Evening journal., 1913-10-08
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
LinCOIn'S Real Idea in His
Gettysburg Address
By Holland.

I - F-rr"~F
There came. one afternoon in the
spring of 1888 a good opportunity to
ask the late Edward Mcpherson II he
could give me some reminiscent de-
tails of the manner I'm which presi-
dent Lincoln prepared and delivered
his Gettysburg address In the fall Of
1868.
Mr. Mcpherson was a member Of
Congress from the Gettysburg dis
trict I'm the first year Of the war, and
he was in 1863 the clerk of that body.
as he was again between 1881 and
1888. / had heard that as clerk of
the House and also as a citizen of
Gettysburg who represented that dis
trict at the beginning Of the Civil War,
President Lincoln had been placed
under his personal care on the jour
ney from Washington and while the
President was at Gettysburg.
Mr.. Mcpherson said that there had
been many and various accounts of
the manner in which the President
prepared the address going into such
details as description Of the kind of
paper upon which he wrote Il.
There has never been, however"
| he said, "any statement of which
have had any knowledge which told
what Is the fundamental fact OF that
address.
From some things which President
Lincoln said TO me and from some in
ferences which ] drew from various
facts and which I am certain are
correct, am satisfied that the funda-
mental thought in that address came
TO Lincoln like a great inspiration,
! probably suddenly. I know that he
regarded the tragedy of the battle
field as symbolic of the faith of those
who believed that the Union should
be preserved
II presume he spent some time in
framing the precise phraseology of
the address. and ! think there can be
no doubt that he wrote and rewrote
| Il several times.
MANY persons have asked me why
! President Lincoln regarded IL as of
supreme importance to the world that
the Union should be preserved and
what his precise thought was when
he stated that the soldiers who per-
ished az Gettysburg had dedicated
themselves TO the principle that a
government of the people by the peo-
pie. for the people. should not perish
from the earth. I have always re-
piled that Mr.. Lincoln had I'm mind.
was certain from various things
which he az other times said to me.
that the test of the battlefield was the
test of the permanence Of represen-
tative form of government as that had
been demonstrated by the American
Union. He felt that the Union should
he preserved so that the democratic
republican form of government. which
was in his opinion the final evolution
OF the struggle for liberty which had
been in progress for centuries should
be Triumphant. so that the world
might know that at last men had dis
covered a way as nearly as possible
10 establish government which
would preserve individual liberty and
check license. He was convinced
that n the Union we're 10 he broken.
then it would speedily be demonstrat-
ed that the great struggle for liberty
and for free government had been a
failure.
Lincoln was profoundly impress
ed with the majesty OF the American
form Of representative government
For the Union as a sentimental asso-
citation of states he had little regard
II vas for the form Of government
which the union Of these states made
possible. and which was, In his opin-
ion, the final demonstration Of the
capacity Of men wisely 10 govern
themselves through the Representa-
tive form which he had in mind when
he wrote and delivered the Gettys-
burg address. I have always been
confident of the accuracy Of this view
and the longer I live the stronger Is
my conviction"