The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1908-03-19
LINCOLN
As Lawyer
ano Debater
By WARD HILL LAMON.

Douglas long record IN congress I,
pick apart aud to crlticisc. while hl'
own was so much more humble ant
less extensive. But now at last the,
were abreast, candidates for the sam,
Office. with fair field aud equal op
porinnities. II was the great crisis Il
the lives OF both, Let us see wha
they thought OF each other, and In thu
extracts which convey the informa
tion we may also get a better idea ol
the character OF each for candor, gen
erosiiy and truthfulness.
Dr Holland quotes from one OF Mr.
Lincoln's unpublished manuscripts a,
follows:
Twenty two years ago Judge Doug
las aud first became acquainted W,
were both young then = he trih,
younger than !. Even then we were
both ambltlousl perhaps quite as
much so as he. With me the race OF
ambition has been falure-a fal
failure, With him II has been one Of
splendid success. His name fills the
nation and Is not unknown even IN
foreign lands. ! affect no contemp,
for the high eminence he has reached
so reached that the oppressed OF my
species might have shared with me
IN the elevation, would rather stand
on that eminence than wear the rich.
est crown that ever pressed mon
arch's brow"
Again In the pending campaign Mr..
Lincoln said: There is stlll another
disadvantage under which we labor
and to which ! VIII invite your atten-
tlon II arises out of the relative po.
sitions OF the two persons who stand
before the state as candidates for the
senate. Senator Douglas is of world
wide renown. All the anxious poll
tlclans OF his party or who had been
OF his party for years past have been
looking upon him as certainly at no
distant day TO be the president Of the
United States. They have seen In his
round, jolly, fruitful face postofiices,
land offices, marshalshlps and cabinet
appointments, chargeships and foreign
missions bursting and sprouting out in
wonderful exuberance, ready to be laid
hold Of by their greedy hands And
as they have been gazing upon this
attractive picture so long they cannot
IN the little distraction that has taken
place IN the party bring themselves
to Give up the charming hopo, but
with greedier anxiety, they rush about
him, sustain him and give him march
es, trlumphal entries and receptions
beyond what, even in the days OF his
highest prosperity, they could have
brought about In his favor. On the
con fary, nobody has ever expected
me TO be president. In my poor lean,
lank face nobody has ever seen that
any cabbages were sprouting out.
These are disadvantages, all taken to
oether, that the Republicans labor un-
er. We have to fight this battle upon
principle and principle alone"
Now hear Mr. Douglas. In their first
Joint debate at Ottawa he said; I'm
the remarks ! have made on this plat
form and the position Of Mr.. Lincoln
upon ii mean nothing personally dis
respectful or unkind to that gentle
man. have known him for nearly
twenty-five years. There were many
points OF sympathy between us when
we FIRST got acquainted We were
both comparatively boys and both
struggling with poverty In a strange
land. ] was schoolteacher in the
town OF Winchester and he a flourish
Ing grocery keeper In the town Of
Salem. He was more successful In
his occupation than was In mine and
hence more fortunate In this worlds
goods. Lincoln is one Of those peculiar
men who perform with admirable skill
everything which they undertake
made as good schoolteacher as |
could, and when cabinetmaker !
made good bedstead and tables, al
though my old boss said succeeded
better with bureaus and secretaries
than with anything else, but ] believe
that Lincoln was always more success
ful In business than |, for his business
enabled him TO get into the legislature.
| met him there, however, and had a
sympathy with him because OF the up.
hill struggle we both bad In life. He
was then Just as good at telling an
anecdote as now. He could beat any
Of the boys wrestling or running foot
race, IN pitching quoits or tossing .
copper; could ruin more liquor than all
of tho boys Of the town together, and
the dignity and impartlality with
which he presided at horse race or
fist fight excited the admiration and
won the praise OF everybody that was
present and participated. sympa
thlzed with him because he was strug
Cling with difficulties. and SO was !
Mr.. Lincoln served with me In the leg
islature In 1886. when we both retired.
and he subsidized or became submerged,
and he was lost sight OF as public
man for some years. In 1s4G, when
Wilmot introduced his celebrated pro
viso aud the abolition tornado swept
over the country, Lincoln again turned
up ms member OF congress from the
Sangamon district. was then In The
sennte OF the United States and was
glad TO welcome my old friend and
companion. While ia congress he dis
tlnguisbed himself by his opposition 10
the Mexican war, taking the side OF
the common enemy against his own
country, and when he returned home he
found that the indignation o. the peo
pie followed him everywhere. and be
was again submerged or obliged 10 re
tire into private life, forgotten by his
former friends. lie came up again In
1854, just In time TO make this aboIi
ton or black Republican platform. In
compsny with Gfddings, LoyeJoy
Chase and Fred Douglass, for the he
publican party TO stand upon. Trum
ban. 100. was one Of onr own conien
posaries.r
Previous chapters OF this narrative
present fully enough for our present
purpose the issues upon which this