New Britain herald., 1916-09-04
Log Building in Which Great Emancipator" Was Born is Now Owned by People


 Abraham Lincoln was born, now housed in a magnificent memorial structure, President Wilson today, in behalf of the United States, accepted the Lincoln homestead, acquired by VI popular subscription through the Lin coin Farm association. The president made his trip to Hodgensville wholly one of tribute to the memory of Lin- coin, declining all invitations to make speeches in the political campaign.
 ''How eloquent this little house within this shrine is of the vigor of s@democracy," exclaimed the president as he spoke of Lincoln as exemplifv- ing the American spirit as showing the heights which men of lowly birth may attain.
 We are not worthy to stand here," said he unless we ourselves be in lvdeed and in truth real democrats and servants of mankind, ready to give our very lives for the freedom and justice and spiritual exaltation of the great nation which shelters and nur- lures us''
 Presidents Address,
 The presidents address in full fol- lows:
 f No more significant memorial could nave been presented to the na- ton than this. It expresses so much of what Is singular and noteworthy In the history of the country; it sug- Sests so many of the things that we prize most highly in our life and in our system of government. How eIo- quent this little house within this -'Snrtne Is of the vigor of democracy; There Is nowhere In the land any home so remote, so humble, that 1t may not contain the power of mind and heart and conscience to which na- tions yield and history submits it's processes. Nature pays no tribute to aristocracy, subscribes to no creed of Gaste, renders fealty to no monarch or master of any name or kind. Genius is no snob. It does not run after titles or seek by preference the high circles of society. It effects hum ble company as we'll as great. It pays no special tribute to universities or learned societies or conventional standards of greatness, but serenely chooses its own comrades, it's own ,haunts, its own cradle even and It's own life of adventure and of training. Here is proof of 1t. This little hut the cradle of one of the great sons of men. man of singular, de- 1ightful, vital genius who presently emerged upon the great stage of the nations history, gaunt, shy, ungainly, but dominant and majestic, natural Nsuler of men, himself inevitably the central figure of the great plot No man can explain this, but every man can see how 1t demonstrates the vigor of democracy, where every door is open, in every hamlet and country side, in city and wilderness alike, for the ruler to emerge when he will and claim his leadership in the free life 7WSuch are the authentic proofs of the validity and vitality of democracy
 Mystery of Democracy.
 Here, no less, hides the mystery of democracy. Who shall guess this secret of nature and providence and 8 free policy. Whatever the yigor and vitality of the stock from which he sprang, its mere vigor and sound- ness do not explain where this man got his great heart that seemed to comprehend all mankind in it's cath ollie and ben1gnant sym pathy, the min q that sat enthroned behind those breeding, melancholy eyes, whose vision swept many an horizon which those about him dreamed not off, that mind that comprehended what it had never seen, and understood the language of affairs with the ready Aease of one to the manner born-or &%rhat nature which seemed in it var led richness to be the familiar of m en of every way of life. This is the sacred mystery of democracy, that its richest fruits spring up out of soils which no man has prepared and in circumstances amidst which they are the least expected. This is a place alike of mystery and of reassurance. S "It is likely that in a society or / dered otherwise than our own Lincoln could not have found himself or the path of fame and power upon which he walked serenely to his death Tn this place it is right that we should remind ourselves of the solid and striking facts upon which our faith in democracy is founded. Many another man besides Lincoln has served the ~fation in it's highest places of counsel and of action whose origins were as humble as his. Though the greatest example of the universal energy rich ness. stimulation, and force of de mocracy, he is only one examyle among many. The permeating and all-per- vasive virtue of the freedom which challenges us in America to make the