Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1909-02-13
GRANITE Pie TO MARK
tiNCOtK'S BIRTHPLACE
(Cntinued from FIRST Page.


front, high of heart and danntless oi
sonl. lintrOkcn by hatred. mistaken
by scoru, he worked and suffered for
the people. Triumph WIS his at the
last: and barely had he tasted Il be-
fore murder found him and The kind
|; pa,i.nt. fearless owes were closed
forever.
Two Widely Different.
As i people we are indeed bcyond
measure fortunate in IN" characters oi
the two greatest OF our public men.
Washington and Lincoln Widely
though they differed i'll "N,"rnal*. III"
Virginia landed gentleman and IN"
Kentucky backwoodSniau they were
alike In essentials, they were alike In
the great qualities which rendered
Zach able to render service to his
nation and TO all mankind such as
no other man OF his generation could
or did render. Each had lofty ideals,
but each in striving TO attain these
lufty ideals was guided by the sound
est common sense Each possessed in.
tcxii!c courage in adversely. and
soul wholly unspoil"i by prosperity.
Each boss, ssed all he gtniler !ir-
tues commonly exhibited by good
men who lack rugged strength OF
character Each possess d also all
the strong qualities commonly tx
hibitcd ~ those towering masters OF
mankind vino have TOO often shown
themselves devoid CT 50 much AS the
understanding of the words by which
We signify the quail" of dGty. OF
mercy. of devotion to tn" right. of lot-
T. disinterestedness in battling Tor
the rood of others. There have beei
other men as great and other men
as good: but in all tn" history OF
mankind there are no o.hrr two great
men as Good as these no other two
good men as great Widely though
the problems OF today differ from the
problems set for solution to Washing
ton when he founded this nation. to
Lincoln when he saved il and freed
the slave. yet he qualities they show
ed in meeting these problems are
exactly the same as those We shonid
show Iii doing our work today.
Lincoln saw into the future with
the prophetic imagination usually
vouchsafed only to the poet and the
seer. He had in him all the lit TO
ward greatness of the visionary. with
out any of the visionarys fanaticism
or rgotism. without any of the vision
ary's narrow JEALOUSY OF the practical
man and inability to stri,' in pracu-
cal fashion for the realization OF an
ideal He had the prac. lea, man
hard common sense and Willingness
to adapt means to ends; but there
was in him none of that morbid
growth of mind and sU,l which blinds
so many practical men to The higher
things OF life. No more practical man
ever lived than this homely back
woods idealist: but he had nothing
! in common with those practical men
whose consciences are waryed until
they fail to distinguish between e0od
and evil, fail TO understand mat
strength. ability, shrewdness. whether
in the world OF business or OF politics.
only serve 10 make their possessor
more noxious. a more evil member o.!
the community. II they are not guild
ed and controlled by fine and h'gh
moral sense. =. ..,
Can Profit Now.
We of this day must try to solve
many social and industrial problems,
requiring TO an especial degree the
cont ination Of indomitable resolution
with coolheaded sanity. We can
profit bv the way in which Lincoln
used these traits as he strOve for re-
form. We can learn much of value
IRON the very ATTACKS which following
that course bro1ght upon his head.
attacks alike by the extremists or
revolution and by the extremists or
reaction. He never wavered in devo
ton to his principles. in his love for
the Union, and in his adherence OF
slavery. Timid and lukewarm people
were always den ouncing him because
he was too extreme; but as matter
O. fact he never went 10 extreme. ne
worked step by step; and because o,
this the extremists hated and de-
nounced him with fervor which no"
seems to us fantastic in its dedication
Of the unreal and the impossible. A.
the very time when one side was hold
ing him I'D as the apostle OF social
revolution because he was against
slavery the leading abolitionist de-
uounced him as the slave hound OF H.
linots.- When h. was the second
time candidate for president. the ma
pOr1ty or MS Opp'pe"'o d'oShed III"
| because Of what hey termed his ex-
IRENE radicalism, while minority
threatened to bolt his nomination be-
cause he was not radical enough. He
! had continually o check those who
| wished to so forward too fast. at the
yery time that n" OVERRIDE the OPP
DOS tion of thos, who wished NOT TO
20 forward IT ali The goal was never
dim before his vision; hit he pickei
hts way cautiousl'. without either halt
or hurry, as he strobe toward IT,
through such morass OF difficulty
tina, no man OF less. courage would
have attempted il while II would
surely have overwhelmed any man OF
Judgment less serene.
More Wonderful Of Al.
"yet nerhsps The most wonderful