New-York tribune., 1910-12-08

as tbe,- sid Mr.. T.incoln's. 1t vas eager
/ X read in this form all over the North.
I long after Mr.. Lincoln had lost the 0''i'
atorship. and throughout the grea'Si
Presidential contest that followed
/ With the infexibIe determination
/ which always marked him when nus
/ own mind was clearly made Up anu
/ forced him at such times TO REJECT III
exorably the advice Of his most 1rhsteN
+ friends. MIR. Lincoln twice in that can
vass invited his own defeat IN ms
/ speech to the state convention which
nominated him for the Senate nv
/ startled the state and the nation WIKI
these opening sentences:
If ne could first know where we are a..
whittier we are tending. " could pe.. -
Judge what TO do and Row Z" 10 u aoijcv
now far into the fifth year since nr55
WAS initiated with the avoweo object anu
confident promise Of putting Sh 80 ~
! slavery agitation Under the operation ..
that police, that agitation las not only hDl
ceased. bur has constantly augtneu fS"-.,-,
my opinion II Will net cease ttlCl o "a
shall have been reached and pds1el-
house divided against itself cannot sI,I-s
l believe this government cailho. - do
permanently half slave and hait t,,iiTTeeiva5|T iTee
not expect the Union TO De QlsSo. 40
/ do not expect the house 70 taIf-Du, III
expect it viii cease to be diVld ~. Is,-per
become all one thing or all the olLe. -,St the
I the oppor3euts OF slavery Will arreet tilo
furt her spread of il, and place II 80. a.
public mind shall rest in the peilsI p lIt @ e. -
is in course of ultimate extinction VI ,,.u
advocates will push it forward TIL IL S1ail an
become alike lawful in all the Ststen' V'u 90
we'll as new. North as well as Souiu-
This rno1nentous declaration had peeh
carefully considered. written OUT anu
read to a dozen or more of ms Ifos1
trusted friends. Not one approved VI II
for the opening of popular caTnpa ish'
one. In the blunt fashion Of the place
and time. burst out with the declaration
that ii was a id fool utterance-
His lifelong and intimate friend. Leon
ard SWEET. wrote him that the nrst ten
| lines of his speech defeated him. An
other followed him to his office to re
n1onstrate. but got this reply III
could save but one thing from the rec
ord of my whole life l would choose
that speech and save it from the wreck
Only a few weeks later he am1ably
but as obstinateIy defied his friends
again. Mr. Douglas had just put some
questions to him in the first joint debate
Mr. Lincoln replied 10 them in the sec
ond and in turn put certain questions
to Mr.. Douglas. These We're likewise
carefully written out and shown before
hand to his friends One of them de-
manded that Douglas should say
whether under his sQuatter sovereignty
doctrine d territorial Legislature could
exclude slavery. in spite OF the recent
n tcfn Iic-4 rsn d. hos
him not to ask this question, warned
him that Douglas would surely seize the
opportunity to answer Yes, and that
this would satisfy the opposing anti
slavery sentiment OF the state and elect
him. "If you ask that question" said
his friends. almost unanimously. you
lean never be Senator" Perhaps SO,
he replied. but I am after larger game
If Douglas does answer Yes. in the face
Of present Southern demands, he can
never be President; and that battle IS
worth a hundred Of this
His political sagacity was as thorough
" vindicated as his obstinate courage.
He did put his question. and did draw
out the answer he expected. That an
swer did elect Douglas to the Senate,
but ii lost him the friendship OF the
South. An authority afterward well
known in England the accomplished
! Judah P. Benjamin, of Louisiana, told
the consequences in open Senate, as
early as May, 1860, before the Presi-
Dental campaign was fairly begun.
The Senator's C1Ir. Douglas's) adversary
stood upon principle and was beaten: and
| To- he is the candidate OF mighty party
! for the Presidency OF the United States.
The Senator from Illinois faltered- He
got the prize for which ne faItered: but loi
| the grand prize Of his ambition slips to-
day from his grasp because OF his faltering
In his former contest: and his success in
an ignoble price, has cost him the Presi-
dency of the United States.
Lincoln's courageous honesty and his
splendid intellectual display in the joint
debate thus gave him the Republican
national nomination; but the fatefu1
campaign that followed brought result
which Mr.. Benjamin probably did not
anticipate. It made him President. His
unffinchins adherence TO his convictions
had driven or tempted Douglas into q.
position where he failed for lack IF
Southern support, and the South into
position where it failed for lack OF
Northern support, and was presently
confronted by a successful anti-slavery
party in constitutional control of the
national government. It could not take
another step for the spread Of slavery
IN the Union. Next. II attempted TO
break the Union up. To defeat that
attempt was the sworn dutE of the
President, and it now became Mr.. Lin
coins lifelong, all-absorbing aim. He
had followed legal and constitutional
methods till his opponents abandoned
them and made war upon the national
government Thenceforward he sought
10 advance on the plain path before him
only as far and as fast as he could carry
the people with him. This was his dis
tirlction-to know the mind Of the peo-
pie, to command their confidence, TO
persuade them Of their high duty, 10
lead them always, but TO lead only as
fast as they would follow
Anti slavery man as ne had always
been by conviction, and anti-slavery
President as he was now by election, he
realized that his only actual mandate
from the people was to resist the efforts