Omaha daily bee., 1909-02-14
THOUSANDS CHEER LINCOLN
Vast Audience in Auditorium at Clos
ing Of Centenary.
GURLEY AND WEBSTER ORATORS
Eloquent Words Thrill Patriotic
Heart ON the Anniversarx
of the savior of HIs
Country. -

world tho greatest moral foroo ever om-
bodied In a single personality since the star
stood above the stable In Bethlehem"
In this one concise sentence, an epic IN
itself, William y. 0uriey in his first utter
anee In the address delivered at the closing
service Of the Lincoln centenary at the
Auditorium Friday night expressed tho full
feeling OF the patriotic American towards
the great omanoipator.
The ono sentence. forcefully uttered, met
with tho appreciation OF the vast audience
and tho cheers which greeted the speaker
were eloquent OF the love and admiration
held today for the man who saved the
union and fulfilled what jefferson wrote
in the Declaration OF Independence.
Mr.. Gurley was the last speaker on the
evening program, intended as the most i'm
pressive Of the all-day
exercises. General Charles +. Henderson
presided at the evening meeting and aside
from introducing tho speakers delivered a
short address. The general r~ecounted the
times he had met the president. first as a
corporal in the Canton ~zouaves, when they
escorted Mr.. Lincoln across the state Of
Ohio. General Henderson said he was so
impressed with the president that he fol-
lowed him TO Washington to see him in
augurated, FOR" as he said, mo mortal
man ever lived on this earth who could
compare with Abraham Lincoln"
The program was opened with a selection
from '"Tannhauser' by Green's band, fol-
lowed by the singing OF the ~"Star-spangled
Banner by the high school cadets, who
occupied elevated seats at the rear of the
stage. Rev. John L. Neulsen, bishop of the
Methodist Episcopal church, offered the
invocation. the cadets sang when Johnny
Comes Marching Home" and then the adj
dresses OF the evening were delivered by
John Lee Webster and William +. Gurley.
Following the speaking the cadets sang
Walt Whitman's Captain, o My Captain"
the band played a selection and Rev. Edwin
Hart jerks. ID. d., pastor Of the First Pres
byterian church, offered the benediction.
bringing to its final close the most notable
memorial service ever held in the city Of
Omaha.
Address by Mr.. Webster.
John L. Webster delivered the first ad-
dress, speaking as follows:
From 1909 back to 1909. seems now like a
great leap into the past, yet at that time,
In the far west woods of Kentucky, there
was born a boy who was to endure poverty,
bear up under hardships, grow up into man
hood in Natures wlldness, and at last at
tain q greatness almost unequaled in all
the annals OF history.
1t seems as IL that year the planets were
In conjunction to bring forth the birth Sof
great men: 1903 gave to literature Oliver
Wendell Holmes; it gave to science Charles
II. Darwin; II gave TO poetry Aired Tenny-
son, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Edgar
Allen Poe; 1t gave to statecratt Jules
Favre. William E. Gladstone and Abraham
Lincoln.
OF these eminent men, Lincoln and Oar
Win were born on the same day. When
Lincoln by his debates with Douglas and
his Cooper institute address, had impressed
the nation that he was to become a leader
of men in thought and political action, in
behalf of liberty and union in our national
life, Darwin gave to the reading world his
master work on the origin OF Species
Lincoln, for his opinions, was assailed by
all the people of the slave holding states.
and by many men of the north, as a pro-
mulgator of doctrines that would destroy
the peace and harmony OF the union.
Darwin, because he unfolded more of the
wonders of nature than the men of that
time understood, was assailed as an enemy
OF the church and as contradicting the
written words of the Bible. Years pass.
and Darwin is at last found to merit the
last honors of sepulture in Westminster
Abbey, amid the homage yielding throng
OF illustrious men, kings, poets and schol-
ars, scientists and philosophers, clergymen
and plous laity of all the churches. Lin
coin worked out a social and economic
revolution in this country, and demon
strated to the world that a republican
form of government had within itself the
power of preservation and should not
perish from the earth" Years pass. and
today his birth is honored by this centen-
MAJ aAAA ~ 8A NS RNOPNNl VI aA
classes, In every town and city within the
confines OF the government, and the
whole earth has become a willing pedes-
Lincoln the EmancipatOr.
You men Of the Grand Army who are
here will recognize and remember a most
litical agitation that went on over the right
to enlist colored men in the union army In
a letter Of abraham LINCOLN; wherein he
there will be some black men who will re-
member that with silent tongue and
clenched teeth and steady eye and well
poised bayonet they have helped on man
kind TO this great co~nsummation; while [
fear there will be some white ones unable
ceitful speech they have striven to hinder
and prevent H."
nun and expressions OF alteration
Garibaldi, the liberator. In England Its
history is filled with concentration of VIII
lament to free the slaves in all its colonies.
In America Abraham Lincoln will always
be remembered as the emancipation.
out Of Kansas came John Brown. whose
figure stands forth as unique In the annals
OF America hs does that OF Savonarola In
whose voice was as one crying In the will
derness. and what he said was true. When
like Winkelreid of old, he gathered to his
breast the spears of the slave owners and
'the cry for abolition rose to a roar" The
life of the nation was in its darkest peril.
Then II was that the light of the wisdom
of that immortal Lincoln broke over the
land.
Now came one Of the strongest tests OF
Lincoln's courage to publicly express and
rigidly adhere to his settled convictions or
truth and justice. In Independence
hall at Philadelphia, at a time when the
north was filled with alarm that he might
be assassinated before the hour OF his
Inauguration, he said he would rather be
assassinated where he stood than surren-
der the sentiment in the Declaration OF In
dependence which give liberty and hope to
the world.
He was prompted by no less OF courage
when during his campaign for the United
States senate in the state OF Illinois he
said: "A house divided against itself can
not stand. l believe this government can
not permanently endure half slave and half
free. / do not expect the house TO fall. but
/ do expect Il will cease TO be divided"
What Lincoln then said thousands OF
men believed and hundreds must have
Thought about before. but they did not
nave the courage TO say Il. Jefferson must
have believed that; Madison must have be-
lieyed that; Clay must have believed that:
aud Benton must have believed
that. But, faltering between compromises
and palllation, they did not havesthe cour-
age 10 say Il. Abraham Lincoln's closest
friends advised him not to say Il, but he
declared II must be said. and he did say II.
When he said Il he endangered his chances