The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1909-02-27
LINCOLN's GREAT HEART.

Friday, FEBRUARY IL, marked the
one hundredth anniversary of the birth
of Abraham Lincoln, Americas i'm
mortal martyred President, he having
been born February ~. 1909, in a
lowly cabin in the backwoods of Ken
tucky.
In all the cities of the country, the
South as we'll as the North, the day
was commemorated in suitable man.
ner, and the people from every walk
in life joined in paying their tithes of
reverence and respect to his memory.
In the AmerIcan Magazine Ida M.
Tarbell tells a really great Lincoln
story. 1t is presented in the form of
recollections of Lincoln told Billy
Brown, Springfield, ILL.,, druggist,
who knew Lincoln intimately. Fol-
lowing is an extract from talk Lin
coin once gave his old friend Brown.
1t is presented just as Brown told it:
Then there's that pardoning busi-
ness. Every now and then / have to
fix it up with Stanton or some officer
for pardoning SO many boys. I sup
pose it's pretty hard for them not to
have all their rules lived up to.
They've worked out lot of laws to
govern this army, and 1 suppose it's
natural enough for 'em to think the
most important thing in the world is
havin' 'em obeyed.
They've got it fixed so the boys
do everything accordin' to regula
tions. They won't even let 'em die
of something that amt on the list
got to die accordin to the regulations
But by jingo, Billy, l amt goin' to
have boys shot accordin' to no dumb
regulations. I amt goin' to have
butchers day every Friday in the
army if 1 can help it. It's so what
they say about me, that I'm always
lookin' for an excuse to pardon some
body. l do it every time I can find
a reason. When they're young or
when they're green Or when they've
been worked on by Copperheads or
when they've got disgusted lyin' still
and come to think we amt doin' Our
iob-when l see that amt goin' to
have 'em shot.
'You can't make me believe it's
good policy to shoot these soldiers,
anyhow. Seems to me one thing
we've never taken into account as we
ought to is that this is volunteer
army. These men came down here
to put an end to this rebellion and not
to get trained as soldiers. They just
dropped the work they was doin' right
where it was-never stopped to fix
things up to be away long. Why,
we've got little minister at the head
of one company that was preachin'
when he heard the news of Bull Run.
He shut up his Bible, told the con-
gregation what had happened, and
said: Brethren, 1 reckon it's time
for us to adjourn this meetin' and go
home and drill, and they did it, and
now they're down with Grant. When
the wars over that man will go back
and finish that sermon.
"a while after Bull Run l met
boy out on the street here on crutches,
thin and white, and 1 stopped to ask
him about how he got hurt. Well,
Billy, he looked at me hard as nails,
and he says: BE you Abe Lincolnl'
And l said, Yes WELL, he says,
all I've got to say is you don't know
your job. I enlisted glad enough to
do my part, and I've done it, but you
amt done yourn. You promised to
feed me, and l marched three days at
the beginning of these troubles with
out anything to eat but hardtack and
two chunks of salt pork-no bread,
no coffee-and what 1 did get wasn't
regular. They got us up one mornin'
and marched us ten miles without
breakfast. Do you call that providin'
for an army? And they sent us down
to fight the Rebs at Bull Run, and
when we were doin' our best and hold
in 'em-I tell you, hol6in' 'em-they
told us to fall back. Iswore would
not-I hadn't come down there for
that. They made me-rode me down.
got struck-struck in the back.
Struck In the back and they left me
there-never came for me, never gave
me drink, and l dyin' of thirst. |
crawled FIVE miles for water, and I'd
be dead and rottin' in Virginia today
if teamster hadn't picked me up and
brought me to this town and found an
old darkey TO take care of me. You
amt doin' your job, Abe Lincoln, you
won't win this war until you learn to
take care of the soldiers.
ct couldn't say thing. 1t was
true. It's been true all the time.
It's true today. Weain't taking care
of the soldiers like we ought" f"