The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-02-10
THE REAL LINCOLN.

10 Abraham Lincoln is of special in
terest. much is said of him that is not
true, and multitude of stories are told
as Lincoln stories that were old and
moss-grown before he was born
some of them before America was dis
covered, the historic jokes of ancient
times. His memory suffers under
three lines of misstatement to which
attention should be called as matter
of simple Justice
AS to his legal ability and stand
ing, we are told that he was not
first class lawyer; that his practice
was local and limited, and that he had
no connection with really important
litigation. In his recent work, Lin
coin the Lawyer" Frederick Trevor
Hill shows conclusively that by the
time he was forty-five years old, Lin
coin was the peer of any lawyer in
illinois, both in the character of the
litigation in which he was employed,
and the ability with which he conduct.
ed it, and the estimation in which he
was held by other lawyers. Within a
little more than twenty years he had
nearly two hundred cases in the SUI
preme court of the state, a record not
exceeded by any Illinois lawyer, if
equalled by any. He had frequent
cases in the United States courts of
the circuit and district, and at least
two cases in the United States SUI
preme court. He was really a great
lawyer. If anyone questions it, let
him read Hills work, referred to.
1t is a grave injustice to Lincolns
memory to repeat the story that he
failed to appear when the wedding
feast was made, and brought sorrow
and shame to Mary Todd. One of the
leading monthlies recently repeated
this story with elaboration and sug-
gestive illustrations Miss Tarbell in
her Life of Lincoln disposed
of every shred OF substance of this
story, which never had anything but
the poor authority of Herndon as it's
basis. 1t is little less than SIAN
der to repeat it at this day. The en-
gagement was broken off, though af-
! terward renewed, and marriage fol
lowed. But Abraham Lincoln was
guiltless of any discourtesy or dis
honor toward the woman who became
| his wife.
1t is also great wrong to present
Abraham Lincoln as at any time in
| his mature years mere jester Not
one in ten of the stories attributed to
him was ever told by him. And it is
especially libel to speak of him as a
! teller of impure or suggestive stories.
As was said by the artist Carpenter
who spent six months in close asso-
citation with Lincoln making the great
] Emancipation picture: Every foul
mouthed man in the country gave cur
rency to the slime and filth of his
! own imagination by attributing it to
! the President After witnessing his
/ intercourse with almost all classes of
people. l cannot recollect TO have
| heard him relate circumstance
! to any one of them that would have
been out of place in ladys draw
/ ing room" Henry j. Raymond, a
close political friend and adviser, is
quoted to the same effect, even the
same words. Lincoln's family physi-
clan, DR.. Stone said: ut is the prov
ince of physician to probe deeply
1 into the interior lives of men; and l
/ affirm that Mr.. Lincoln was the pur-
est-hearted man ever came in con
] tact with" Secretary Seward, who
saw him almost every day for four
years. and in all circumstances, said:
''Mr. Lincoln is the best man ] ever
knew"
The misstatements concerning Lin
| coin are so many-whether intended
to his credit or discredit-that we can
not hope to have them corrected. But
i let us at least have done with the as
sertion or suggestion that he was a
mediocre lawyer, man lacking in
| honor, or a man of foul mind or
tongue
An electric locomotive hc'ds the