Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1902-02-21
LINCOLN NOT A FANATIC.

ers attempted to point a moral in
favor Of prohibition by quoting Abra-
ham Lincoln, and said he would like
to make the same swipe at violators
Of the prohibition law that our mar
tyred president made at slavery. Now,
as a matter of fact, there is nothing
In common between the broad and
liberal character of Lincoln and the
characters Of the narrow-minded
persons who 20 about this state dis.
turbing existing conditions and stir
ring up bitterness and ill.feeling In
every community which they enter,
regardless of the wishes Of a large
majority of that neighhorhood. There
were laws In Lincoln's day which
notoriously failed of enforcement In
thOse communities where public sem
AtAaent was largely III antaeanis1n to
such enforcement. There was = law
on the statute. books law which had
been declared by the national supreme
court to be constitutional-a law un-
der the provisions of which any citi-
zen Of a free state could be punished
II he refused to aid the authorities In
pursuing an escaped slave. Yet his
tory does not tell us that Abraham
lincoln lost any sleep over the fact
that throughout the greater part of
the free states the people would
neither obey the law nor allow Others
to obey it. Tho fugitive-slave Law
was dead letter where pablieopinion
was against it, just as all laws of
states and ordinances OF cities lie dor
mant where their provisions come In
conflict with the psevailing sentiment
Of communities. In truth, no more
liberal-minded and considerate group
of leaders ever existed than those Of
the great civil war. Although Lin
coin abhorred slavery, he did not wish
to force abolition upon the south ii
the Union could be sared and the war
ended without 50 dptnE. rene:it-
edly stated that he would be willing
to save the Union Wit1b slavery. 1t
was only as a adesperate and necessary
war measure that his emanci patton
proclamation was finally issued. He
believed that slavery was wrong, but
he believed 1T were better that the
wrong should continue than that a
possibility Of the destruction of the
Union should exist. He was willing
that the nation should bear the exist
inR evil rather ''than fly to others
that we know not Of"
And Lincoln was far from being q
prohibitionist. Like many other
men. be had no desire to drink intoxi-
eating liquor; he did not drink it, and
instances are on record where he
counseled others to refrain from it.
But at no time did he seek to
prevent BY force the doing of the
thing which he considered was not best
for himself to do. When Jealousy BE-
gan its attack on General Grant, and
President Lircaln was informed that
Grant was drinking man, he replied
that he would like to find where Grant
bought his whisky, SO that he might get
each Of his corps commanders u barrel
Of 1t. And Sherman, t0o-that other
great and liberal leader-when they
wanted to use him as q tool for the
overthrow Of Grant-said-ina a letter
to his chief: ''You stood by me when 1
was crazy, and I'll stand by you while
you're drunk" These men recognized
the right Of personal preference in
matters Of appetite, and the plan Of
making people sober by fine and im-
prisonment without trial by jury was
not dreamed of i'll their philosophy.
When any one wants to find a shining
advocate Of force and persecution in
the temperance cause, he must needs
seek In another direction than that
Of LINCOLN and the other great leaders
Of the civil war, not one Of whom be.
lieved in exploiting reformatory meas
ures through the medium Of the pris-
oner's dock and the jail.
Exile 81 an E.glishwoaaan.
The reason for the deportation of
Miss Emily Hohhouse from South At
RIGA, says the Minneapolis Tribune,
will not be at all y matter Of mystery
to those who have closely followed the
conduct Of the B0er war. Miss Hob