The National tribune., 1909-02-25

| There was heavy penalty in Illinois
| for unlicensed persons who accepted
attorneys fees. Lincoln already had
an excellent practice in petty" cases,
often called, and was getting himself
together for the strong work which he
was to do in later years. At the close
of his second term in the Legislature
Lincoln moved to Springfield, the new
State Capital. He was then nearing the
end of his Goth year, was physically and
mentally strong and vigorous. and was
centration and strength of mind and
purpose. cr 81
Joshua Speed. the 'smerchant king"
of Springfield, took a fancyito Lincoln.
and offered him a part of his lodgings
| in Springfield. The offer was accepted
at once. But for that Lincoln would
have been in an embarrassed position,
for he had only the clothes on his back
and empty pockets when he reached the
| Capital. A few days later Maj. Stuart,
who had befriended him years before,
offered him a partnership. The two
men knew each other from the ground
up. go. of course. Lincoln accepted. and
the Stuaru-Lincoln law Office became
his home, for he slept there greater
portion of the time for the four years
| their relations continued.
Admission TO the Bar.
Lincoln was not obliged TO pass any
examination for admission to the bar
in Illinois At least there is no record
of it, IL he was put thru the PAGES"
| The then existing statutes did not pro-
| vide in express terms that there should
be such examination. There was pro-
vision, however, that permitted attor-
neys from other States to be licensed
| without examination. While this sug-
1 ppcfpd that native candidates ChnnlI =
examined, there was no such law on
| the statute books until 1S4I, and il was
so unpopular that il was reScinded the
same year. That was five years after
| Lincoln was admitted"
Lincoln's admission, such as 1t was, is
recorded in Sangamon County. In 'he
records of the Circuit Court, under the
date of March "a. 1896. Judge Stephen
T. Logan was presiding, and he ordered:
| 1T is ordered by the court that it be
certified thar Abraham Lincoln is a
person of good moral character"
The Journal of the same term of
court contains the following entry:
Ordered that it be certified to all
whom 1t may concern that Abraham
! Lincoln is a man of good moral char
acter."
Careful search fails to discover his
| name on the roll of attorneys until
Sept. 9, 1886, and 1t was not published
in the reports until March, 1897. There
is no doubt, however. that the profess
sional life of Lincoln properly dates
| from March "a, 1886
In the law. as in everything else, Lin
coin was original. self-reliant and self
sufficient. While other lawyers consult
ed with each other and sought advice
from older practitioners, Lincoln
worked out his own cases with re-
lsourcefulness that seems amazing to-
day. For one thing. he was not in the
| least hampered by precedents. The
time had not yet come when lawyers
| argued cases in q certain way. because
30 years before their grandfathers had
established precedent" Each case
was taken up on its merits and tried on
| the evidence.
Lincoln hated a dirty" case, and
would net touch one if ne knew before
hand that his client was playing "dou-
BILE" with him. One story which is
found In the annals of the bar of llii-
nois seems to clinch this. 4 Lincoln was
once trying case for man. and when
his client was being cross-examined
Lincoln found that the fellow had lied
to him In stating his. case, and that he
was really dishonest o. 81
Lincoln Immediately left the court
room. and it was necessary for the
Judge TO send for him to- go on with
the case. -
Tell the Judge my hands are dirty
and ! am washing them and cannot
come" he said to the messenger. and
that was the last that client ever saw
of Mr.. Lincoln. Lincoln was really in
the wash room. and was scrubbing his
i big, brawny bands afexactly as Lady
Macbeth did hundreds OF oyears before
him. with the differenee tftat her hands
would not come white and Lincoln's
did.
As Young Lawyer.
1t is difficult to picture Lincoln as he
was at this early period of his life.
Honest Old Abe" was his sobriquet.
He must have been one of the homlieSt
of men, Tor ne constantly quipped about
it himself. His hair was very thick,
coarse and black, his quizzical gray eyes
were deep set. and the strong lines
about the corners of his mouth indi-
Gated melancholy. He was most popu-
lar, liked by women, and his society
sought by children and men. He had
entered manhood's estate loved by al.
yet all of his 21 years had been spent
on the frontier Of civilization, where
the gentle arts were unknown, but
in him seemed to be inborn. He was
clean of speech. modest in manner. the
champion of the coed and the terror of