Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-02-05
11NcoLN's SUPERIORITY.
His Secuted Ability to Judge Men
Warmly Championed.

From Lippnc"tts.
There are three charges minated.
rather than directly made, against LIN
coins mental superiority. These are MS
ignorance of financial matters. his poor
Judgment of men and his failure at the
very first to unite all the Union armies
under one field commander. The first
charge is true. Lincoln when a member
of the famous Long Nine in the Illinois
legislature voted for wildcat financial
schemes as cheerfully as any fiat money
champion of more recent days But If
unsOund views on the money question are
proofs of mental inferiority half our
country at any time i'm the last thirty
years would be ready to cOnslgn the other
half to an imbecle asylum. There is just
one clue that will guide a man through
the wilderness of financial quarrels. and
that is the historical clue. Money Is
merely highly specialized and standard
lied form of weight. All ancient coins
were named after earlier WeightS-Shekel,
drachma nina: and we can family inn
agine something of the debasement that
currency has undergone when we recall
that five dollars worth of gold in England
bear the name of pound But 7
really do not know how Lincoln could
have found this clue in the half-faced
camp where he spent his early days and
later he was too busy with immediate
dut les to spare time for researches In the
history of finance.
And I hold the charge of not knowing
men to be fatty untrue. With very rare
exceptions. Lincoln found the best men
available with little delay He was oblig-
ed to pick most of his political associates
from his own party ranks. And the re-
publican party was then new party.
long on principle and short on practice.
as every new party must be. Lincoln
found the best that offered and if his po-
litical advisers made mistakes at least
they helped their chief put through a
gigantic and Misunderstanding work. To the
charge that Lincoln did not Immediately
unearth some dazzling military genius to
rid the land of fits woes. / would answer
that there was no such genius to discover
We had number of men who proved
themselves good generals; but we had
none who stood out so clearly from the
common run as to warrant either hastesor
irregularity in raising him to the chief
command. We had in our ranks no sec
end Washington. no Give. no Moltke, no
Napoleon. The generals who finally fin
ished the war were simply sound, capable
workmen: who walked round their task.
sized it up, and then with unflinching
tenacity put 1t through. Thomas was in
deed passed by. and he was the second.
if not the first, of the Union generals.
But Thomas vas Firginian whose
loyalty was under natural, though most
UNJUST. SuSp1ClOn-dnu one must auu tHdt
when he had a chance to supersede Buell..
Thomas declined with a chivalry that
showed no basis in common sense. Grant
was found early and supported heartily.
1t took no common courage in Lincoln
to turn a deaf ear to the clamOr of the
generals of the antechamber. and give the
silent iron soldier a chance to work out
things in his own stern way. Lastly. it
would have been the height of folly to
give the supreme command to a general
of nprl2nS known
pacity When Lincoln found the right
man to exercise that command it was
conferred without delay and without res
ervations.