has
been fulfilled. I append clipping from
| a leading journalist of the day who SAYS:
February is notable as being the
month of the birth OF two illustrlous
Americans: Washington and Lincoln.
Each was a peer in his time-Wash-
| ington as a brave soldier, statesman, and
wise counsellor stands at the head of the
greatest Of nations as the Father OF His
| Country
Lincoln, the man who was born In a
| log-cabin In the wilderness, securing an
education with difficulty and by his own
| exertion made a name for himself, which
stands on an equal plane with that OF
| Washington"
This man goes step farther than Mr.
| Stephens did. Instead of being next to
| Washington he places the name Of Mr..
Lincoln on an equal plane with that of
Washington.
Gen. G. ID. Anderson's Death.