Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1906-06-08

internal improvement system and a
high protective tariff These are my
sentiments and political principles. II
elected, shall be thankful; if not, it
will be all the same"
In these few sentences Mr.. Lincoln
adopted the leading principles of the
Whig party, Clay's american system"
in full. In his view, as we shall see by
another paper from him when again a
candidate in 1884, the internal improve
ment system required the distribution
Of the proceeds of the sales of the pub
lie lands among the states. He says
nothing of South Carolina, Of nullifica-
ton, Of disunion, and on these subjects
it is quite probable his views were like
Mr. Webster's and his sympathies with
Jackson. The opinions announced in
this speech on all the subjects touched
by the speaker were as emphatically
Wing as they could be made in words
yet as far as they related to internal
improvements and indirectly favored
the increase Of bank issues they were
such as most Of the nominal Jackson
men in Illinois professed to hold and
such as they united with the Wings to
enforce then and afterward in the state
legislature. The whole hog men"
would have none Of them, and therein
lay the distinction.
Although the Democratic party con-
ttnued to have a numerical majority
for many years in the legislature, the
nominal men and the Wings coalesced
to control legislation in accordance
with Whig doctrines. Even with such
record made and making by them
the nominal men persisted in calling
themselves Democrats, while Jackson
was vetoing the Maysville road BILL
graphing with the national bank and
exposing the oppressive character of
the tariff act then in force, which i'm
posed the highest scale Of duties since
the first enactment for protection In
1916.
1t was their practice to run men like
themselves for the state offices, where
the chances Of a plain spoken Whig
were hopeless and, by means Of the
nominal characte& of the candidate
secure enough Democratic votes, united
with the Wing, to elect him. In the
very next canvass Mr.. Lincoln himself
was taken up by such combination
and triumphantly elected. Such things
were made feasible by the prevalent
mode Of making nominations without
the salutary Intervention Of regular
party conventions and committees. We
repeat that Mr.. Lincoln's position was
midway between the extremes in local
politics.
Lincoln's friend, Mr.. A. Y. Ellis, who
was with him during a part of this
campaign, says: "He wore a mixed
jeans coat, claw hammer style, short
in the sleeves and bobtail-in fact, ii
was so short In the tail he could not sit
on it-dax and tow linen pantaloons
and a straw hat I think he wore
vest, but do not remember how it look
ed. He then wore pot metal boots. ]
accompanied him on one Of his elec-
tioneering trips to Island Grove, and
he made speech which pleased his
party friends very well indeed, though
some of the Jackson men tried to make
sport of it. He told several anecdotes
In his speech and applied them, as
thought. very well. He also told the
boys several stories which drew them
after him I remember them, but mod.
esty and my veneration for his mem
ory forbid me to relate them.'
Bound to Beat That Man
Mr.. J. r. Herndon, his friend and
landlord, heard him make several
speeches about this time and gives us
the following extract from one which
seems to have made a special impress
sion upon the minds of his auditors:
Fellow citizens, have been told
that some Of my opponents have said
that 1t was a disgrace 30 the county
OF Sangamon to have such a looking
man az I am stuck up for the legisla
tuTe. Now. thought this was a free
country: that Is ths reason ! address
1uu today. Had L.haHn knnARn ID tias