The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1903-04-02

of the southern part of Illinois wear
to this day. He made picture fitted
for the stage. Lincoln wore that old
high stovepipe hat, and coarse look
ing coat with sleeves far too short,
and baggy looking trousers that were
so short they showed his rough boots.
Tho Douglas men laughed at him and
said he would lie a nice looking object
to put into the Senate, and to tell the
truth the Lincoln men couldn't brag
much on their man for exhibition
purposes.
"When it came to the debate, how
ever, the Lincoln men had the laugh
on the Douglas men. Of course each
crowd thought his man did the best,
but it was a fact that the whole crowd
felt that Lincoln had Douglas IN the
hip and that the latter was doing the
best he could under the circumstances.
The debate took place not far from
the Brewster House. The platform
was three or four feet high and there
was Just about room on it for the de-
baters and the reporters. The crowd
was big one but / saw a larger
crowd than that i'll the campaign of
1910. You see no one recognized the
Importance of that day besides Lin
coin. No one knew but him how he
was going to tangle Douglas up on
squatter sovereignty so that the DEM
ocacy would split in the next presi-
Dental campaign and the Republicans
would win. Besides, Lincoln was not
considered the great Republican lead
err then. OF course the great slavery
issue added to the flames of the cams
paigns in those days. but Lincoln wa
not the liberator of a race .at that
time. He was not even a presidential
possibility in the minds of those who
heard him, and so the crowd was not
as immense as it would otherwise have
been, but it was vast one neverthe-
less.
douglas went from the hotel to
the platform in style befitting his gen.
eral appearance He rode in coach.
Lincoln rode in an old lumber wagon
and l think it was hayrack. If he
had been trying to catch the masses by
his LONELINESS, his common dress and
his manner of getting to the meeting
he could not have done better, but he
was not making that kind of an effort
Nature gave him his physical appear
ance and he had never had the means
to become fashionable in attire or man
ner. When Lincoln got to speaking,
however, his appearance was forgot
ten. / know that has been said be-
tore but | say it as an absolute fact.
His face did not need to be forgotten
and it couldn't be because it took on
new light. | have seen many faces
called expressive but | never saw
face equal to Lincoln's in expressive
ness when he was speaking, There
was something about it have never at
tempted TO describe but it took on a
light which riveted you, and his words
did the rest.
81 stood in the Chicago convention
two years later when Lincoln was
nominated for President. | saw
Douglas two years after that day at
Freeport He went through Rockton
and made short speech. His con-
fident manner seemed to have left him
and he did not seem like the same
Douglas. Perhaps he saw the hand
writing on the wall, the handwriting
Lincoln saw that day in Freeport
when he put to Douglas the Hateful
question.
The Hateful question: which Lin
coin put to Douglas ON that occasion
was tins
"Can the people of United States
territory, i'll any lawful way, against
the wish of any citizen of the United
States, exclude slavery from it's limits,
prior to the formation of State con-
stitution?'
Lincoln had framed this question,
and against the advice of his political
friends had launched it at Douglas.
He declared that Douglas could not
answer that question and be elected
President in 1860. If he replied Yes,
he would ALLEVIATE the South; if No,
it would be fatal to his chances with
the Democrats of the North, and he
could not be nominated without the
support of the South. 1t is to Doug
las credit that he stood by his
"squatter sovereignty" doctrine and
faced the wrath of the South and in
evitable defeat.