Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1909-02-04

| stood witbin q few yards Of Pres
fdent Lincoln when he delivered his
first inaugural address from the east
portico Of the Capitol In Washington.
writes a correspondent. was news
paper writer and had come with him
from his home In Springfield to re-
count to my paper the incidents of his
Journey. Washington looked on the day
day as a momentous one, and was not
free from a sense of peril. No pre-
vious Inauguration day had been 50
ushered in.
The Senate sat all the night pre-
vious, not adjOurning till after mid
night. Crittenden, Douglas, Trumbull,
Wlgfall and Wade laundering against
each other in their final debate, which,
after all. was not loud enough to keep
all their colleagues awake, as many of
them lay stretched out on the sena-
torial safas, snoring a drowSy accom-
paniment The town was astir by sun
rise, with crowds gathering at all points
from the White House to the Capitol
Lincoln spent the early morning
hours in his rooms at Wizards, and |
remember that among his callers were
David Davis Thurlow Weed, Leonard
SWEET, Ward Lamon, with many 9th
ers not now to be certainly remem-
bered
The procession began to move about
II o'clock, but it was an hour and a
half before Buchanan appeared, having
been delayed at the Capitol in signing
bills, some of which, ii was said, got
his signature after his term of office
had actually expired.
Ride to the Capital.
When all was ready Senators Baker
and Pole took seats in the carriage,
fronting the two Presidents, Buchanan
looking old, gray and haggard, Lincoln
dark and firm, wearing a mournful and
anxious expression of countenance.
Thus accompanied, they set forth on
their historical ride to the Capitol.
Around the carriage were mounted
guards and a flying squadron of news
paper correspondents, the latter keep
ing as near to 1t as possible. one of
the artists of an illustrated paper max
along. There was n desert cloud of
dust along the avenue riding the blus-
tcring March winds, and sometimes hid
ing the entire procession from view.
1t was a little after 1 O'clock when
the outgoing and incoming Presidents,
arm in arm, entered the Capitol, pro.
ceeding immediately to the Presidents
room, whence they emerged in a few
minutes, guarded by the Marshal of the
District, Justices of the Supreme Court
and the Senators, the diplomatic corps.
heads of departments, Governors of
States, and Others and made their way
to a grand wooden pavilion, under
which Mr. Lincoln stood while he de
livered his memorable message. Chief
Justice fancy, old, shriveled to the
bone, with a face like parchment NUT
fed in his silkeh robes sat In front
of the array of Judges. Close by stood
Douglas, so near, in fact, that Mr. Lin
coin, finding no place on or under the
small reading table provided for him
on which to deposit his hat, handed it
over TO his mighty servitor, who held
Ii carefully until the address was fin
tshed.
Mr. Iincoln's voice was clear and
penetrating, and was distinctly heard
far and near among the assembled mul,
titude who preserved an unbroken 81
lence from the beginning TO the end.
Then a great cheer arose and ran like
a wave along the avenue, carrying tes-
fiDAnIN- y,-hin l, win
the wires In every direction that the
inauguration had been successfully ac-
compished and that in spite of all
perils, visionary and real, Abraham
Lincoln was President of the United
States and new historic era had been
ushered in.
Mr.. Lincolns inaugural address was
completed before he left Springfield,
but it was subjected to a careful proc
ess of revision almost up TO the hour
of its delivery. He had TO sustain the
shock OF many a collision and the en-
Uttered remonstrance of many disap-
pointed individual and cabal before the
final screw was put into the fabric of
his Cabinet. Even then 1t threatened
to tumble apart. The morning of the
Inauguration brought a letter from
Seward desiring to withdraw las prom
Use 10 accept the post of Secretary of
State, but this in the last moment he
was Induced to reconsider.
Battle over the Cabinet.
Weed and Greeley had pitched bat
tie on the composition of the Cabinet,
neither side scoring a victory. Weed
was bitterly opposed to giving the
Treasury to Chase Greeley supported
his appointment, and so far as this was
concerned carried his point but was
beaten on others, so that it was prac-
tically drawn battle. Lincoln blunt.
" told Weed that IL Chase did not
come into the Cabinet neither should
Seward.
Cameron was not idle in those days
reached for many things: got the War
portfolio at last after infinite toll; did
not keep 1t long, but had long season
in which to explain the intricacies OF
his brief administration. The CORE
spondents of the papers, OF course
knew little of these things at the time
They came out later, as part OF tbs
secret history Of the period.