Evening star., 1909-05-30
VERSION IS DECIDED ON
LincoIn's Gettysburg Address
for National Cemeteries.
BRONZE AND IRON TABLETS
Manuscript as Corrected by Martyr
President Is Adopted.
LONG CONTROVERSY SETTLED
Son of Emancipator Defended Fa-
theirs Right to Revise and Ad-
vocated Version Chosen.
LONG CONTROVERSY SETTLED

! President Lincoln's famous Gettysburg
address. delivered fortysix years ago, is
to be perpetuated in enduring bronze and
iron in the principal national cemeteries
in the United States, seventy-six in num-
| ber.
Orders to that effect have been issued
by Assistant Secretary Oliver. They will
be executed under the supervision of
Quartermaster General Aleshire.
The act of Congress, approved Febru-
| airy IL, 1895. providing for the establish
ment of a national military park at Get
tysburg. Pa. directed the Secretary of
/ War Ito cause a suitable bronze tablet.
! containing on it the address delivered by
| Abrah Lincoln. President of the United
states. at Gettysburg November 10. 1863.
on the occasion of the dedication of the
national cemetery at that place. and such
/ tablet, having on 1t besides the address
a medallion likeness of President Lincoln,
| to be erected on the most suitable site
within the limits of said park"
| The act appropriated 5000 to pay the
| cost of the tablet medailian and pedestal l..
/ The sundry civil act approved May II,
| l!OS. made an appropriation of 5000 for
placing iron tablets containing the Get
| tysburg address of Pre- esident Lincoln in
the other seventy-five national cemeteries.
| Controversy Over Versions.
| Although the original act was passed
more than fourteen years ago and the
subsequent act about year ago. 1t was
| only in the past few days that arrange
ments were completed for carrying their
| provisions into effect. The delay was al
most entirely due to difficulty in deter
| mining the text of the Gettysburg ad-
| dress.
| That has been a matter Of friendly con-
| troversy among interested parties almost
from the day of it's delivery. Among
those who took part in this discussion
were John Hay, former Secretary of
State. and John G. Nicolay both of whom
were secretaries to President Lincoln
Robert T. Lincoln. his surviving son: J. T.
Nicholson. chairman OF the Gettysburg
national military park commission: Gen.
Aleshire. quartermaster general: Gen.
Oliver. assistant secretary Of war, and
many others.
From the mass of correspondence on the
subject it appears that there three
sources of authority for Lincoln's Get
tysburs address, or rather three versions
of It, They are all Identical in thought
but differ slightly in expression.
Nicolay Describes Versions.
The versions are described by Mr.. Nico-
| lay in a letter on the subject. as follows:
Il. The original autograph MS. draft
written by Mr.. Lincoln partly at WASH
ington and partly at Gettysburg.
z. The version made by the shorthand
reporter on the stand at Gettysburg when
the President delivered it. which was tel
egraphed and was printed in the leading
newspapers of the country on the follow
ing morning.
'3. The revised copy made by the
| President a few days after his return to
Washington. upon a careful comparison
of his original draft and the printed news
| paper version. with his own recollection
! of the exact form in which he delivered
, it,
The last of these said Mr.. Nicolay
| lis the regular outgrowth of the two
which preceded it, and Is the perfected
product of the Presidents rhetorical and
| literary mastery.
Gen. Aleshires Summary.
Quartermaster General Aleshire, to
whom the matter was submitted for re-
| follows:
l. The final revision published in
| Autograph Leaves of Our Country S
Authors prepared by President Lincoln
| five months after the address for the
soldiers and sailors fair at Baltimore.
This is the version desired by both Col.
Nicholson and Robert T. Lincoln. The
| latter regarded it representing his
fathers last and best thought as to the
| address.
| 'o. The version stipulated to be, used
| by the act of February II. 1898. appro-
| priating 5000 for the bronze tablet con-
| tanning the address to be erected in the
| Gettysburg National Park. This differs
| slightly from the Baltimore version.
| . The John Hay VI rsion. from a pho
| tographic facsimile of the original manu-
script as written and corrected by Presi-
| dent Lincoln four days after he had de-
livered the address and presented it to
| John Hay. This differs in several particu-
lars from either of the above versions
| In view of the discrepancies which ap-
pear in the several versions of this ad-
| dress says Gen. Aleshire ''the matter
is resubmtted with the request for a de
cision as TO the one which shall be used
for the tablets in the national cemeteries. .
| G. p. o. Amendments.
| In a letter to the quartermaster gem
era,, Col. J. P. Nicholson. chairman OF
| the Gettysburg National Park commits
| sion, said:
| We are not aware of the source from
which the address was obtained in the
act creating the National Park, but, word
| for word, it follows the Baltimore YER
sion. The punctuation. however, is the
| work of the public printer and is in ac-
cordance with the rules of punctuation
! followed in his Office.
| col. Lincoln is undoubtedly correct in
his contention of the manner in which
the address should be printed, and the
| Baltimore version as given in the Auto
graph Leaves should be used and none
other.
"As no tablet has been cast for the
Gettysburg National Park there is none
to change: When it is cast for the park
1t will follow, with the approval of the
Secretary of War, the Baltimore YER
1 sion
View of Presidents Son.
In recent letter to Quarterma ster
General Aleshire on tne subject Robert
I. Lincoln said in part:
"As | wrote you before. the Baltimore
fair version represents my fathers last
and best thought as to the address, and
| the corrections i'm it were legitimate for
an author, and | think there is no doubt
they improve the version as written out
for Col Hay. And, as l said to you be-
fore. | earnestly hope that the Baltimore
| fair version will be used.
1T differs. as you indicate, very slight
iy from your exhibit A. which. as you
say. Is given lin the statutes-at-large
making appropriation for the tablet
|