The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-11-09
Watterson's Tribute To Lincoln
NOBLE QUALITIES OF THE MAN WHO CAME FROM THE PEOPLE
FREED THE SLAVES AND SAVED THE NATION

Henry Watterson. editor of the
Louisville Courier Journal. delivered
an address ut Frankfort, Ky. yes
terday on Ahrahma Lincoln on the
occasion of the unwilling OF the lin
coln memorial. MIR. Waters"n's ora
tion was devoted mainly tn tn" per
sonality, the origin. and spiritual life
and character" of Abraham Iincoln.
tie gave Il minute account of the Lin
coin and Hanks families derived from
documentary evidence: diSproHcd the
falsehoods touching lincoln's birtn
and traced his noble qualities of head
and heart to his mother. In cvnclud-
ing this passage he said:
"Tcmorrow there will assemble in
4: little clearing Of the wildwood of
Kentucky Il soodly company. 1t Will
embrace the greatest and the best OF
our time and land. The president
and the chief Justice and the rest will
gather about Il l"wly cabin. whose
unhewn logs like the scrried hattle-
mcnts of Elsinorc gave prelude to the
swelling act of a; hcmc vet more inn
perial. to r~nnsccratr IL shrine. or him
that was born there the final earthly
wore was spoken lYnS ago; but,
Mother of God. shalt that tnronG pass.
down the hillside and AWAY without
looking int the Heaven above i'll UNI
uttcrablc love and homage Will the
thought of Il spirit there which knew
in this world nought of splendor and
power and fame: whose sad lot it
was to live and die in ~ohSrurity,
struggle. almost in penury and squat
or: whose tragic fate it , as after She
had lain half ~ lifetime in her hum
bile, unmarked grave. to I've pursued
by the deepest. darkest talun,ny that
can attach itself tn tn. name Of wo-
man.; the hapless. the fair-haircd
Nancy Hanks:
NO falser. f"uler story ever gained
currency than hat which impcaches
the character Of the mother OF Ahra-
ham Lincoln. Ii had never any foun-
dation whatsoever. Every known
fact fatty c~ontradicts il. Every as
pect Of circumstantial evidence
stamps it a preposterous lie.
ut vas Il period of heroic achieve
ment tempered by religious fervor. IT
was a pious. God-fearing neighbor-
hood of simple hard-working men and
women. p~chauchery was unknown.
pouhle-living was impossible. Thorn
as Lincoln and Nancy Hanks. as 1
have shown. came of good people.
Historically. it would not matter who
We're the parents of Abraham Lin
coin any more than it matters that
he whom the English monarch is
proud to call his progenitor was a
bastard: hut it offends the soul OF a
brave and Just manhood. it should
arouse in the heart of every true wo-
man a of wrong that SO much
as a shadow should rest upon the
memory of the little cabin in which
Nancy Lincoln gave to the world an
immortal son.. born in clean, unchal-
lenged wedlock. nor thought of faint
or shame ANYWHERE,
Let no one of those that gather
there go theme without IL heart sa.-
ute to the gentle spirit of Nancy
Hanks Lincoln. that maybe. some
where beyond the stars among the
angels of the choir invisible, will
look upon the scene. serene ard safe
at last in the bosom of her Father
and her God"
His story Of the %love-life of Lin
coin and his relation with Joshua Fry
Speed. an uncle Of the donor of this
statue. in the early days at Spring.
field. Illinois. was illustrative anG i'll
teresting. He said:
lit is of record that-he stood closer
to Joshua Frey Speed than to IL 9TH
er. The ties of early manhood be
tween the VI were never broken. To
the n Lincoln could turn to Speed
certain ito get the truth, equally sure
Of sound counsel and unselfish f1dcl-
ity.
He was n of those men," says
John Hay. who seem to have to a
surprising degree the genius of
friendship. the Pythias, the Pylades,
the Horatios of the world. = - .
1t is hardly too much to say thai he
was the only, as he certainly was the
last. intimate friend that Lincoln ever
had. They knew the inmost
fhrto1fc IF 1n1fs ~<L1ns, L-,-Au ---1
each depended upon the honesty and
LOYALTY Of the other"
THE story of the "a their init
macy began and how they came to
abide together relates that. entering
Speeds store in Springfield. saddle
bags on ARM. the ~just-arrived lin.
coin ascertained that the domestic
outfit he required would cost the en-
ormous sum of dollars. II
had no idea it would cost the half of
that" said he, land ] haven't the
none to pay for it; but, if you'll
wait on me till Christmas. and make
anything III pay: and. if ! don't, 7
can't" Then said Speed: II can do
better for you than that. / have
all the things you want and I sleep
on a bed that's big enough for two.
You just come and punk with me
and it will cost you nothing" He
pointed he way around a pile of box
es and barrels and up Il flight of
stairs. 1-inconl went as directed and
quickly returned but without the
moved"
conscience and Destiny had join
ed forces to write a drama such az
may not be found elsewhere outside
the pages Of romance: as compact
and unified as n Greek tragedy: mys-
tical and weird. but real. Speed was
short. Of stocky build. % given to
l%oluacity. n little abrupt in speech to
the end Of his days. Lincoln was
very tall and angular. concilliatory,
patient. not ever wanting the pur-
suasive word. He might have de-
scribed himself n his friend as he
once described himself and his wife,
as the long n the short of it,"
The first and most serious affair
Of life to them was marriage. The
amatory matters which engaged and
engrossed them We're not many, but
they cut deep. Lincoln had already
had what he thought was his finish
ing stroke in the death of Ann Rut-
ledge. when he met Mary Todd
Speeds love passage with Fam,
Henning was to come later. Each
as the sequel showed suffered the
common lot of heartache. as each ir
turn and in the hour of trouble de.
livered to the other fratcrnal wisdom
and comfort.
I'm the year ls40," 1 quote from
the Hay-Nicolav biography, "Abrn.
ham Lincoln became engaged to i,t
married to Miss Mary Todd Of Lex
ington. Kentucky. s>s+ The on
Z: gagencnt was not In all respects :
happy one. as both parties dou,.tct
their compatibility. His affcc
ton Cor his betrothcd which lie fear
cd was not strong enough to max.
happiness with her secure; hi.