The Calumet news., 1911-11-08

lures / was prepared to expect much
Judge Douglas had said to me-, upon
his return TO Washington after the ia
nous campaign of 1858 for the Illinois
Senatorship, from which the Little
Giant had come off victor: He is the
greatest debater have ever met, either
here or anywhere else"
To me the address meant war As
the crowd upon the portico dispersed
back into the Capitol / found myself
! wedged In between John Boil of Ten
lnossee, and Reverdy Johnson, of Mary
/ land. Each took me by an arm and
we sat down upon a bench just outside
the Rotunda. They were very optimis-
tic. No, there would be no war, no
tight; all the troubles would be tidcd
over; the Union still was safe. / was
but boy, just one and twenty. They
were the two most intellectual and re-
nowned Of the surviving Whig leaders
of the school of Clay and Webster, one
lof them just defeated for president in
the preceding election. Their talk puz-
lzlod me greatly, for to my mind there
lgccmed no escape from the armed col
lision Of the sectiOns-SecessiOn al
lTeady accomplished and a Confederate
Government actually established There
is in youth a prophetic instinct which
grows duller with advancing years. As
/ look behind me / not only bear this in
mind, illustrated by the converse of
those two veteran statesmen that day
i'm the Rotunda of the Capitol at Wash
ington, but | feel ii and realize il, 50
that ! am much less confident, with q
lifetime Of experience to guide me, thar
was when buoyed by the ignorance
and bravery, hut also the inspiration
of youth, the problems ahead read plair
and clear as out OF an open book.
Lincoln and The South.
OF Lincoln and the South he said:
The duty he had been commissione.
to do was to save the Union. With "a
Overwhelming majority of The peop!
the institution of African slavery wa
= not an issue In his homely, enlighten
, ing way. Lincoln declared that if h
, could preserve the Union, with slavery
he would do 1t. or, without slavery, h
. would do il, or, with some free AM
= others slaves, he would do that. Tn
Proclamation OF Emancipation was
>. war measure purely. He knew he hal
Ino Constitutional warrant and, true L
his oath of Office he held back as lon
as he could; but SO clear sighted wa
y his sense of justice, so empty his hear
| tsrl,
! to qualify the rigor of the act, by som
= measure OF restitution. and so pre-
- lparod the Joint Resolution 20 be pasSe
= lby Congress appropriating four hun
y dred million dollars for the purpos'
: which still stands i'm his own handwrit
" ing.
He was himself a Southern man. a
- his people were Southerners. III slav
cry be not wrong" he said, "nothin
., is wrong" echoing in this the opinio
>. of most Of the Virginia gentlemen
+. 1.-THE Eighteenth Century and voicing th
- sentiments of thousands of brave me
i. who wore the Confederate gray. NJ
- less than the North. therefore, has tl1
south reason To canonize Lincoln; f'
- he was the one friend we had at coul
aside from Grant and Sherman
when friends were most in need.
If Lincoln had lived there would hav
lbeen no Era of Reconstruction, with II
=, mistaken theories, repressive agencic
land oppressive legislation. II Lincol
had lived there would have been want
ing To the extremism Of the time IN
lhIoody cue Of his taking off to mour
the steeds and spur the Hanks OF Nens
. Ieance. For Lincoln entertained wit
- respect to the rehabilitation ot III