The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-02-14
SPEAKER DRAWS
fine PORTRAIT
OF A. LINCOLN
Lincoln Dinner Last Evening {
Great Success-What
Was Said

AluCUlu Ailkk1CA Last ENCAAuS q
Great Success-What
Was Said
"'Idncoln, an Inspiration. was the
subject Of the address Of william f.
Hilton Of Hartford. at the annual
Lincoln dinner given under the aus
Of Veterans. Mr.. Hilton is the de-
partment chaplain of the G. A. r. and
a man Of splendid eloouence. He ex-
pressed a belief that his admiration
for the rail splitter President had been
a great factor in shaping his career.
He saw Lincoln first as a boy Of 1S
while residing In Philadelphia In 1861.
Lincoln had been elected to the Pres
idency and had come East on his way
to the capital. Impressed by the
speech made by Lincoln in Independ-
ence Hall. Hilton was the first boy to
enlist in his ward when the call came
for $4,000 troops to save the Union.
The speaker who has been a lifelong
student of Lincoln. spoke in terms
bordering upon the sublime Of the
martyred President.
He took the stand that he was only
one Of a multitude of boys who had
loved Lincoln and served him and
that Lincoln's greatest work had been
the fine example that he had left to
the young American manhood OF his
day. He termed Lincoln the many
sided man-the man with as many
which reflected brilliancy no matter
how they were turned.
There are four men in all Of us.
The man man sees himself. the
man his friends see. The man his
enemies sees. The man God sees.
NO6
sees and Lincoln was one of these.
I want you to see Lincoln in two pic
lures One as an Italian sculptor
sees hin1-a boy seated upon a stump
reading book with an axe by his
side and a dog seated at his feet.
seated with a book in his lap and
Tad standing at his side. In one he
is getting at the root of things for
himself. and in the other he is i'm
parting knowledge to youth.
mo life is of any value unless it
bier life. Lincoln stands before you
without an apology.
"Of what other man in American
history can the same thing be said.
Every man in the G. A. r. needs no
apology for the stand he took in sup
stand more firm today than I did in
my boyhood because Of the righteous
ness of it and God was with the
right.
II have no sympathy for those who
would CAL it a civil war; 1t was the
rebellion against the best government
on earth and the government that
was the forerunner of the better gov
eminent chat is to come.
when Lincoln went in Independ-
ence Hall in Philadelphia and spoke.
l. t~ ~fx@y<
which as man he stood. In the
simplicity Of his pure life he showed
the principles upon which he was to
stand in the great ordeal he was to
pass Through. Lincoln was no acct
dent. Two sayings in his early life
showed where his heart was and lat
God held a mission for him.
"'God must have loved the common
people, He got so many of them
of I ever get a chance to hit
slavery will hit it and I will hit it
hard
Lincoln was the most religious
man who ever sat over the destinies
Of this nation. Religion is not the
spire. It Is not the cloister. It is
not the text 1t Is the heart that
is religion. Lincoln said. When you
thy Lord. Love thy God with all thy
heart. then I will join your church.
'tIn his study Of the scriptures Lin
coin must have seen Moses in Egypt
watching the Egyptians driving the
Israelite slaves. and he must have had
an inspiration from the great man of
the Bible who led his people out of
bondage.
Had there been no Lincoln there
would be no gathering such as this
here tonight. God has in His wisdom
drawn the curtain over us so we can
not see what might have been.'
He told story Of how Gen. Daniel
Sickles had asked Lincoln if he had
no fears for Washington. Lincoln S
reply was to the effect that he had
noticed that many people were pack
ing up and getting ready to move but
that he had gone into his room and
prayed. yet Lincoln was not a re-
ligious man. But take his private
letters. his letters of a semi-official
nature and his messages to Congress,
Is nothing that could be expunged for
their Improvement. Can the same
thing be said about any other man in
similar position? Lincoln was 6
feet inches a natural man. and &C
feet Of spiritual SELF Give us men
UP and down the country playing fast
and loose with the affairs of the peo-
pie. There will be honesty and truth
in the land"
In answer to the toast. "a Study in
the Life of Lincoln, Rev. E. J. Craft.
rector of Christ Episcopal church. said
In part:
eve utter the name of Washington
with reverence. that of Lincoln with
affection. Washington is mountain
Of strength. Lincoln is a peaceful val
ley in which we dwell in truthfulness
and beautiful simplicity.
"a suspicion has been thrown upon
Lincoln and upon the honor of his
mother. The facts seem to have been
distorted in order to place the feet
of Lincoln as deep in the slime as
possible in order that his great fig
ure may seems to tower among all
others in our history. Lincoln was
Of English stock and his ancestry was
Of the Quaker religion. His grand
father fought in the revolutionary
war. Take his grandfather. Thomas
Lincoln. and you will see that the
faradaf1r haudad "a his