The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1909-02-20

can learn much of value from the yer
attacks which following that cours
brought upon his head, attacks alike by
the extremists of revolution and by thu
extremists of reaction. He never wav-
cred in devotion to his principles, in hig
love for the union, and in his ablIoI-
renee of slavery Timid and lukew irIl
people were always denouncing him be-
cause he was extreme; but as a ma ter
of fact he never went to extremes, hi
worked step by step; and because of lhiL
the extremists hated and denounced lii
with a ferVOr which now seems to US fan
tastic in its dedication of the unreal and
the impossible. At the very time when
one side was holding him up the
apostle of social revolution because he
was against slavery the leading abo-
litionist denounced him as the slave
hound of Illinois, When he was the sec
ond time candidate for president, the ma
jority of his opponents attacked him be-
cause of what they termed his extreme
radicalism, while a minority threatened
to bolt his nomination 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 over
rode the opposition of those who wished
not to go forward at all The goal was
never dim before his vision; but he picked
his way cautiously, without either hal or
hurry, as he STROBE toward it, through
such a morass of difficulty that no man
of less courage would have attempted it,
any man of judgment less serene.
Man of Great liberation.
yet, perhaps the most wonderful thing
of all, and, from the standpoint of the
American of to-day and of the future,
the most vitality important was the
extraordinary way in which Lincoln
could fight valiantly against what he
deemed wrong, and yet preserve undi-
minished his love and respect for the
brother from whom he differed.
Strong Sense of Justice.
He lived in days that were great and
brother for what each sincerely deemed
to be the right. In a contest grim
the strong men who alone can carry it
through are rarely able to do justice
to the deep convictions of those With
whom they grapple in mortal strife. At
ly; to only the rarest and Hottest spirits
is vouchsafed that clear vision Which
gradually comes to all, even to the les leF,
as the struggle fades into distance, Ind
wounds are forgotten, and peace creeps
back to the hearts that were hurt. But
Lincoln was given this supreme vision.
He did not hate the man from whom he
differed. Weakness was as foreign as
wicked to his strong, gentle nature; but
his courage was of quality so higll
that it needed no bolstering of dark pas
sion. He saw clearly that the same
high qualities, the same courage. and
willingness for se1f-sacrifice. and devo-
ton to the right as it was given them to
see the right. belonged both to the men
of the north and to the men OF the south.
AS the years roll by, and as all of us,
wherever we dwell, grow to feel
equal pride in the va1or and self-devo-
ton, alike of the men who wore the blue
and the men who wore the gray, so this
whole nation will grow to feel a peculiar
sense of pride in the mightiest of the
mighty men who mastered the mighty
days; the lover of his country and of all
mankind; the man whose blood was shed
for the union of his people, and for the
freedom of a race, Abraham Lincoln