The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1909-02-08
NEWARK PASTORS
honor MEMORY Of
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
The Rev. Robert Wesley Peach
breaches Moving Sermon
to e. A. R. Veterans.
In UNIFORM, POSTS
MARCH TO THE CHURCH
High Tributes Are Paid to Mar
tyred President, Born
100 Years Ago.

aAbraha1n LincoInc was the subject
Of sermons in many puIpits in Newark
Yesterday. These were the first ad-
dresses In of the 1OOth
anniversary of the birth of the great
Eresident, which occurs Friday, and on
next Sunday nearly every church in tho
CITY Will have devoted a day to the re-
waiting of LincoIn's greatness.
Every Grand Army post in the city
Was represented. in uniform and with
e batt1e-fags, at Emanuel Reformed Epis-
fscopal Church, Broad street and Fourth
avenue, yesterday, when the Rev. Rob-
4 ertf Wesley Peach spoke on abraham
lincoln, Great Heart, Patriot, Deliv-
erer. Prophet" All of the ladies' AUX
N1haries were also represented. The G..
B "a. r posts marched to the church, led
by Lincoln Post No. IL. Others at the
special Lincoln services were Garfield
Post, Isaac NJ. Tucker Post, Phil Sheri-
dan Post, Marcus L. Ward Camp, Sons
ofe Veterans; Hexamer Post; Kearny
Circle, Ladies of the G.. A. R.; Garfield
Post Auxiliary, Phil Sheridan Circle,
Lincoln Post Auxiliary, Hexamer Post
N Auxiliary, Battery B Circle, Ladies of
the G. A R, and veterans not affiliated
with any of the Local posts. The vet
Grams and their friends came near oc-
A cupytng every seat in the church. The
cdi1ce was decorated with flags. and
the scene was most inspiring.
4% Tribute to Lincoln.
First reading a number of selections
from the writings of Lincoln, exhibit
ing the qualities upon which he was
2 about to enlarge, the speaker said:
"One of his ~biographers has said that
flincon was great as a statesman, as IL
G~iplomatist, as a military strategist, as
q master of English prose, as a man of
n fa1th IN God. He was widely recognized
as a great lawyer, and there were not
wanting distinguished contemporaries
to al him with Webster and CLAY as
an orator. He was called philanthro-
pist, c%onqueror, restorer, Hberator,
martyr. His great title is emancipation.
When he died the pulpit of our whole
country preached his funeral sermon
A cursory scanning Of the sermons de-
livered in New York and Boston alone
shows that nearly the whole English
vocabulary descriptive of manly and
Christian virtues was applied to him.
But certain words recur in nearly all
these sermons, calling Lincoln honest,
wise, kind, gentle, simple, patient, good,
great, noble, upright, firm faithful. low
ing, tender, just, merciful, generous,
magnanimous, humble, meek, forgiying
conscientious, pure, true, sincere.
He who would speak of the many
sided Lincoln must therefore choose a
limited field of survey. 1 speak first
of
Abraham lincoln, great heart,
Read his letter of anguished sympathy
to Joshua Speed owe the latter's sor-
rows in love, if you would see an early
evidence of his great-h~eartedness.
What was 1t hat made Lincoln volun-
teer to the widow of his friend Arm
strong to defend her son, whom he
cleared from the charge of murder?
Why did he set apart hours of his
precious time in the White House to
hearing the appeals of the poor, the
oppressed, the repentant? What caused
him to write letters of consolation to
bereft parents, such, as eliminated in
that SURPRISING message of coincidence
to Mrs. Bixby, whose five sons had died
for their country? Let me quote the
closing words: L pray that our Heav-
emily Father may assuage the anguish
Oh your bereavement, ana leave you
only the cherished memory of the loved
and lost, and the solemn pride thai
must be yours to hav laid so costly a
sacrifice upon the altar of freedom
How was 1t that the great President
could hardly forbear pardoning SOL
diers condemned for desertion or other
derelictfon, and as is the case of Will
lam Scott. the sleeping sentinel, return
to his company one who was never en-
rolled in any post of the Grand Army
of the Republic, because he poined the
great host of those who died for the
flag?
What drove the weary mar upon his
return from Richmond to visit every
n of the 5000 wounded soldiers in City
Point Hospital, grasping those hands
That had escaped, and laying his hand
lovingly upon the heads of patriots
whom battles carnag had mutilated?
The great heart, oh, the great heart
of Abraham Lincoln. For it we love
him beyond all others sons of men.
abraham Lincoln, patriot. His
patriotism was pure gold, in quality
and intensity not less than Washing
tons. Nor was it of the kind that finds
its chief expression in ornate rhetoric.