The Irish standard., 1905-02-18
WASA RARE TYPE
Aspects OF Abraham Lincoln's
Many Sided Character.
Religious Prejudice Repealed
With Constant Energy.

any country. says Il writer in the RoS
ton Republic. He had an abundant
knowledge of books, profound in,
sight into human nature. and sym
pathetic grasp of character that sets
him in Il niche apart There was
mysticism that brings him close to
the religious sense of mankind. He
WAS Il philosopher. His hemely wis
dom was of the texture out of which
giant practical programs Of action are
formed. He was IL statesman of ac,l-
men and character. His policies have
been justified by time. They We're
broader than those Of the men who
surrounded him. In IL time of adjust
ment his words We're words of mOtlera-
ton, his cOunSelS were cOunsels of
sympathy and appreciation of the deli
cate and elusive forces that were in
the air.
Lincoln was above ALL an American
in the truest sense of the word. The
feeling of sectiOnalism was absorbed
i'll the splendid light of national spirit
in which he worked and achieved. AS
his years increased they brought him
IL larger and more benificent wisdom
The South was the object, not of his
r;lncor. but of his especial devotion
Now that slavery is wiped out" he
said upon one occasion. "reunion must
be the watchwoNl Let no word be
spoken that will offend southern senti-
ment. The fields Of the South are de-
vaStated, the industries are paralyzed.
the women in tears. Mercy and under
standing is the least we can give
them"
n phase of I.incon'S character that
is rarely touched upon is the libcralty
of view with which he regarded every
thing touching upon Catholic teaching
or practice. Norman Hapgood--;,n
authority on the Subject-states that
Lincoln once called the Catholic
church the "sheet-anchOr Of society,"
to the mystification of n group Of min
isterial bigots who had called upon
him. A sentiment so dcspicable as
religious intolerance could never have
been harbored by the great soul Of
Lincoln. Nobody could have been
moved more solely by the desire to
select the best men for public service
He believed that Rosccrans should he
vOut Catholic and the writer of this
article remembers distinctly hearing
hnl-in his old age-tell how he would
recite the Rosary every morning in his
tent. This was Il bit too much for the
serenity of Il certain Methodist elder
who protested to Lincoln that the mill
tnry service WAS being lel,aucl,4l by
the R0naniStS." He continues:
'Therrs that ardent Irishnmn. Sheri-
dan. and Sherman leans altogether too
much in that direction to suit me-
Lincoln heard him with patience anh
that quaint Illuminating Snlile-tmt
his photographs still hold for us
played about his lips. as lie answered:
tWell. Mr.. -. | certainly do not
place my trust in ltOSecrllS. Sheridan
hnd--Shnll we Say-ShcrnHn, because
they look toward Rome They are
efficient officers AMI they win BATTLES.
Those are the sort of men I'm looking
fer. I've had enough of the other
Kind. tried these men first. then
chose the otllerS-nrw I'm back to
first principles. Which reminds me
Of the little girl who ate cherries and
then figs. The figs disagreed with
her. After the tllrorS of deep agitu-
ton &ll" managed to ghSp-'Well. l
guess I'm back now to the cllrrrirS! "
Even in the tumult of the struggle
for national life the voice of biyotry
was not Stillrd. Intrigue stained
deeply certain appointments. 1t had
not been many years since the Know
Nothing agitation swept through the
country like sinister forest fire. Its
fury had not entirely abated. The
Rev. Ambrose j. Walter, pastor of st
patrck's church and afterwards the
spiritual adviser of Mrs. Surl,tt. stat
ell in Il memoir published after his
death for private circulation that Lin.
coin always looked with favorable eye
upon Catholic activity and achieve
ment When religious prejudice was
urged upon him. says Father Walter
he repealed it with constant energy.
The contrast between the position,
and the history of the Cclt in Massa
chlsetts and his position and history
iii the West has often drawn the com
melt of observers.
This has been owing in great mea
sure to- the fact that men like Lincoln
Lave welcomed the newcomers in tho
West. There was no Puritan Ivory
Tnw"r frcm which the darlings of tho
= d. looked down in moody haughti
ness upon the mere alien. When Lin
ccln found the Know Nothing fallac,
gaining ground, he wrote to Schuyler
tGl1aE. who afterwards became vice
president Of the Untdc States: II hay,
no sympathy with the view that ON
naturalization laws should he Sc
stringent that the vast body of home
seekers should be kept from our shores