Los Angeles herald., 1909-02-12
TRIBUTE PAID TO
LINCOLN'S NAME
ALHAMBRAN EUL0GIZES FOR
MER PRESIDENT
GREAT EMANcIPAToR's LIFE IS
BRIEFLY REVIEWED
Writer Lived in Springfield, ILL.,, and Is
Familiar with Unpublished Incl
dents Concerning Liberator
of Slaves

hambra, who is a, former citizen of
Springfield, ILL.,, and who is familiar
| with the early history as well as the
| later life of Abraham Lincoln, has
been asked to write something about
| the great emancipator and accordingly
| the following brief review of Lincoln's
lie has been written by him for Los
Angeles Herald and the AIhambra Ad-
vocate.
| Maj. ROuthe is well acquainted with
many incidents in the life of the mar
| tyred president which have escaped
his commentators and his story will be
read with pleasure and much interest
by the thousands Of admirers of the
| l1berator of the slaves in the United
States. The writer says:
| "One hundred years ago today in an
| humble log cabin, which stood in the
| shadow of primeval forest on the
| borders of pioneer settlement in Ken
lucky, a boy was born who was des-
tined to become the foremost personal
| ngure OF the nineteenth century. He
| was the son of a pioneer family brav-
| ing the Vicissitudes and privations Of
| frontier life. The concomitant plights
| of poverty and perils Of border life
! which confronted that little family were
| a part OF his heritage. But there was
in that human blossom a heritage of
! the best there was in all his genera
tiOns, though hope for great achieve
| mentS in the future of the Lincolns was
| exceedingly small, whatever their ideals
may have been. The birth of that boy
was a first step in the process in the
| daWning of new epoch in the history
| of this republic, and fittingly illustrate
| ed the axiom that "honor from no con-
| d1t1on arises" He was christened
Abraham Lincoln. His advent was at
the time of the close of Jefferson's term
| as president and when Illinois was or
ganized as a territorial government.
LincoIn's Name an Inspiration
Abraham Lincoln is a name to con-
| jure with. 1t is an inspiration to
every citizenand even more--to the
| intelligent aspiring man OF every re-
| public. In Lincoln we have the best
type of the real American. A man
| strong, simple and humane, unmind-
full of self, but ever solicitous for the
| welfare Of others. A man of deep
rooted convictions, and lion-hearted in
| courage; who, in the performance of
| his duty, did that which was in accord
| with his convictions. A man with no
| tolerance for wrong, yet patient with
! the foibles of others. A man tactfuI
and considerate of others under all
| circumstances yet above all, ethical in
| all things. In the language of the re-
| doubtable Roosevelt, Lincoln believed
! in a square deal for every man.
illustrative of his sense of right and
! justice, one may safely say that he as
| founded the country by his magnanim-
! ity and generosity toward his rivals or
| competitors for the presidential nomin-
alton by appointing them as members
! of his cabinet. That cabinet was of his
| own choosing. No other president Of
| his own volition had dared to exercise
| that indisputabIe right. The results
| showed the wisdom of his course New
q md solo
fronted with a task more difficult than
that which was presented by a united
south and a divided north in 1861.
As Hero Lincoln Was Unsurpassed
'"The processes in the making Of this
American are noteworthy and remark
able in most respects, as are the phases
| of the best wrought romance. The ca
| reer Of no hero of fable or story from
| HOmer's Ulysses to Hugo's Vatican will
| surpass in human interest the sketch
| of the life work and achievements Of
this grand real man, Abraham Lincoln.
Born on the bOrderlands of new
and advancing civilization, where con-
| ditiOnS were primitive and crude; sub
| jected to the privations of direst pow
| erty, opportunity, save in the devotion
of an intelligent mother, seemed to
I stand aIoof.
In the retrospect we see him at
| moment when first the realities and
uncertainties of life dawned upon him
as a little lad standing by the bier of
his sainted mother, awaiting the last
sad rites that can be bestowed upon
the departed
1--WE see him later reclining upon the
| floor at night, poring over his book by
the light Of the fire on the open hearth.
We see him in the field at the plow or
in the forest making tbs welkin ring
with many a sturdy blow of his ak; and
at night studying his books. We sec
him with compass and chain upon the
vast prairies of Illinois, mapping out
farms for his neighbors, and still cling
ing to his books. We see him engaged
| in trade as the keeper of a, country
Store-a disastrous business venture for
him-and gathering lore from borrowed
books.
1--WE see him marching at the head
of company in the Black Hawk war
in which he acquitted himself credita-
bly,, studying military tactics from a
borrowed book Again we see him
wrestling with the problems of life in
a law office, where he acquainted him
self with friends of his liking in Black
stone, Chitty, Kent and others of that
ilk. Later we see in him the legislator
at Springfield, the congressman at
Washington, the mighty debater upon
the rostrum-a statesman of Titanic
moId-a very Lochinvar from out of
the west
Last scene of all that ends this
strange, eventful history-one restfuI
moment, one brief space of relaxation
from an awful strain of years, at the
eliminating hour Of double triumph,
which brought peace to a troubled
country and assured its prosperity-let
us draw the veil. We know the rest.
1t is too fearful to recite.
''What a soul! What extent Of ac-
ton. Great unfettered genius! What
comprehensive powers! How that soul
grows upon the vision as we study
him. He looms as a Colossus in his
tory. His ideals led him along the
plane of the higher life toward the
apex Of human perfection and Godlike-
ness; for at all times throughout his
whole career as president he called
upon the people of the nation to keep in
mind their dependence upon God. His
devotion to principle; to his family; his
country and to the supreme ruler,
elected the approval and praise of all.
His enemies and friends in common
were wont to exclain, What manner
of man is this?' to which the only
answer is, he was an incompatible
man. He was the greatest genius Of the
nineteenth century and his name
stands as priceless heritage to the peo-
pie of the mightiest republic of the
ages"