Omaha daily bee., 1909-02-13
OMAHA PAYS PROUD TRIBUTE
Twenty Thousand School Children
Recite Great Speech.
BLUE AND GRAY HONOR HIN
COnfederstes Join Grand Army in Big
Demonstration.
NO CREED, NO RACE THIS DAY
Celebration In Omaha CuIuinates In
Public Ceremony at the
Auditorium at EiEht
O'Clock.

! O'Clock.
Abraham Lincoln, 100 years OF age today,
Living? Yes. and living he will be to
/ Americans, in American hearts. in the
| hearts of frecmen everywhere who love
freedom and the cause OF freedom. 100
years from today
! Eulogized by fifty speakers at the public
and parochisl schools: honored by a salute
OF twenty guns at noon; his story told
by no less than l.0oo school children in
recitation and defamation; before an audi
/ ence OF 5000 in the afternoon and another
audience equally as large in the evening.
was the tribute paid to Abraham Lincoln
by Omahans yesterday. and he was char
aoterized as the tsllest man In the world
this side Of the cross Of Calvary.
Engraved on the minds of more than 90
GOO school children OF Omaha are the sim
pie words of Abraham Lincoln defining the
principles on which the republic of the
! United States was founded. and the
| world" must long remember not only the
mans life and works. devotion and faith
in the government but words of the Gettys-
burg grafton, famous in the world as con-
| tanning the essence of American civil gov
! ernment
This impression was made Friday. when
| as a part Of the Lincoln centennial pro-
gram in Omaha children and young people.
| representing at least three distinct ages
who must live in two generations TO come.
| repeated at high noon the Gettysburg
speech Of the msrtyred president. who pre-
dicted at the time that the world would
| little note nor long remember the words
uttered by himself and others on the sacred
ground he was dedicating to the union dead.
Most Unique Feature.
The reciting of the brief address was per-
haps the most remarkable feature Of the
days program. Tots in the kinderEarten
lisped -Four score and seven years ago
our fathers brought forth upon this cont.
nent a new nation conceived I'm liberty and
dedicated TO the proposition that all men
are created equal" On up through the
grades In fifty different schools went tire
words. those Just learning TO read from
a printed page saying 1T IS for us sts.s
Iliving rather, TO be dedicated 70 the IN
| finished work which they who fought here
have thus far so nobly advanced"
Boys and girls just coming into the
estate Of young man and young womanhood
and realizing for the first time the sentt-
ment OF patriotism said, I'VE here highly
resolve that the dead shall not have died
in vain,' while the young men and young
women Of the high school in the spIendor
and strength which is theirs. arose and
said over the words in firm, resolute tones
! governments of the people, by the people
and for tho people shall not perish from
the earth"
In some schools the words were repeated
by little tongues not yet trained TO speak
the English language. by children whose
fathers and mothers have become citizens
of the United States since Abraham, Lin
coin defended the principles which he ex-
| pounded at Gettysburg and who have
realized to the fullest the privileges for
which the president fought with his arm,e.
to free one race that ali races under the
American flag might be free.
EeIipses Columbus Day.
Not since the day in April. lSs2, that
school children all over the land celebrated
| the Columbus day''-a day which none
viii ever see again. have the public schools
OF Omaha participated In exercises so well
planned TO give each child words and
pictures OF an event which must llnxer
| In even the poorest memory for many
years to come
The recitation began Just at u o'cleck
when the first guns OF the salute were
fired from the cannon on the high school
grounds after which the schools were
dismissed for the day.
Fifty citizens OF Omaha. most of Sh.m
trained speakers and those familiar with
American history. addressed the students
In the public and parochiaI schools be-
tween the hours Of 1870 and u O'Clock.
these addresses being remarkable for the
spirit Of patriotism which they breathed
and the keen appreciation of the duty Of
citizenship which they inspired. They were
remarkable also because they came alike
and with equal fervency from men OF an
political beliefs and religious creeds. there
being absolutely no line. partisan nor
seetsrian. but only praise for the lofty man
whom all admit preserved the American
nation.
where They spoke.
The following were the speakers AZ the
various public and parochiai schools:
High sehOoi-General Charles r. Msnder-
san.
Beals school-Rey. Edwin H. Jenks
Cass schooiEPaul Martin.
| CASTELAR, Scliool-C. j. Smyth
Central sehool-T j. Mahoney.
Central Park schooi-Rev. John K. Hum
Columbian schooI-H. II. Baldrlse
Clifton HIN sehool-Dr. {. II. Jensen.
Gomenius sehoOl-F, II. Gaines.
Dupont School-N. c. Pratt
Dundee-A. w. JefferlA
FoTTss, FoTnsn sseSho4lJhsbbl Frederick cOhA-
Franklin school-W, A. DeBord.
kellom School-Rev. w. Stensou
Lake SchOOl-EdWaTd r. Smith
Breen.
Lincoln School-Father CleesOn.
Long SchoOl-Frank Crawford
Lothrop School-Dean g. A. Beecher
Mason Schooi-F A. Brogan
Monmouth Park School-H r. Leavitt
Omaha View Schooi-Rev. ]. A spykeF
Pacific School-Father Cannon
Park School-Rev r. Scott HYDE
Saratoga 6chOol-Father MOriarity
sherman SchOol-E- r. Leary.
Saunders School-W. o. DefWeiier
Walnut Hill School-C. &. Wright
Train Sehool-Rev. w. s. Fulton.
NintOn SchOol-Dr Newton Mann
Webster School-L- y. CrOfOOt
Windsor schooi-Rev. r. y. A. McBrids
In the downtown district many flaes wen
displayed and the day was observed to some
extent as a holiday. business houses regret.