Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-02-16

sary of the birthday of former President
Abraham Lincoln:
Speech of Roosevelt
We have met here to celebrate the
hundredth anniversary of the birth OF one
of the two greatest Americans; of one of
the two or three greatest men of the nine
teenth century; of one of the greatest
men in the worlds history. This ran
splitter, this boy who passed his ungainly
youth in the dire poverty of the poorest
of the frontier folk, whose rise was by
weary and painful labor, lived to lead
his people through the burning flames
of a struggle from which the nation
emerged, purified as by fire, born anew to
a loftier life After long years of iron
effort, and of failure that came more Oft
en- than victory, he at last rose to the
leadership of the republic, at the moment
when that leadership had become the
stupendous world-tssk of the time. de
grew to know greatness, but never ease
Success came to him, but never happi-
ness, save that which springs from doing
well a painful and a vital task. Power
was his, but not pleasure. The burrows
deepened on his brow, but his eyes were
undimmed by either hate or fear, HIS
gaunt shoulders were bowed, but his steel
thews never faltered as he bore for
burden the destinies of his people. His
ing pain: and the task allotted him was
to pour out like water the life-blood OF
the young men, and to feel in his every
fiber the sorrow of the women. Disaster
saddened but never dismayed him. AS
the red wears of war went by they found
him ever doing his duty in the present
ever facing the future with fearless 'front.'
high of heart, and dauntless of soul. I'm
broken by hatred mistaken by scorn, he
NJ o,tffa the nR0nl0- Irl-
umph was his at the last; and barely
had he tasted ii before murder found him,
and the kindly, patient, fearless eyes were
closed forever.
People Are Fortunate
AS a people we are indeed beyond
measure fortunate in the characters of
the two greatest of our public men,
Washington and Lincoln. Widely though
they differed in externals, the Virginia
landed gentleman and the KENTUCKY
backwoodsman. they were alike In essen
tails, they were alike In the great quar-
ties which rendered each able to render
service to his nation and to all mankind
such as no other man of his generation
could or did render. Each had lofty
ideals, but each in striving to attain
these lofty ideals was guided by the
soundest common sense. Each possessed
inflexible courage in adversely, and
soul wholly unspoiled by prosperity.
Each possessed all the gentler virtues
commonly exhibited by good men VINO
lack rugged strength of character.
Towering Masters
Each possessed also all the strong quail
tiles commonly exhibited by those tow
ering masters of mankind who have too
often shown themselves devoid of so
much as the understanding Of the words
by which we signify the qualities OF duty,
of mercy, of devotion to the right, or
lofty disinterestedness in battling for the
good of others. There have been other
men as great and other men as good;
but in all the history of mankind there
are no other two great men as good as
these, no other two good men as great.
Widely though the problems of today
differ from the problems set for solution
to Washington when he founded this ma
ton, to Lincoln when he saved 1t and
freed the slave, yet the quality they
showed in meeting these problems are ex-
actly the same as those we should show
in doing our work today.
Lincoln Was Prophet
Lincoln saw into the future with the
prophetic Imagination usually vouchsafed
only to the poet and the seer. He had
in him all the lift toward greatness OF
the visionary, without any of the vision
ary's fanaticism or egotism, without any
of the visionary's narrow jealousy OF the
practical man and inability to strive in
practical fashion for the realization OF az
IDEAL He had the practical mans hard
common sense and willingness to adapt
means TO ends; but there was in him
none of that morbid growth of mind and
soul which blinds so many practical men
to the higher things of life. No more
practical man ever lived than this honely
backwoods idealist; but he had nothing
I'm common with those practical men
whose cOnsciences are warped until they
fail to distinguish between good and evil,
fail to understand that strength, ability,
shrewdness, whether in the world of bust
mes or of politics, only serve to make
their possessor a more noxious, mora
evil member of the community, If they
are not guided and controlled by fine
and high moral sense.
Can Profit by Example
We of this day must try to solve many
social and industrial problems, requiring
to an especial degree the combination OF
indomitable resolution with cOOl-headed
sanity We can profit by the way In
which Lincoln used both these traits as
he strove for reform We can learn much
of value from the very attacks which fol-
lowing that course brought upon his head,
attacks alike by the extremists OF TeNOlu-
ton and by the extremists of reaction. He
never wavered in devotion to his princi-
pies, in his love for the union, and in
his adherence of slavery. Timid and
llukewarm people were always denouncing
him because he was too extreme but as
a matter of fact he never went to ex-
tremes, he worked step by step; and be-
cause of this the extremists hated and de-
nounced him with fervor which now
seems to us fantastic in its dedication of
the unreal and the impossible.
At the very time when one side was
holding him up as the apostle Of social
revolution because he was against
slavery, the leading abolitionist denounc-
ed him as the "slave hound Of illinois,
When he was the second time candidate
for president, the majority Of his oppo-
nents attacked him because of what they
termed his extreme radicalism, while a
minority threatened to bolt his nomina-
ton because he was not radical enough.
He had continually to check those who
wished to go forward too fast. at the
very time that he OVERRIDE the opposition
of those who wished not to go forward
at ali. The goal was never dim before
his vision; but he picked his way eau
tiously, without either halt or hurry. asi