The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-02-21

we nave 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 nineteenth century; of one of
the greatest men in the world s history.
This rail splitter, this boy who passed
MS 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 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 often than vic
tory, he at last rose to the leadership
of the Republic, at the moment when
that leadership had become the stupen-
dous worldtask of the time. He grew
ito know greatness, but never ease. Sue
cess came to him, but never happiness,
save that which springs from doing
well a painful and 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 a burden the destinies of his PEG,
| pie. His great and tender heart shrank
from giving 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 years of
war went by they found him ever do
ing his duty in the present, even fac
| ing the future with fearless front, high
| of heart, and dauntless of soul. I'm
broken by hatred, mistaken by scorn,
he worked and suffered for the people
Triumph was his at the last; and bare
| ~ had he tasted it before murder found
him, and the kindly, patient, fearless
eyes were closed forever.
As 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 baekwoodsman, they were
alike in essentials, they were alike in
1.-THE great qualities 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 striv-
ing to attain these lofty ideals was
guided by the soundest common sense.
Each possessed inf1exible courage in ad
versity, and soul wholly unspoiled by
prosperity. Each possessed all the gen
tier virtues commonly exhibited by
good men who lack rugged strength OF
character Each possessed also all the
strong qualities commonly exhibited by
those towering masters of mankind who
have too often shown themselves de
void of so much as the understanding
of the words by which we signify the
qualities of duty, of mercy, of devo
ton to the right, of lofty disinterested
ness in battling for the good of others
There have been other men as grea
and other men as good; but in all thu
history of mankind there are no othel
1 rood q those
other two good men as great Wide
| " though the problems of today dlffe
from the problems set for solution t.
| Washington when he founded this ma
| ton. to Lincoln when he saved it ant
| | freed the slave, yet the qualities the,
| showed in meeting these problems ar
| exactly the same as those we SHOULD
| show in doing our work today.
| Lincoln saw into the future with tn
prophetic Imagination usually voneh
safed only to the poet and the seer
| He had in him all the lift toward great
| ness of the visionary, without any o
the visionary fanaticism or egotism
| WITHOUT any u lht NASAcAAe'AJ
jealousy of the practical man ana IN
ability to strive in practical fashlo
for the realization of an ideal. He ha
| the practical man s hard common sens
and willingness to adapt means to ends
bnt there was in him none of tina
$ morbid growth of mind and soul whle
!, blinds so many practical men to tn
higher things of life. No more prac
teal man ever lived than this homei
: hackwoods idealist; but he had nothln
S in common with those practical me
whose consciences are warped unit
tbev fail to distinguish between goo
and evil. fail to understand tina
S strength. ability, sbrewdness, whethe
in the world of business or OF poltlc'
only serve to make their possessor
more noxious. more evil member @
5 the community, if they are not guide
: and controlled by fine and high mor'
sense.
We of this day must try to solv
many social and industrial problem