Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1904-10-07
HOT SPRINGS. SOUTH DAKOTA FRIDAY. OCTOBER
WORDS TO YOUNG MEN

NURDS IO YOUNG MEN
WHAT LINCOLN SAID IN ,e4s AND
GARFIELD IN 1879.
Eloquent Counsel to Those Who For
the First Time Are About to Pitch
Their Tents In One or the Other of
the Political Camps.
From out the musty files Of old polit-
ical literature two splendid gems Of
thought have been dug up. Both of
them relate to the part which young
men can bear and ought to bear in the
activities which make for their coun-
try's good. Both are as interesting now,
as vital, as they were ffty-six and
twenty-five years ago respectively.
Both appeal to the young men Of today
rightly. First, quaint, forgotten thing
from the pen of Abraham Lincoln, full
of the unstudied simplicity Of that
monumental man. Here 1t is:
Lincoln's Appeal to Young Men.
[From a letter to William H. Herndon.
Washington, June 90 1881
AS to young men. You must not wait to
be brought forward by the older men.
For instance. do you suppose that l
should ever have got into notice IL had
waited to be hunted up and pushed for
ward by older men? You young men get
together and form a Rough and Ready
club" and have regular meetings and
speeches Take in everybody you can got.
Harrison Grimsley, l.. A. Enos, Lee Kim
ball and c. w. Matheny will do to begin
the thing, but as you go along gather up
all the shrewd, wild boys about town,
whether just of age or little under age
Chris Logan, Reddick Ridgely, Lewis
Zwizler and hundreds SUCH Let every
one play the part he can play best, some
speak, some sing and all ''holler." Your
meetings will be Of evenings; the older
men and the women will go to hear you;
SO that 1T will not only contribute to the
election of "Old Zach" but will be an in
teresting pastinae and improving to the
Intellectual faculties of all engaged.
Don't tail to do this.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Next, the magnificent eloquence of
Garfield. among the greatest of the
great orators of all time, also appeal
ing to young men. It's keynote Is,
"When You pitch your tent, pitch it
among the living and not among the
| deadH' To the million and a half of
young men who will this year for the
first time choose the political camp in
| which their tents are to be pitched
| the words of Garfield must come with
| tremendous force:
] GarGeEd's Appeal TO Young Men.
[ExtTact from the speech of Hon. James
| A. Garfield, delivered at Cleveland. O.,
| Oct. il, lSI9.I
| Now, fello" citizens, a word before I
| leave you the very eve OF the holy day
| of Coda tit moment to consecrate our
| selves finally to the great work of next
| Tuesday morning. see in this great
audience tonight great many young
| men, young laen who arc about to cast
| their first Vote. want To give you
| word OF suggestion and advice. l heard
a very brilliant thing said by o boy the
| other day UP in one OF our northwestern
I counties Ike said to me. General.
have great mind to vote the Democratic
ticket" That was not the brilliant thing.
l said to him, .Why?' why" said he,
my father is !; Republican, and my
brothers are Republicans. and l am Re
| publican all over, but l want to be an
| Independent man, and l don't want any
| body to say, That fellow votes the Re-
| publican ticket just because his dad does
and l have hall mind to vote the Demo-
| cratic ticket just to prove my independ-
| ence." L did not like the thing the boy
! suggested but l did admire the spirit Of
| the boy that wanted to have some inde-
| pendence of his own.
| Now. l tell you, young man. don't vote
the Republican ticket just because your
| father votes 1t. Don't vote the Democrats
| ic ticket, even if he does vote 1t. But let
| me give you this one word of advice as
| you are about to pitch your tent In one
of the great political camps. Your life is
| full and buoyant with hope now, and
| beg YOU. when you pitch your tent pitch
| it among the living and not among the
dead. II you are at oil inclined to pitch
it among the Democratic people and with
| that party let mo go with you for a mo-
ment while we survey the ground where
l hope you will not shortly lie. 1t is a
| sad place. young man, for you to put
your young life into. 1t is to me far more
like graveyard than like a camp for the
1 living. Look at it! 1t is billowed all over
with the graves of dead issues, of buried
opinions of exploded theories, of dis
graced doctrines. You cannot live In
comfort in such a place. Why, look here!
Here is a little double mound. look
down on it. and 1 read, Sacred to the
memory of squatter sovereignty and the
Dred Scott decision" A million and a
half Democrats voted for that, but it has
been dead fifteen years-died by the hand
OF ApfalAa1d LlAcolti' uho mere y. iAes
Young man, that is not the place for you
But look a little farther. Here is an
other monument, a black tomb. and be.
side it, as our distinguished friend said
there towers to the sky monument Of
100000 pairs Of human fetters taken
from the arms Of slaves. and read on its
little headstone this: Sacred to the men,
ory of human slavery" For forty years
of it's infamous life the Democratic party
taught that it was divine-God's institu-
ton. They defended it, they stood around
it, they followed it to its grave a mourner.
But here 1t lies, dead by the hand Of
Abraham Lincoln, dead by the power of
the Republican party, dead by the JUS
tice of Almighty Cod Don't camp there,
young man.
But here is another, little birthstone
tomb, and read across its yellow face in
lurid, bloody lines these words: Sacred
to the memory of state sovereignty and