Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1906-02-15

: vine RTOVlaence III the uuioluius
II years? Was it an Illumination of the
q Spirit forecasting for the moment, the
impen ding conflict between right ane
/, wrong, in which he was to take sc
i conspicuous a part? Was 1t whis
per by divine messenger that he
! was to be the chosen one to wipe
]; the thing from the earth. and give de
j liverance to millions of his fellow
{ men. Was it not rather, the mind
and heart and power of God, planted
4 deep in the depths Of his being, and
abiding there with a holy impafience
!, waiting for the clock Of destiny to
strike? You may answer these ques'
s, tions as you choose, but these are the
4 facts of history
81 3. That rare gift which in the every
4 day affairs of life is known as tack
q and in state-craft, is Known as diplo-
macy, was possessed by Mr.. Lincoln
4 in high degree. He was a diplomat
i by nature and developed his talent to
the fullest extent. He had a rule for
i evading difficulties, which was quaint
.Ily brought out one day at a cabinet
4 meeting, when Mr.. Seward jokingly
4 remarked: 4 hear, Mr.. President, that
4 you turned out for colored woman
on muddy crossing the other day..
,l"I do not remember" answered Mr.
i Lincoln, Abut think it is very likely
4 that | did, for / have always made
4 it rule that if people will not turn
out for me, will for them, If did
not there would be collision" And
i he always avoided collisions. 1t was
not because he lacked courage or con-
! fidence. Obstinacy is often mistaken
for courage, and as one OF Mr.. Lin
coins advisers remarked, Political
graveyards are filled with buried am
bitions and crushed hopes, because
1 of that mistake which Mr.. Lincoln
never made.s He overcame obstac-
i les and escaped entanglements, by the
4 exercise of this faculty called diplo-
macy, without slirrendering a princi-
4 ple. or making an important conces-
sion. This trait is forcibly illustrate i
by an incident related by the Provost
Marshal of the War Department, who
received daily instructions from the
Y President, in regard to the draft for
troops. which was one of the most
embarrassing and perplexing ques-
tions that arose during the war. He
saws. Upon one occasional Governor
Il Oh a 6ldtS CdulC W LIZ oAASSs ~ - ILL Q
with complaints in regard to the num-
Der Of troops required from his State,
the details for drafting men, and the
plan of compulsory service in general.
/ found it impossible to satisfy his de-
mands, as did the secretary OF war,
with whom also he had stormy in
4 terview and he went finally, with his
case to the President. After had
i waited anxiously for hours, expecting
important orders or decisions from
i the President, or at least, summons
i to the White House, for explanation,
the Governor returned, and said, with
4 a pleasant smile, that he was going
/ home by the next train and merely
dropped en- route to say good bye.
4 Neither the business he came upon,
nor his interview with the President
4 was alluded to- AS soon as l could
4 see the President, | said: / am anx-
ious to learn how you disposed of the
case Of the Governor. He went to your
Office from, the war department in a
towering rage. | suppose you found
it necessary to make large conces-
i sions to him, as when he returned,
i he seemed to be entirely satisfied
i oh, no, he replied, i did not con-
4 cede anything. You know how that
\ Illinois farmer managed the log that
lay in the middle of his field. One day
he announced to some ~of his neigh
4 bors, that he had gotten rid of the big
log. Got rid of it?' said they. Why
j how did you do it? 1t was too big
A to haul out, too knotty to split, too
4 wet and soggy to burn, what did you
4 dor We'll, now boys, replied the
farmer, IF you will not divulge the
secret, I'll tell you how got rid of it,
\ i plowed around it. Now said Mr.. Lin
coin, do not tell any one, but that
is the way got rid of the Governor,
4 I plowed around him, but it took me
i nearly three mortal hours to do it. :
4 That was characteristic Of the man,
he was skilled in the ability to plow
\ around difficulties, a past grand mas.
ter in the art of diplomacy.
He could control men, and conciliate
those who were against him, with ex
ceptional success It required moth
Il ing less than prodigious sagacity tc
hold about him, in earnest support OF
his administration, men who represen
4 ted conflicting theories and implacable
) enmities, but that which few men o1
tuition, not learning or experience
that guided his pen, in reshaping Mr.
Seward's Instructions to our minister
to England. and saved the nation
from an untenable attitude toward the
rebel states, upon which hostile Ell
rope was making haste to seize. i
was political wisdom, passing that O
any other man which enabled him tS
!, hold in check the too ardent, and Al
| the same time, hold up the too faint
j, hearted while he worked out, withou
: conclusion, the solution of the prob
lem of emancipation. He was con
, tinually beset with committees an,
delegations, who came to tell him ex
I actly how to do it, some Of them urg
: ing an immediate release of the slaves
J others attempting to prove the vail
: dity Of that institution, others will
4 plentiful criticism Of the admins
:, tration He always listened, Whethe
. patiently or not could never be ascer
e Sastained and then cOnfinued 10 do hi,