The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1916-09-04

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arrests our thought and takes hold OF
our imagination. II is the spirit al
ways that is sovereign, Lincoln. like
the rest OF us. was put through the
discipline OF the world.--a very
rough and exacting discipline for
him, an indispensable discipline for
every man who would know what he
is about in the midst OF the worlds
affairs, but his spirit got only its
schooling there. 1t did not derive its
character or its vision from the ex-
periences which brought 1t 10 its full
revelation. The test OF every Ameri-
man must always be. not where he is.
but what he is. That, also, is of the
essence OF democracy. and is the NOR
al of which this place is most gravely
expressive.
More That Typical.
We would like to think OF men like
Lincoln and Washington as typical
Americans. but no man can be typical
who is so unusual as these great men
were. 1t was typical OF American life
that 1t should produce such men with
supreme Indifference as to the man
ner in which it produced them. and
as readily here in this hut as amidst
the little circle of cultivated gentle
men to whom Virginia owed so
much in leadership and example. And
Lincoln and Washington were typical
Americans in the use they made of
| their genius. But there will be few
such men at best, and we will not
look into the mystery of how and why
they come. We will only keep the
door open for them always, and a
hearty welcome,-after we have
recognized them.
have read many biographies OF
Lincoln; have sought out with the
greatest interest the many intimate
stories that are told Of him, the mar
ratives OF nearby friends, the sketches
at close quarters. in which those who
had the privilege of being associated
with him have tried to depict for us
the very man himself lin his habit as
he lived" but have nowhere found
real intimate of Lincoln's. | no
where get the impression in any mar
ratlve or Renaissance that the writ
er had in fact penetrated to the heart
of his mystery. or that any man could
| penetrate to the heart of 1t. That
brooding spirit had no real familiars
get the impression that 1t never
spoke out in complete self-revelation,
and that 1t could not reveal itself
completely to anyone. 1t was very
lonely spirit that looked out from un-
derneath those shaggy brows and
comprehended men without fully
communing with them. as if, in spite
80 81 e CANAL off AZ RI 10
| ship, it dwelt apart, saw its visions
of duty where no man looked on
There is very holy and very terri
BILE isolation for the conscience of
every man who seeks to read the des-
tiny in affairs for others as well as
for himself. for a nation as we'll as
for individuals. That privacy no man
can intrude upon. That lonely search
OF the spirit for the right perhaps no
man can assist. This strange child of
the cabin kept company with invisi
BILE things, was born into no intima-
cy but that OF its own silently as
sembling and deploring thoughts.
Meaning of the Gift.
have come here today, not to ut
ter a eulogy on Lincoln; he stands
in need of none, but to endeavor to
interpret the meaning of this gift tc
the nation OF the place Of his birth
and origin. Is not this an altar up
on which we may forever keep alive
the vestal fire of democracy as upon
a shrine at which some Of the deepest
and most sacred hopes of mankind
may from age to age be rekindled?
For these hopes must constantly be
rekindled, and only those who live
can rekindle them. The only stuff
that can retain the life-giving heat
is the stuff of living hearts. And the
hopes Of mankind cannot be kept
alive by words merely, by constitu-
lions and doctrines Of right and codes
of liberty. The object OF democracy
is to transmute these into the life
and action of society. the self-denial
and self-sacrifice of heroic men and
women willing to make their lives
an embodiment Of right and service
and enlightened purposes. The COM
mands of democracy are as impera-
tive as its privileges and opportuni-
ties are wide and generous. Its COM
pulsion Is upon US. 1t will be great
and lift a great light for the guild
ance of the nations only If we are
great and carry that light high for
the guidance of our own feet. We
are not worthy to stand here unless
we ourselves be in deed and in truth
real democrats and servants OF man
kind, ready to give our very lives for
the freedom and justice and spiritual
exaltation of the great nation which
shelters and nurtures us.