The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-09-10
/ NCOLN IN HIS TRUE LIGHT.
BY Or. 7. 3. Kngsbury.

BY Dr.. 7. B. Kingsbury.

1T is very QlIIlCuII 10 uiSCONSI luCeo
concerning Abraham Lincoln. SO
much of wild eulogy is heaped upon
him now, particularly in the North,
and by some intelligent people in the
South that if one is disposed TO regard
Lincoln's real character in a different
light and to view him as in many par
ticulars not model statesman ana
lawyer, not a man of exalted moral
qualities he is to be accused of bitter,
ignorant prejudice and of slandering
the greatest man of America. Lincoln
will go into history as possibly the
greatest of all Americans. 1t will be
done through ignorance or by
willful suppression of facts The
truth told. not by enemies,
but by his admirers ana
friends living in the North-by MS
.torians, biographers and essaylsts-
shows really what manner of man he
was. have before discussed Lin
coins character as revealed in writ
ings by men of the North, and have
particularly considered the important
work published at Richmond, Va. en-
titled 1.-The True Lincoln" by Prof.
Minor, a scholar and gentleman of
distinction and ability. in which all
the evidence, every particular given,
are drawn from Northern sources.
Some year or two ago / wrote brief
criticism on Lincoln and published il,
1t attracted the attention of one CT
the most honorable, upright conscien-
tious Judges on the Superior Cours
Bench in North Carolina. What he
wrote me, not for publication, is so
judicious and to the point | take leave
to publish it, and it will help to en-
tighten others, and to give true
glimpse no doubt, at a character more
over-rated and less understood of any
of the American Presidents. He
writes:
81 have noticed your recent criticism
on Lincoln with interest and | am re-
minded of the fact that he has often
been referred to as a model lawyer.
The following account of him in La
mars Life of Abraham Lincoln, p.
1927, proves that his conduct as law
yer was in accord with your criticism:
He was defending a man named Arm
strong and it was shown that the crime
was committed at night and the wit
ness swore that he saw the blows by
the light of the moon. Mr.. Lincoln
having handed an officer an Almanac
of the previous year, in the CLOSING
speech lin due time called for the
almanac and easily proved that at the
time the main witness declared the
moon was shining there was, in
fact no man at all, and in the I'M
disguised establishment succeeding this
apparent Representation court, jury
and counsel forgot to examine the
almanac A great writer on legal
ethics lays down this rule: I'm read
ing to the court or to the jury authori-
ties, records, documents or other pa
perS / shall always consider myself as
executing a trust, and, as such, bound
to execute it faithfully and honOrably.
Lincoln's conduct was dishonorable.
No jurist of high virtues and sin
cere conScientiousneSs, could arrive at
any other conclusion than that pre-
scented by my honorable and honest
friend with whom l have been init
mate for twenty-five years at least.
Both Lamar and Herndon, as we'll as
other friends of Lincoln stand in the
way of flatulent eulogists and blinded
fanatical admirers. Whenever a
genuine ethical view is applied to the
Northern Idol there is blush OF
shame or gritting of teeth. What
the people really have right to de-
mand in portraying historical charac-
tiers, is the truth in it's simplicity and
directness. SO long as writer's ignore
absolute facts, and paint the deformi-
ties as virtues there is no likeness but
an exaggerated picture. Prof. Minor
in his book of facts and evidences
quotes from some fifty or sixty North
ern writer's, and but one man of South
ern birth is referred to or cited, and
it is in only few lines and of no inn
portance.
Some four years ago there was a
strong editorial in a daily newspaper
a part of which lies before me. 1t is
not credited, but it was cut from Vir
ginia newspaper and published in
Richmond. The writer of it had read
Lamar's Life of Lincoln" which l
have never seen. He says it is
frank production, finding none of the
W
wardness of the subject and conceal
ing none of the virtues
OF course the multitudinous admir-
ers and worShipperS will rejoice to
discredit such writer's as Lamar and
Herndon and General Don Piatt,
but intelligent and truth-seeking
readers will hardly agree to the at
tempts of the worshippers to paint
Lincoln with other colors, presenting
him to the world j. an absolutely
false light. The writer of the article
referred to said the effort to present
Lincoln as n model is a failure and
cites a suppression in Herndon's book,
who was law-partner of Lincoln's for
many years. He writes:
"Among the SuppreSSiOnS is Hern-
don's record of a satire written by Lin
coin, called The First Chronicle of
Reuben and describes. the exceeding
~ base and indecent device by which
Lincoln brought about the events
which gave opportunity for the satire
and adds some verses written and cir
culated by Lincoln which he considers
even more vile than the Chronicle
OF these verses Lamar says. 1T is i'm
possible to transcribe them
He says further on, and it is well
worth reproducing here:
"Why should not, let us say, Abra-
ham Lincoln be genuinely depicted by
the historian? What object have the
northern people in suppressing the
uncanny features of the man and pre-
senting him to posterity in a false
light? But the people who are &C
cused of even in revised editions, dis
torting the definitions of Noah Walk
er's dictionary are quite equal to sup
pressing the facts given by Lamar and
EcrEGon."
/ find the fact referred to by my
friend the Judge, is all presented in
an editorial in a Richmond daily of
1901. | have the entire article. 1t tells
of the bad conduct of Lincoln in the
moonlight matter and the almanac de-
ception. He regards the story Gas
apocryphal," but at the same time
civ or ,ic-o< Inc