The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-13
CENTENARY IS CELEBRATED
 ABOUT LITTLE LOG CABIN
sPresident Roosevelt Lays Corner stone of Memorial.
b Haze Tent Covered the AssembI- age and The Driszlinz Rain Was Fsrgot In The Inter-
 est Taken in The
 Exercises.


 Scoln Is to be marked by pile of fgtone.
 The emancipator of a race, and, more @hau that, the liberator of the thought ] of a nation, builded his own monu- inent in the heart of the world, and appropriately the physical structure which has now found beginning at the. place where Lincoln first saw the light. takes the simpler name of Q memorial. It Is to be simple. but classic building of granite, and it Is hoped that 1t may be completed some time next fall. when the then Presi- dent Taft will ofiiciate in dedicating as the present President. Theodore { Roosevelt. today officiated in laying its Foundation stone.
 The cornersone laying took place after appropriate forensic ceremonies, which were participated in by the President Of the United States, Gov ernor Augustus E. Wiilson of Ken lucky. former Governor Joseph VI. Folk of Missouri, President of the Lin- kcoln Farm Association; Hon. Luke B. wright, Secretary of War, who spoke as an ex-ConfedeTAte soldier; Gen. James Grant Wilson of New York. who represented the Union soldiers, and I. T. Montgomery of Mississippi, a negro and an ex-slave.
 With one exception. the orators, rep
 
 in the great struggle. but the present Egeneration as well; the two political parties and the white and black races, las well as the different sections of the country, spoke from the same platform and with the same flag, splendid new specimen of the stars and stripes s1iuttering over them.
 The ceremony was full of interesting and novel features apart from the oc- casion which inspired it, and not the heast interesting was the character of the crowd which comDosed the audi sence, There were probably 5000 or Ee,6OO persons present Many of them had come In on special traina from xa0uisviIle and other Kentucky centerp iand some had, been Attracted to the iscene from fer-away states. i Country Folk Present.
 The bulk of the assembly was com Fposed, however, of the country felk 1rom Larue and adjacent counties.
 The site of the birthplace of the great American is an out-of-the-way corner of the country but while there Twas contrast In the appearance of the fcountrymen and the city-bred digni- lfaries, there was no marked difference lin department. There wAs notable absence of negroes in the crowd but those present were wedged in among Ahe whites showing that none had been kept away by race prejudice. Among those who had been expected to be present was Mrs. Ben Hardin Helm the only surviving sister Of Mrs. Lin. coin, 92 years old, but she was kept jat her home in Louisville, much to the txeRret Of all, by her tnfirmities.
 ' The exercises were conducted under ia -spreading. open-sided tent, which had been erected alongside the cabin in which Lincoln was born. 10e years ago, and while the weather might have been worse. 1t was suf- acientIy dtsagreeable to render the tent useful Raw and damp as was the atmosphere the large throng stood with barred heads during the hour and three-quaFters consumed by the cere- monies, and, discouraging as was the $ weather, there was liberal and 1udicious applause. There was an earnestness of exDression. and 1t was evident that most of those there felt that they were engaged in paying q long-deserved tribute to e national hero-
 President Roosevelt and his tfn- smedIate party arrived shortly before o'clock, after drive over g heavy red clay road from Hodgenvilie, and five minutes afterwards. Governor Wilson called the assemblage together and introduced Rev. pr. E.. l.. Powell of Ifhe First Christian Church of Louis- IviIle, who delivered an extemporaneous prayer.
 The speaker's platform was small and accommodated few, except the participants in the, exercises and the Presidents immediate party, including Mrs. Roosevelt. Miss Ethel Roosevelt, Mrs. Augustus F. Wilson. Captain A. INV. Butt. pr. Rtxey and others.
 Commencing with Governor Will eon's address, the speaking began at 1 o'clock, and notwithstanding there was six set speeches, one prayer and Considerable hand music, to say noth- dng of the laying of the corner stone, Ahe entire ceremony had been con- cluded by 2:45 and few minutes after wards. the visitors had begun their rough carriage rIde back to Hodgen- The President was cordially and saeferentialiy received. He was frequently interrupted by applause. but 1t was always we'll timed and never bofsterous enough to cause either an- Eoyance or much delay. Other speak CTS were also liberally applauded. Mir. Roosevelt aroused special en- -Khusiasm when he mounted a chair and gave the crowd a better oppQr- .funity to see and hear him. In the main, he confined himself closely to his manuscript. but at the beginning. departed from it to make reply to com spIimentary a1Iusions to himself by Governor Folk.
 "Before begin my set speech, wish to say one word as to the compost tion of the people who address you to- day, and what that means. Here we have to greet us men of both political parties. men representing the North and the South; we have Governor of Kentucky of one party and at the last presidential election his state went the other way. we have an ex-Governor of Missouri, of the other party. and at the last presidential election his state Avent the other way
 ' 'sYou see, Governor Folk, the, kstranger' is growing less and less snysterious.
 Now, Governor Folk, you have in- ftrodueed me in way that went to my rheart, because the kind of thing have tried to stand for Is the same kind of 4hing that you have tried to stand for.
 And then we are greeted by ex-Con- lRederates and ex-Union men. and an .ex-Confederate and an ex-Union sol- sdier are to speak; and the ex-Con- GIaa