Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1911-03-22

their opponents.
There had been a great deal OF
wrangling on the floor of the House
derisive epithets had been fiercely
applied to each other, until Mr.
Pryor suddenly brought the conten-
| tion to a crisis by challenging Mr.
Potter to a duel, a common resort
on the part of the slave holders
Mr.. Potter, to the astonishment OF
Mr.. Pryor and his friends, promptly
accepted, and chose bowie knives
as the weapons, whereupOn his adj
versary declined on the ground that
the bowie knife was not a civilized
weapon. Thus a large bubble was
effectually pricked, to the advantage
of Northern men who were greatly
heartened by the incident.
There was Toombs of Georgia, the
rebel implacable, who bauntingly
declared that he would live to call
the roll of his slaves at the foot
of Bunker Hill monument; Jeffer-
son Davis CT Mississippi and Alex
ander II. Stephens of Georgia, who
afterward became vice president OF
the Southern Confederacy, small
man physically, but a giant in in
tellect, the noblest as well as the
| oh Of oil Hn nf hn n
Then there was Stephen A. Doug
lass OF Illinois, and that greatest OF
all Americans. Abraham Lincoln
the memory of whose character and
/ services will live forever
In the autumn of 1860, the Re-
publican National Convention as
sembled at Chicago and held its
sessions in the Wigwam, a wooden
structure erected for that purpose
At that convention Mr.. Lincoln was
nominated over Mr.. Seward, his
strongest competitor, and then and
there began the most important and
far-reaching political campaign ever
conducted in the United States. The
| people of the west went wild over
the nomination.; one of their own
number had been chosen, a name of
the people whom everybody loved
and in whom they had the utnos;
confidence. Organizations of ''Wide
Awakes" were formed, consisting
of companies of young republicans,
whose interest was probably to some
extent enlisted by the semi-military
character of the organization. They
were provided with glazed caps and
capes, which, though inexpensive,
were quite attractive; the boys
armed with torches making a fine
appearance as they went through
the evolutions, in which they were
usually quite well instructed.
think something of military spirit
was inculcated in the youth Of the
North by the drills and parades Of
i thS w luC ~ NkthCo, NHlNl NdiliC u
be of service little later on. In
! the meantime three other candidates
had been nominated, representing
the different factions of the Demo
cratic party. Mr.. Breckenridge OF
Kentucky Judge Douglas of Illinois
and John Bell of Tennessee. AS
the campaign proceeded, the inter
est became so absorbing that the
people could think or talk of little
else. Our company of Wide Awakes
under command of a Mr.. Watson, q
clothing merchant, was invited tC
Chicago to attend a great gathering
of Republicans to be held there anC
succeeded in obtaining permission
to go with them, though my boss
at the mill was an enthusiastic
Democrat, and had little use fol
the Republican party. but he was
a good square man, always ready
to do the right thing. So we wen
to Chicago and there we marchec
and counter-marched and listened
to speeches, that is, some of us did
and we drank lemonade and saw the
sights and had good time, shout
ing for Honest Old Abe" hurrah,
ing for ''The Rail Splitter of iii
nois,' and getting thoroughly worI
out with our exertions and yet wish,
ing we could have such a campaign
every year.
SO 1t went, day after day, nigh
after night. with music and speeches
and shoutings, till at last the grea
day of election arrived, when tn,
American people were to RECORD
their verdict on the problems of the
day at the polls. The occasion wa.
one of unusual interest to me, be
cause, during the preceding Marcl
| had come of age and was. entitled
to vote, as becometh the American
citizen. ! was proud to reach tina
distinction and was determined {,
make the most of it. To be sur,
had never taken out. naturaliza
tion papers, because II was no