The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-02-15
ROOSEVELT'S
 LINCOLN DAY ADDRESS
BY sEYMo uR RANSOM.

the spirit of with malice toward none, with charity for all'-charity not in the sense of assistance condeseendingly given by the more fortunate and the more de- serving to the less deserving and the less fortunate-but rather in the higher sense of infinite reciprocal patience and infinite reciprocal good will between the sections and especially between it's men of light and leading"
 'sNVe are not enemies, said Lincoln in his first inaugural address, "but friends. We must not be enemies. Though pas sion may have strained 1t must not break our bonds of affection" Alas! We, or, at least, the older genesations-did' for A time become enemies. Passion not only strained but actually broke the bonds of affection that united the sections, the one with the other. In the titanic struggle from 1861 to 1865 the courage and the fortitude of the north as well as of the south were tested in the hot conflict of war.
 When General Lee surrendered to Gen eral Grant a great issue was decided. For four years the opposing forces had struggled in civil war. Each section had spoken it's mind from the cannon's mouth. The Reclamation was voeiferous; the rhe- toric magnificent; the argument conclu- sive At Appomattox the south as well as the north realized that the war was over, that slavery was abolished and that the doctrine of states sovereignty could henceforth have no place in the American polity.
 This, however was not the complete significance of Appomattox. The surren- der of General Lees army meant more than the emancipation of race. It meant more than the political welding l together of separate and individual states. | It meant really that a great and new op- portunity was presented to the American people. It meant that beneath the re- l polling features of war should oe dis cerned the redeeming nohleness of Fed l eral and Confederate. It meant that with | the echo of the last gun should die every | isnoble prejudice and memory. It meant | that reciprocal confidence should so- | lidify and purify our political life. Finally, | it meant that, as one nation, we should
 become one people.
 | Mir. Roosevelt's New York address fur nishes convincing proof that he grasps | the larger significance of the struggle that took place two score years ago. In ] that conflict, he had kinsmen on each 1 side Tn the determined effort that Is now making to gain for this nation the exalted position which, by the genius and character of it's people, it is clearly en- titled to hold President Roosevelt realizes that all Americans are his countrymen, which Is well enough, and, what is even more important, all his countrymen re- alize that Mir Roosevelt is their President. Every difference of opinion" said Jef- ferson 100 years ago, 'is not difference l in principle We are all federalists; we are all republicans" The idea enforced | in these words of the founder of American
 democracy is refreshingly illustrated in
 the Presidents New York address. There
 are many persons who believe, and not
 without reason, that the spirit that anil
 mated Jefferson is giving impulse and
 direction to his latest successor in the
 presidential office. Indications are surely
 not wanting that in MT. Roosevelt are re-
 incarnated the ideals of a tolerant, pro gressive and militant democracy.