The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1909-03-04
President Rooseuelt's
Tribute to Lincoln
From the Review of Reviews.

From the Review of Reviews.
Tho White House, Washington. Jan. /,
1909. To the Editor of the Review of Re
views: The deeds and words of the great
men of The nation. and above all the
character of each of the foremost men
of the nation. are one and an assets OF
fnestimable value to the republic. Lin
coins work and IIincoln's words should
he, and | think more and more are, part
of those formative influences which tend
to become living forces for good citizen
ship among our people. There is one of
his letters which has always appealed to
me particularly. 1t is the one running
as follows:
Executive Mansion, Washington. Nov.
q. 1864. To Mrs; Bixby, Boston, Mass
illes of the war department. a statement
of the adiutant general of Massachusetts
that YOU are the mother of five sons who
have died gloriouSly on the field of battle.
/ feel how weak and fruitless must he
any word of mine which should attempt
TO begutie you from the grief of a loss so
rendering you the consolation that may
be found in the thanks of the republic
they died to save. l pray that our HeaN-
emily father may asSuage the anguish of
your bereavement and leave you only the
cherished memory of the loved and lost,
and the solemn pride that must be yours
to nave laid SO costly a sacrifice upon the
altar of freedom. Yours very sincerely
and respectfully. \. Lincoln.
Any man who has occupied the office of
president realizes the Incredible amount
of administrative work with which the
president has to deal even in time of
peace. HE IS of necessity a very busy
man, a much driven man, from whose
mind there can never be absent for many
minutes at q time the consideration of
some problem of Importance, or of some
matter of less Importance which vet
causes Worry and strain. Under such cir
cumstances, 1t is not easy for a president
even in times of peace to turn from the
affairs that are of moment to all the
people and consider affairs that are of
moment to but one person. While this is
true of times of peace, 1t is of course in
finitely more true of times of war. NO
president who has ever sat in the White
House has borne the burden that Lincoln
bore. or been under the ceaseless strain
which he endured. Ever he had to con-
slider problems of the widest Importance,
ever to run risks of the greatest magni-
tude: and Yer through and across his
plans to meet these great dangers and
great responsibilities was shot the wool
OF an infinite number of small worries and
SINAI a~nnoNances. He worked out his
great task while increasingly beset by the
need of attending as best he could to a
multitude of small tasks.
1t is a touching thing that the great
leader, while thus driven and absorbed.
Soulu Vet SO often turn aside for the
moment to do some deed of personal kind
ness; and it is a fortunate thing for the
nation that in addition to doing so we'll
each deed, great or small, he possessed
that marvellous gift of expression which
enabled him quite unconsciously to choose
the very words best fit to commemorate
each deeds. His Gettysburg speech and
his second inaugural are two of the half
dozen greatest speeches ever made-I am
tempted to call them the two greatest
ever made. They are great in their Wis
dom. and dignity and earnestness, and in
a loftiness of thought and expression
which makes them akin to the u~tterances
OF the prophets of the Old Testament. In
a totally different way, but in strongest
and most human fashion, such u]tterances
as his answer to the serenaders immedi-
ately after his second election, and his
letter which I have quoted above. appeal
to us and make our hearts thrill. The
mother to whom he wrote stood in one
sense on a loftier plane OF patriotism than
the mighty president himself. Her mem
DRY. and the memory Of her sons, whom
she bore to die for the union, should be
kept green in our minds; for she and they.
in life and death, typitied all that is best
and highest in our national existence. The
deed itself. and the words of the great
man which commemorate tina deed.
should form one Of those heritages for
all Americans which it Is of inestimable
consequence that America should possess.
Theodore Roosevelt.