The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1916-02-12
Lincoln, Man
Of the People
Many Reasons Why He Has Justly
Been Given the Title Of Typical
American. His Many High Quail
ties Are Worthy Of Emulation

To save Abraham Lincoln from
deathly apotheosis of the steel ell
craving has been a laudable effort 20
recent years. OF course 1t will not
prevent the process of legend max
ing which works upon the earthly re-
aIitv OF every great man and In due
time leaves him a dessicated alb
straction existing for the heavy bore
dom OF childhood. Even Lincoln with
his vital, homely outlines. his inti-
mate. endearing faults and strong
flavor of his day, must come to this
,urn But the process may be retard-
ed and ought to be as long as we
can contrive.
One hundred and seven years ago
Lincoln was born. Fifty-one years
ago he was shot by John Wilkes
Booth. and on the next day he died.
the first martyred president. A great
wave of passionate sorrow, gratitude
and affection swept the North. The
process Of apotheosis began. Today
it may be observed in the sanctified
generalities OF Lincoln orations, edi-
torials, poems and articles.
Moved by FIattery
The central idea of the overwhelm-
ing majority Of these tributes is Lin
coin. the man Of the people. the typi-
offnr
February IL and frequently through
out the year we hear this confident
summary and without examining It,
Is this mental inertia or are we un-
consciously moved by the fiattery i'm.
plicit in this idea? An editorial in
the New Republic suggests the lat.
ter. The real purpose Of Lincoln
dav speakers is not SO much to eu-
logic Lincoln, this journal de-
clares. as to flatter the audience. II
Mr.. Lincoln was so entirely man
of the people the people must be
very like to Lincoln.
New View Of Great President
The reproach has more of justice
than we like to think. The orator is
the courtier OF democracy flattering
the sovereign citizen as grossly as
ever an emperor was fiattered. The
aattery Of indirect praise is unusu
ally delicate and insidious, and it is
well for us to examine it cody. The
New Republic puts it sharply away.
In point of fact Mr.. Lincoln was SUI
perfcially a man OF the people and
fundamentally unique, distinguish
ed and wholly exceptional individual
In certain salient respects he was
the least typical Of Americans. Am
orleans, particularly those Of Lin
coins own generation and neighbor
hood. were essentially active, aggres
sve and objective men, whose lives
we're given over to practical extern
al affairs, who subordinated every
thing else to the demands Of practi
cal achievement, and whose individu
atty consisted in living ordinary
lives in an extraordinarily energetic
manner. They were superficial, dis
cursive, easy going, quarrelsome ant
wholly incapable OF preparing In ad
vance for any task or responsibility
In all these respects Lincoln differed
from his fellow countrymen, and OF
these differences his eminence de
ponds. He was not particularly am
bilious, aggressive or practical. II
spite OF his lively social feelings, III
lived contemplative life in which
the intellectual interest obtained full
expression and which attained higl
degree OF INTERNAL concentration. III
fought hard and well, but he neve
quarreled. During his formative
years he quietly but unostentatiousl.
prepared himself for great enterpris
es. He trained his mind because h
enjoyed hard intellectual exertion
His style shaped itself under the In
huence Of the Bible and ShakespeaI
Thus at a period and in a countr.
favorable to the cheap performance
and the easy victory, Mr.. Lincoll
tempered his reason and his spiri
for a great performance and costl
victory. Was there anything typiC