The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1902-02-14
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Today is the 93d anniversary of the
birth of Abraham Lincoln, who can
Justly be styled the savior of his coun-
try, as Washington is the father. Az
time broadens the distance between
the period of Lincoln's earthly scenes
and the present, he looms up greater
and greater as man, and seems to
have been almost superhuman. The
more the history of the man is studied,
the more remarkable does he seem.
Take into consideration the surround
ings at his birth, the poverty which
surrounded his youth, the struggle he
had not only to obtain the wherewith
by which life could be sustained, but
also to obtain the merest rudiments Of
an education, and his rise to leader
ship among his people, and from that
to chief executive of great nation,
the leader and director of q great war,
which resulted in the emancipation of
four millions of slaves, and his life
presents a career without counter
part in history. Truly he was
q great man raised up to do great
work. The hard conditions which he
passed through in his boyhoOd days
and through his early life was the
school in which providence prepared
him for the great work he was to do.
Lincoln was surrounded by galaxy
of great men, but at all times he tow
cred head and shoulders alb
all. Seward, Chase, Stanton had minds
trained in the best schools in the land,
with every facility at hand to train
them in the paths of craftsmanship.
But the man from the frontier prairies
was more acute and farseeing than
they and corrected their many mis-
takes and taught them the true value
of patience. Yet great as he was,
possessed of a quality of mind which
enabled him to look far beyond his as
sociates and grasp the full meaning of
great questions and problems of state,
no man stood as near the common peo-
pie, as he loved to call them, as did he.
And whyF Because he was one of
them, was raised up from them, knew
their every struggle, their hopes and
fears, their strength and weakness.
He was ever their friend, and they
knew that at all times during those
four terrible years of his life at Wash
ington that they had one upon whom
they could depend, man who would
ever prove true to their interests
With all of the advantages of his
early training combined with the ad-
vantages resulting from long public
life, Judge Douglass could not sup
plant him, but stumbled before Lin
coins superior power and far-sighted-
ness and 30 helped to make his rival
president. But Douglass was not the
only one who was at fault in his meas |,
ure,, tent of Lincoln. Seward made the !,
same n, istske. He went into the cabi-
net with Re idea that he and not Lin !
,oln would re> lily be the president and
lirect the affairs of state. But he very
Don found that thh' tall, awkward
nan from the west, wish no training
n affairs of state, had a far better
'rasp and understanding of what to do
nd how it should be done, than those
round him He asked their advicei
RELY, but seemingly seldom followed
t, though as matter of fact it had
much to do in the arriving at all of 6
is decisions. e
And Stanton was another who did
OF measure him correctly. The. man ]
{ iron who became the great war sec 8
stary had the utmost contempt for Il
lincoln and often referred to his lack Q
f backbone and seemed to delight in Z
Gaping abuse upon him, and sneering q
{ his indecision, as he called it. Hence o
verybody was surprised wien Lincoln 2
allied Stanton to his cabinet, and 3
1ore surprised when Stanton accepted. \
Don Piatt, we'll known correspon- t
ent at that time, and close friend of b
tanton's could not believe the report a
nd went at once to Stanton and asked
f it were true. Stanton replied that '
t was. Greatly amazed Piatt asked
i'm what he intended to do in Lin
oln's cabinet. ''Make backbone for
i'm 80 he can be president, roared e
he new war secretary. Piatt relates 9
hat later on when calling on Stanton
ne day, he reminded the secretary of
his statement, and asked him if he t
lad succeeded. "No," growled Stan
on, "Lincoln didn't need any back
zone, nor any help to make him presi-
Lent." In close association, the great
var secretary recognized the genius of
he man, and was broad enough to sd-
nit it, .aI....
whence comes his great powers"
sked one lecturer upon Lincoln, and
10 answered, "From God" He was
light. Lincoln was man for the
Jour, raised up by God for q great
work. He was a mountain peak
Imong giant intellects. 1t needed a
peculiar man with tremendous intel
ectual grasp and power. His early
struggles, the life he led among the
simple people of the early west, kept
him free from the dangers which creep
into the lives of many public men,
while his fits of melancholy kept him
sloof from society and led him into
channels where his thoughts were kept