The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-02-13
FRANK M. BUCKLEY HOLDS BA. OUETTERS IN THRALL OF
 HIS SCHOLARLY ADDRESS
Former Bridgeporters Lofty Tribute to Lincoln Inspires
 Auditors to Enthusiasm

<@We assemble tonight to commem- crate the birth of one of Natures no- blemen; to join in the national paean of praise and appreciation or great character; to pay our modest meeu of worthy tribute to the memory or Abraham Lincoln who Is charactsTl1eo bv the poet as the first American.
 .aro us he is indeed our fondest memory, a plain American. indlgenous to the soil, rugged as an oak' 1ntelAi- gent honest unostentatious, whose es-Iv life is written in one line of Gsrav's Faegy-'the short ana s1naple annals of the poor;' whose later llle IS s=cu1ptured deep into the history anu fnstitlItions of our country ana lnoel- fbIy imprinted upon the hearts anu thoughts of all Americans
 s.T4istory in it's countless pages nas not offered another equally forciDie example of triumph over oyerWheinn- sug9v adverse circumstances; nctlon has not presented any more strlAl1ls instance of successful combat with me clements of failure. In infancy, ne ,z-z, -,rrrished with the bread of pow erty: in obscurity and toll was his youth sustained
 s@rhe offsprdng of an unlettered and indigent father and 8 gentle and den- cate mother, the product Of the Ron- tier life of the unsettled ana uncul- tured states of Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois Abraham Lincoln rose by su- Dreme effort and enduring confidence, from the modest ranks of his fellow men to the highest office within the gift of a free people In his period Of preparation he spurned no task however menia1, he scorned no labor however painful The blow ana me axe were his daily instruments of power and through them he learned to value the dignity of labor
 s1n the unlettefed society of 1nd1- ana where schooling did not extend beyond the clements of three formal studies of the curriculum. there was imposed upon this ambitious youth the fortunate necessity, of seH-edu- cation and self-controL His life work was to concern itself with vast prob Iezus and fortune, in guarding against ensrvaL-on, took care that trials and hardships were imposed as a. prepa- ration for his mighty labors.
 with the greatest avidity he inde- pendentIy applied himself with his strong and honest mind to the com plete understanding of every subject every condition that came within his ken: the meanwhile nourishing his soul with a few well chosen books which he mastered and assimilated to the fullest extent He went uneTTing1y to the pfth of every problem and stor- ed up conclusions in his well ordered brain From the outset his IAEB1l1HT1CY W1Ln Ln0 B1D1S .uOt OA1J endowed him with the foundation of a simple and direct style of writing and an aptnes1 and 1ucidfty of Illus fratfon. but, what is more far-reach- ing than either of these, it added that moral and religious fibre which en- ergiBed his noble acts and wise utter ances-
 Through careful reading, abundant reflection, thronvh much public speak ing and personal contact with men and things, the future President learn ed to distinguish truth from error, to think and to act independently and to present his thoughts orderly and log icauy. With this preparation and with the equipment snatched from the severe school of life in the successive stages of backwoodsman, farmer. boatman, clerk, postmaster, soldier, surveyor, legislator, lawyer and rep resentative. he presents himself prom fnent1y before the American people in the sixth decade of the nineteenth century.
 Little by little in the obscu1ity of his home and amidst the pursuits of everyday life he built strong and deep the foundation of that manly, self-re- liant and intelligent character thai was to exercise it's potency upon the critical march of events of a disturb ed nation
 "At his formal entrance into the larger arena of national politics the old and respected leaders of the peo- pie, Webster, Clay, and Calhoun. had delivered their message and passed from the scene of forensic battle: leaving the momentous questions. which from revolutionary times had been the cause of trouble and source of compromise, to the practical solu- ion of the succeeding generation.
 'sThe solemn questions of human slavery and the sovereign rights of in- dfvidua1 states-questions which in their weight and significance had per- p1exed all previous statesmen and now awed the most optimistic defenders of governmental rights had passed beyond the point of compromise, be- yond the period of conci1iation and pressed for positive and immediate ac- tiOn- No statesman of the period could ignore the vital issues and few felt able to cope with them-
 Slavery as an institution has exist. ed in the south from the earliest day. of our history. From the year 161. when a Dutch ship emptied it's Afr. can slaves on the soil of Virginia through the formative period, ana even to the adoption of the Fedora Constitution the importation of negrt slaves had continued with unabate6 v1gor s.nd alarming frequency. IT the South. where the climate wa. more favorable and the economic con ditfons more suitable, the institution was a great source of remuneration and comfort to landed interests ana in the process of time it established among the natives sort of feudalism wherein the negro was rewarded al the vassa1 and subject in all respect to his master.
 'sThe institution grew apace until i afforded the South vast amount O power political as well as social A the memorable meeting of the signer of the Federal Constitution, however men far sighted and patriotic, realiz ed it's evil trend, and denounced i xahanasntIy and openly. Washington