The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-11-09

and. out of his " experience
of thoughtful and tender sympathy.
"Ihe correspondence is yet extant
.rcScaling the innerlncst throes Of
TWO natures eXquisitely strung and
s!retrhed to their tension. neither
edge Of the pricipice, which happily
was withheld from them. Their pc
Rod of travail endured for nearly
two years. from 1870 tn 1912, tho
close "f II latter wear finding each
OF them safely married. less than
twenty years thereafter~~two short
decades,-!incoln. elected president
or the United states. wrote to Speed:
ny Is IKE Il dream. isn't it2"
Mr.. Wattcrson told n graphic story
OF the coming Of Lincoln to Washing
ton and his first Inauguration. His
narrative took the form of a personal
"reminiscences. Il was engaged by MI.
G"hrtght. the general manager Of the
Associated Press in the national capt.
tat" said he. Ito assist him and Ma
lor Een PcrleN Poore. II we'll known
newspaper correspondent of those
days. with their report "f the inau.
sural ceremonies of the lth of March.
1851. The n~ewly-eicctcd president
had arrived in Washington ten days
netore-t" he exact. the morning of
inc sSrd of February. 1t was II Sat-
urday. That same afternoon he came
to the capitol escorted ny Mr.. Seward,
and being on the floor of the house
! s;'w him for the first time and was.
indeed. presented to him"
lie continued as follows: EARLY in
the morning of the 4th of March I
discovered. thrust into the keyhole Of
my bedroom. 81 slip OF paper which
read: For inaugural address see
Ward ii. Lamon.' Who was
colonel Ward II. Lamon?" had
never heard of him. The city was
crowded with strangers. TO find one
vi them was to look for Il needle In
a haystack. ] went directly to Will
afds motel. AS l passed through the
long corridor Of the. second floor.
splired with little dark entreeways,
to the apartments facing on pennsyl.
Nania avenue. saw through IA half
opened door Mr.. Lincoln himscl. pac-
ing to and fro. apparently reading
a manuscript. T went straight in.
He was alone. and, as he turned and
mo. he extended his hand. called
my name and said: What can l do
for Hou:' told him the brief mem
orandun. Why" said he. you have
come to the right shop; I.amon is in
me next room. will take you to
him. and he will fix you all right"
No sooner said than done, and, sup
piled with the press copy of the in
augural address. 1 gratefully and
gleefully took my leave.
Two hours later l found myself
in the senate chamber. witnessing
there the oath Of office administered
TO Vice President-elect Hannibal
Hamlin. Thence 1 followed the cor
tege through the long passage-way
and across the rotunda to the east
nnHtI0n yl.h0ro n
platform had been erecteds keeping
and ungainly. wearing Il black suit. a
black tie and a black silk hat. He
carried u gold or a silver-headed
walking cane. AS we came out into
the open and upon the provisional
stand. where there was a table con-
tanning n bible, a pitcher and a glass
of water. he drew from his breast
pocket he manuscript / had seen him
reading at the hotel. laid this before
him. placing the cane upon it as a
paperweight, removed from their
leathern case his steel-rimmed spec
tacles. and raised his hand-he was
deliberate and compos-
ed-to remove his hat. AS he did SO,
! lifted my hand to receive it, but
Judge Douglas. who stood at my side,
reached over my arm. took the hat,
and held ii during the delivery Of
the inaugural address which follow
His self-possession was perfect,
Dignity. herself, could not have been
more uneXcited. His voice was a lit
tie high-pitched, but resonant. quite
reaching the outer fringes of the vast
crowd in front: his expression serious
to the point of gravity; not a scintil-
lation Of humor . In spite of the cam
paiEn pictures l was prepared to x
pect much. Judge Douglas had said
to me. upon his return to Washing
ton after the famous campaign Of
1853 for the Illinois senatorship. from
which the Little Giant had come off
victor: "He is the greatest debater
l have ever met, either hefe or any
where else"
T me the address meant war, Az
the crowd upon the portico dispersed
back into the capital I found myself
wedged in between JOHN Bell of Ten
nessee and Reverdy johnson Of Mary
and Each took me by> an arm ana
we sat down upon a bench just out
side the rotunda. They were very OBJ
timistic. No. there would be no war.
no fight; all the troubles would be
tided over; the union, still was safe.
was but a boy. Just one and twenty.
They were h most intellectual and
renowned of the surviving Wing lead
ers OF the school Of Clay and Web
ster. n of them just defeated for
president in the preceding election.
Their talk puzzled me greatly, for to
my mind there seemed no escape
ti0ns-secession already accomplish
ed and a Confederate government
actually established. There is in
youth Il prophetic instinct which
grows duller with advancing years.
AS l look behind me I not only bear
this in mind. illustrated by the con-
verse OF thosc two veteran statesmen
that day In the rotunda of the cant
tol at Washington. but I feel it and
realize IT. so that ] am much less con-
fidcnt, with Il lifetime of experience
to guide me, than | was when buoyed
by the Ignorance II bravery, but al
so n inspiration of youth, the prob
lens ahead read plain and clear as
out of an open book"
Of Lincoln n the south he said:
THE duty he had been commission
ed to do was to save the union. With
an overwhelming majority Of the PEG
pie the institution Of African slavery
was not an issue. In his homcly. on
tightening way. Lincoln declared that
II he could preserve the union, with
slavery. he would do j., or with some
free and other slaves, he would d.
that. The proclamation Of cnancipa
ton was 81 war measure purely. HI
knew he bad no constitutional war
rant. and. true to mis- oath of Office
he held back as long as he could;
hu 80 c'car-sightcd vas his sense OF
Justice. $" empty his heart of rancor
that he wished and sought to qualif,
the iiEor of the-act. by some measure
~ restitution. and SO thf