The Washington herald., 1909-02-07
Lincoln as an Example
to the Young Men Of
This Great Republic.

even though they make him appear
bizarre. extravagant. and ETotesque- En-
! tfusiasms are the fires that drive the
engine OF life: put them out and your
engine may be there. a perfect machine.
but rnofionless and without Use-a thing
OF potential might. but after all no more
than assembled scrap iron fnd that
! enthuSiasms are the children Of our
faiths Lincoln never lost his because
he never lost his faith in things He be
lieved in things. and they were al big
things. And he believed IN them enough
70 work for what he believed in That Is
one reason why he rose hiSn above being
a mere politician.
I once attended national convention
where a new propaganda OF sound eco
nonic reform was proposed programme
that has now become accepted nau9nal
dogma Yet when L was proposed y
was. Of course, not popular Nine-tenths
Of the convention were mere politicians,
there only for the purpose Of nominating
this man or for defeating that one. OF fx-
ing up a platform that would catch Is
many groups Of voters as possible No
body except the little company OF en-
tbusiasts for the new set Of principles
believed in anything at all The noTni-
Mating speeches were tame, freless-meTe
{ forms of words; they might as well have
: been spoken by monographs. 1he ac-
+ ceDted platform OF the hour aroused not
. even the listening interest Of the dele
+ gates who voted for IT. Not one out Of
. ten Of them knew what L contained But
the other men did know what their Pro
posed platform was. They believed IN II
, they fought for il: their speakers spoke
with words that burned even through the
icy indifference Of the men who unintelli-
gently voted them down They had Lin
coins faith. and, therefore, Idncoiu's en-
p rhusiasm.
ToiIed with HIS Hands.
But We are now speaking OF the larger
; things CT life: let US get down &c the
more immediate and practical Lincoln
worked-toiIed. I mean. toiled physically.
toiled with his hands he did not do this
u because ne had to- He was a poor boy.
I : Of course. lad hardly enough to eat. In
: deed. and not enough to wear, but the
; whip Of poverty never yet drove an IN
willing young man 70 industry Lincoln
* father for example. was poorer than ne
= was. and yet he was sEiftlesS. and what
va would now call lazy. His neigh
= bcrs called him "a ne'er GO weel." There
= was many another boy and young man
I. placed precisely as Lincoln was who pre-
y ferred TO 90 fishing rather than system
! aticanv 10 labor. earning honest money
as an instrument Of increasing power.
; young men who preferred 10 90 out and
= hunt wild turkeys rather than split rails
or build fiatboat or grub stumps 80 By
: the impulse OF industry within his blood
ie lincoln chose 10 work-work perslstently
and systematically. He never would
Ut have been President Of the American
republic If he had not done so; o., what
10 Is far uobler. the greatest humanist, ex-
W cepting only Jesus, that the world has
ever seen
have observed this curious thing
it fhst sheer physical industry builds char
IL acter quite as SIrely as il builds muscles
~ have seen that the boy who works. de-
81 veIors not only physical power. but thoss
- glorious virtues Of gratitude. fidelity
re truthfulneSs. and courage-not always. 81
IL course but generally 50 Lincolns eN-
OF ample in this regard means this 70 you,
cd Young man: That when you work until
mt your tcndcms almost break and your
nd bones are weary you are rot only earning
On your wage and all that. but what Is fsE
IS more important. you are quite uncon-
cf sciousiv to yourself building I'D and
od strengthening those ibers Of charactei
Ter which will be the determining things
when in a few years YOU meet the world
and challenge II. not only for liveh-
-. hood. but for place and power
And right here let ne say that wheE
o" YOU do meet the world you VIII have
&c. tc be Just as strong as YOU can make
is yourself in every way IL y0u survive the
-et struggle with IT, Il Is too bad. and I dC
., not like it a biz. But the scientific truth
- is that the world has no more Use fol
weakinss among human beings than the
OF Jungle has for weaklings among animals
TAI Business. and politics. and literature. snC
ng art are ali looking for the strongest anc
Ion best eauipped-and they viii have them
u tee No pull can haul you 10 the high
oy er places and keep you there-never for
ied get that an instant
IA Things to Remember.
= Remember that there are hundreds o
ed thousands Of other young men who meal
CO. 20 have the very place Of which you ar
7as dreaming. Remember that tens Of thou
md sands Of these young men have physics
not constitutions as strong as oxen; ths
ore their muscles are like steel wire; tha
eI- their lungs are like leather bellows; thei
1e- stomachs. unconscious Of Indigestion an
ere quite able TO convert parched corn int
are brain and Drawn Remember that thei
Of nerves are ike insulated wires. able Z
red withstand any shock; that in stress o
&c necessity they can 60 for days and night
sSe without sleep Remember that their viii
10 are as determined ana underwriting as u
les fOw of ocean currents: that their mind
and are trained and resOureefui. And finall
nth remember. above all. that unsided II
ege unlph over years Of uumberless dificul
ON ties and obstacles has made them r.
ac- SOurcefuI and instant in device
nan How can you expect to win IN Coltes
die with this great horde OF physical an
mental hardihood unless you are sim
al larry trained and equipped? And 7 don
q q know how you can better be trained ar
. equipped than by vividly studying I.ir
- coins life and methods and foliowin
then-I mean studying. actual studyInl
that viii make your head whiri; not
languid and comfortable reading Of son
incidents Of this great mans years
preparation for the lofty duties whiC
fate finally called upon him 20 discharg
You viii md that Lincoln worked
! worked all the time. that he ContTive
to make every step he took upward q
The ladder manufacture him more ths
enough strength to take the next sts
upward.
Don't get the idea that his was a pla
OF glum and sulien work He found j.
Unite zest in it. Laughter and fun wo'
threads OF c0lOr through the solid al
Continued on Page =, Colums y