New-York tribune., 1909-02-13
LINCOLN IN NEW YORK
DR.. Lyman Abbott Tells of HIS
Sneecb at Cooper Union.

Or LYMAN Abbott who was present at cooper
,-u,o, ~, February 81. 1850. when Abraham Lin
coin made his first speech in New YORK was
the chief speaker in the great hall Of the union
yesterday at the official exercises arranged oy
,,a,.o- NfcCleIlan's committee to celebrate NUM-
cipaIIv the Lincoln centennial
Dr Abbott spoke as follows:
Abraham Lincoln won his reputation anu
achieved his service for the nStlOI Dy 'iII Ir-,
tion Of the labor problem OF ms tlme- d.i
tIoy, can we apply the principles he inculcateu
and the spirit he exemplihed IN SOWING tlle ia0OA
TIi &c the theme TO which ask your atten-
tior This afternoon, for IL would be useless loL
me to attempt to repeat the story Oh H5S tto -
nssav an ANALYSIS OF his character Ih1s mas
too,' 90 aIoouentlv done by the chairman OF thiS
oa+iDg I'm his address before the Edinburgh
PhiIosophical Institution in 1900, ana Oy "a al
5,I,,T1 in his we'll known essay. that the repeti.
tion nv me of their service would pc LeeGIess u
II were possible, and for me would pe siTo7v LtiT
sibIe If il were needed The poet Lone 81, -
has told us that the lives OF great men al re-
mind us We can make our 1Ves suOiIine: - -
is by APPLYING to our problems the PrlnCIpleS
,,;b o,1r great men applied to their problems
ana CARRYING out in our lives the spirit when
made them great that we best nohor @ tileii iiie
nr,, ,ybile we perpetuate their influence
Nearly half century ago. young man JUS
entering on my professional career, l cam @ -. -
Cooper Institute 10 hear lhe w ct,7a1 bir, a
,ationaI reputation. Some of his fTlenuS hau
broached TO him the subject OF nonihatlon nm ~ ~
tI,o presidency What he replied, is the use
Of talking of me when we have such men as
seward and Chase. and everybody knows thein
and scarcely anybody outside OF lllnois hhoWS
me? Besides as a matter OF JustIce io - - .,,, ~
due to them? - His friends. more sanguine thah
he was about himself. had resolved thaI ne
should he known, and had arranged Tor some
Eastern speeches by him. This cooper CIlou
sneech was the first given in this Eastern cam
pagn.
COLD. BUT CONVINCING.
M, recollection of the scene is little more
than a memory of memory Ths long hal''
Win the platform at the end, not at the SIDE
a NOW. the great eXpectant, but not enthusl-
as+ic crowd. the tall ungainly figure, the nlelan-
cboI,- face the clear carrying voice. the rev
orvl-I,ard gestures. I had been accustomed 10
the dramatic and impassloned Oratory OF hehry
ward Beecher. 1 was an admirer. not or the
Drinciples but of the perfect literary nnlsn OF
Wendell PhiIps's rapierlike conversations with
his audiences.
That night I listened to a speech as passion
1ess but also as convincing, as demonstration
In F,,1clids geometry. as clear and cogent, but
also as absolutely without oratorical ornament
of any description. So much. with some errort'
! recall But no effort would enable me ever
n forget the new impulse which that great per
sonaliTv impaired TO my youthful lima gination
From that moment / was an enthusiastic Lin
coin Peuublican, and never have I lost the ad
Tniration for him which he then awakened IN
me subsequent study OF his life and writings
has enabled to analyZe the then unanalyzed
impression which he produced on the young
men of his generation. He was embodied
challenge TO the conscience of the nation He
takes a place in American history which be-
longs to Amos in the history of the Hebrew
people. like Amos son of the people like
Amos with plumb line by which he mea assured
the institutions of his country like Amos. bring
ing every political question to the test What
Continued third page.