Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-02-15
THE MODEL AMERICAN.

Before the war and yet so near 1t
that the land was filled with a Pro-
phetic dread the poet Stedman wrote:
Abraham Lincoln. give us a man." 1t
was "a voice crying in the Wilderness"
expressing the hope and fear Of multi
yet aware of the danger And Abra-
ham Lincoln gave the nation a man;
brain and nerve and sinew; the life
force Slapped by nights Of sleepless Ia
Dor; the soul flbre burned out by the
heat Of smothered resentment and
pent-up compassion, or worn out BY
the long relentless pressure OF an
overwhelming responsibility; and last
his hearts blood. He gave the nation
man in whom the researches of half
century and the cold scrutiny Of lat
ter-day critics have served only to re-
veal profounder wisdom a character
increasingly wonderful The twelfth
day Of every February is marked
day on the calendar because 1t was the
birthday of this man.
Lincoln had many great qualities,
In character. in power to feel deeply.
In power to express perfectly and with
effect. and In that combination of pow
ers which we vaguely term personal
ity. he was marked Off from other men
by his excellence. But what made
Lincoln giant. was sheer brain power.
Other men might pause or bubble or
compromise when their thinking
brought them to point beyond which
il was dangerous to tread; LAncoln's
mind carried him straight on to the
true conclusion though hundred
spookes and demons blocked the way.
Tho Lincoln Douglas debates were
more than thorough discussions Of VI
tai issues. more than an education of
the people In governing principles.
they were a nations, lesson In intel
lectual honesty. There was something
about itself which the nation needed
to be told. Webster pushed his dag
nosis almost to the seat of the disease
ana then recoiled. Clay was too busy
with surface applications TO come near
It, Calhoun was on the wrong side.
Abraham Lincoln went straight to the
seat Of the trouble and then told the
truth. That was why those words
about "a house divided against itselr'
were fraught with Hateful signifi-
canoe.
Coupled with the grandeur OF intel
lect in this man. which excites our ad-
Iniration, was his genuine self-abase-
ment which made the men OF his time
love him and makes us of later time
worship him as a latter-day saint In
the midst of the war he was inter-
viewed by a delegation of abolition
lists full of the aYdor of their cause
He heard them and explained to them
the reasons why to his mind the i'm
mediate emancipation of the slaves
would be unwise Then he added
I'VE shall need all the anti-slavery
aoosso6 ssA tuc country anu more, you
can 60 home and try to bring the peo-
pie to your views; and you may say
anything you like about me, II that
will help. Don't spare me-" He had
mind clear enough to understand
and soul true enough to acknow-
ledge the insignihcance of any man
before the cause he served.
The memory Of Abraham Lincoln is
our richest and most cherished nation
al tradition. He was at once the
product. the embodiment. the vindica-
ton. Of our principles and our race
New birth Of our new SOIL the first
American" As those who would use
language we'll must always 20 back
10 ono or two old MASTER works to
learn what English really U.s. so
through all tho ages to come Americans