Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-11-09
tieroic Bronze Statue Pre-
sented to People Of State
by Henry Watterson and
Accepted by Gov. Wilson
PRESIDENT TAFT
DELIVERS GRAFTON
President Eloquently Por-
trays Lincoln's Greatness;
Watterson Points to Him
as Friend of South.

president Of the United States and q
sarge assemblage Of people, including
tnany OF those who wore the gray in
Dhe conflict between the north and
4outh, looked on today, an heroic
bronze statue Of Abraham Lincoln was
unveiled in the capitol building here.
proof OF a reunited country said
Gov. Wilson of Kentucky in accepting
lhe statue on behalf OF the state, lis
made evident In the selection OF. Henry
! sYatterson, a confederate soldier, to
Normally present this image OF the
t,reat president to the people of his
native state. The greatness and the
GOODNESS the nobility and the sweet
hess OF Abraham Lincoln are recog-
hized as earnestly by those who wore
bhe gray as by those who wore the
Hue
In presenting the statue, Mr.. Wat
Erson devoted his remarks mainly to
Dhe "personality, the origin, the spirit
lal life and character" Of Abraham
p.incoln. He gave minute account
bf the Lincoln and Hanks families de-
/ wed from documentary evidence; dis
troved the falsehoods touching Lin
e0ln's birth and traced his noble quali-
ties OF head and heart to his mother.
Lincoln Friend Of the South. : !
Continuing in a close analysis Of
Lincoln's character Mr.. Watterson
said:
He was himself a southern man.
All his people were southerners. IF
slavery be not wrong" he said, moth
lnK is wrong" echoing in this the
opinion of most OF the Virginia gentle
men Of the eighteenth century and
voicing the sentiments of thousands of
brave men who wore the Confederate
gray. Not less than the north. there
fore, has the south reason to canonize
Lincoln; for he was the one friend we
had at court-aside from Grant and
Sherman-when friends were most
IN need. i
II Lincoln had lived there would
have been no era Of reconstruction.
with its mistaken theories repressive
agencies and oppressive legislation. II
Lincoln had lived there would have
been wanting to the extremism of the
time the bloody cue Of his taking off
to mount the steeds and spur the
TANKS of vengeance. For Lincoln en-
tertained, with respect to the heEabil-
itation of the union, the single wish
that the southern states-to use his
homely phraseology-"should come
back home and behave themselves" :"
and il he had lived he would have
made everything effectual to which he
sa-lo,,el1, oHHrAoooH h{rnco1f
1 Gov. Wilson Accepts Statue. r.
Gov. Wilson in accepting the monu-
mAnt in the name of the state said it
would stand in the capitol through all
the ages as the central figure, the type
and image of the pioneers of Kentucky
and OF all American pioneers, the best
figure, and representative OF the spirit
Of our people, an inspiration to Ken
lucky for all time, guardian spirit
standing for eternity in sleepless vigil
over our liberties and our hopes"
Gov. Wilson said he thought the
choice of a statue of Lincoln, for the
state capitol, over other outstanding
figures in history was inspired and
tor the image of the war president he
gave credit to Jas. Breckenridge
Speed, descendent Of some of Ken
tucky's earliest settlers. The bronze
Is by Adolph Weinman of New York.
Taft's EuIogy Of Lincoln
President Taft was the principal
speaker at the dedication ceremonies
He paid an eloquent tribute to the
martyred president. He said in part:
We are met to dedicate in this, the
capital of Kentucky, a monument to
her son, Abraham Lincoln Lincolns
parents were lowly people of Virginia
and their course was like that OF many
others who migrated from the old
dominion into Kentucky and then
across the river to Indiana and Illi-
nois. Though Lincoln lived here but
eight years, he knew Kentucky well
and it is most fitting that it should
have memorial to him.
Those who were closest to Lincoln
said that he was many sided man
and that he gave different impress
sions of himself to different people;
that there were things unexplained
about him, continual sadness and
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