Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1909-10-05

States government at the time the sou
cede from the union" Major A. HI. Ha
OF the bronze tablet of Lincoln's Gett
ter, at the Y. M. G. A.. mo man more
Lincoln" the speaker asserted. In ope
that no one ever had or ever will so
man as Lincoln has done in the Gettys
Hamilton's address, which follows, wi
"The subject assigned to me is
Abraham Lincoln. / shall only attempt
to give my estimate of the ability and
character of the man and by quoting
from him freely, let him speak for
himself. No one has or ever will so
clearly, so well paint in words the
real heart of the man as he himself
has done. This requires preparation
and writing down what shall say.
Paul says in his epistle to the Ga
latians, 9Th chapter, Sth verse, He
that soweth to his flesh, shall of the
flesh reap corruption; he that soweth
to the Spirit shall Of the Spirit reap
everlasting life,' or as I would inter-
pret Paul: he that soweth chiefly or
supremelys to this life alone will reap
disappointment, uphappiness, degre-
dation He that soweth in the clear
faith of everlasting life, will reap sat
isfaction, happiness, exaltation. MT.
Lincoln did not sow to the flesh.
mo president of the United States
evinced in all his state papers so fre-
quently, so persistently, his reliance
upon Divine Power as did Abraham
Lincoln. 1t was marked feature IN
nearly all his important papers He
impressed early in his career as pres
ident, upon all the people of the ma
tion and of the civilized world, who
were not blinded by prejudice, COM
plete faith in his ability and supreme
reliance upon his integrity; calling to
his cabinet the leading master minds
of his party he counseled with them
freely and with all the courtesy OF
perfect gentleman, but it was soon ap-
parent that his was the wisest, the no
blest soul of them all. The boys IN
blue called him ather Abraham, and
they thus styled him, out no hp-
pant, piquant feeling, but from the
depths of their hearts. They knew he
was their wise, loving friend, as true
as the needle to the pole, caring for
them with all the tenderness OF a
kind parent for his child. This nerved
them to do battle for him and through
him, for their country, with willing
hearts and with all their might and
strength.
"Mr. Lincoln fought battles for his
country and gained victories OF no
less Importance than those of the
army in the field The success of our
army was greatly hindered by the ene-
mics at home; leading statesmen OF
national fame in the great states OF
New York. Ohio, and other states, un-
der the guise of protecting and pre-
serving the federal constitution, while
claiming to be loyal to the nation,
wrote and published letters in criti-
cisn of some of the presidents acts;
they were so cunningly devised with
the wisdom of the serpent, that they
cast doubt, a gloom, over the great
mass of the American people, until dis
pelled by the irresistible logic and
seemingly inspired thought of MI
Lincoln. The loyal people read his re.
niles and awakened to the joy of re,
lief. like as the storm-tossed mariner
welcomes the sun bursting through
| the dark face of the tempest. These
were some of his great victories. His
enemies overwhelmed, retired in 81
llence to nurse their defeat.
.sThe wonderful power and yet sim
plicity of speech used by Mr. Lincoln
| is strikingly shown in the brief re
marks which put in endearing bronze
we are met here to dedicate. / can
only allude to these victories of Mr..
Lincoln. Time will permit of only brie'
detail and now with this prelude te
quoting from Mr.. Lincoln, let US come
Ito where he takes up his cross.
.sOn the 11th of February, 1861, he
left his home in Springfield, H., upon
his journey to Washington. Ths
weather for the starting was unpro
pitious. In the midst of dripping rair
his friends in great numbers gathered
at the depot to bid him farewell. From
| the platform of his car he addressed
them as follows: My friends, no one
not in my position can appreciate the
sadness that feel at this parting. Te
/ this people I owe all that am. Here
! I've lived more than quarter of i
century; here my children were born