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

There came, one afternoon in the
spring Of 1888. a good opportunity to
ask the late Edward Mcpherson if he
could give me some reminiscent de-
tails Of the manner in which Presi-
dent Lincoln prepared and delivered
his Gettysburg address in the fall OF
1853
Mr.. Mcpherson was a member of
Congress from the Gettysburg dis
trict i'm the first year Of the war, and
he was I'm 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 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 IT,
There has never< been, however"
he said. "any statement of which I
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 ! am certain are
correct, I am satisfied that the funda-
mental thought in that address came
TO Lincoln like a great inspiration,
probably suddenly. 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
81 presume he spent some time IN
framing the precise phraseology oil
the address. and l think there can be
no doubt that he wrote and rewrot'
Il several times.
MANY persons have asked me why
President Lincoln regarded it as o
supreme importance to the world tina
the Union should he preserved ant
what his precise thought was wheI
he stated that the soldiers who per
ished at Gettysburg had dedicateI
themselves to the principle that
government of the people, by the peo
/ from the earth. have always re
/ piled that Mr. Lincoln had in mind,
was certain from various thing
l which he al other times said to me
that the test of the battlefield was thl
test Of the permanence Of represen
tative form of government. as that hal
been demonstrated by the American
! Union. He felt that the Union shoul
he preserved so that the democratic
republican form OF government. whic
was in his opinion the final evolution
OF the struggle for liberty which ha
been in progress for centuries, shoul
he triumphant. so that the worl
might know that at last men had dis
covered a way as nearly as possihl
to establish government whic
would preserve individual liberty an
check license He was convince
that if the Union we're to be broker
then IL would speedily be demonstrai
ed that the great struggle for libert
and for free government had been
failure
Lincoln was profoundly impress
ed with the majesty of the America
form Of representative government
For the Union as a sentimental ASST
ciation OF states he had little regarl
Il was for the form of governmer
which the union of these states mad
possible. and which was, in his opiT
ion, the final demonstration OF III
capacity Of men wisely 10 COVER
themselves through the represents
tive form which he had in mind whe
he wrote and delivered the Getty
burg address. have always bee
confident of the accuracy of this vie
and the longer I live the stronger
my conviction