Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-02-23
Alb, sham Lincoln
BY Mrs. Henrietta Bettenaa.
Alexandria. 6 D.

BY Mrs. Henrietta Bettenaa.
Alexandria. S. D.
No period in the worlds history was
marked by so many great events or called
into the arena of public life so many great
actors as did the Ninteenth century.
The beginning of the second half of this
revolutionary period was ushered in by
the roar of cannon and Crimea became
the battle ground of the nations. Scarce
ly had the clash of arms given way to the
pursuit of peace, when on this side of the
Atlantic was heard the swelling murmui
OF c%ontending parties-murmur that grew
louder until they deepened into the thun-
ders of war and Columbia's sons marched
forth to the wild grand music of heroic
bugles" and gave their lives Ito make
men free"
Unfortunate land, rent by civil discord.
and yet most happy land. for in that long
night Of the nations peril. when Column
bla bowed in her dark Gethsemane. II
brave sons shrank not but willingly drank
the cup of death that their country might
not be destroyed, but thar liberty and
union might evermore be ''one and in
separable."
Justly do we give our praise to the he
roes of the battlefield: the homage of our
hearts to the brave men who offer up
SiiSii ANcS jill lle dlldT Oh SaCTlIlce. bul
to those who fight their country's battles,
there is in the martial music, in the en-
teme of open conflict, in the feeling
that it is grand to die for ones country
there is in these an inspiration that helps
to make the soul heroic. Under their po-
tent spell men march to glory or the
grave"
or is fitting, to show our appreciation of
him, who, remote from the scene of con-
Met had TO Gear the burden of RESPONSE
bilitN, unite c~ontending factions, be as
sailed by office seekers, denounced by dis
gruntled politicians, ~harangued by fanat-
les. disturbed by jealousies among army
officers and be oft entreated by heart
broken mothers. wives and sisters, to save
a loved one from a disgraceful death
when wars ineXorable law had decreed
that he must die" How often must the
great heart of Lincoln nave throbbed
with pity as he listened to their sorrowful
pleading, and how keen the anguish he
must have felt when he could not grant
their petition.
When in 1861 he took the presidential
chair, he was ridiculed by social leaders,
cartooned by hooking Journalists, and de-
spised by the chief men of even his own
party. Seven states We're in open rebel
lon. and with foreign influence in their
favor, and he, an inexperienced mariner,
must guide the ship of state DER the
troubled sea. But it was soon evident that
a strong hand was at the helm. a hand
that in the providence of God should
bring the good ship forth triumphant, to
evermore sail on, "a union strong and
great"
Never in our coultry's history were
greater men in the councils of the nation,
men of wiser judgment, more stalwart
character, yet to them President Lincoln
became a monument of strength from
whose calmness they gained new courage,
and upon whose strong arm they leaned
for support. In times of disaster he was
not disheartened. nor was he carried away
by victory, but was always self-restraineC
and determined, manifesting unfailine
cheerfulness. and good humor.
How fraternal the spirit he showed to-
! wards the seeded states when he urged
them to return to the union. In your
hands, my dissatisfied fellow country
men," he said, land not in mine is the
momentous issue of the civil war. The
government will not assail YOU. You can
, have no conflict without being yourselves
the aggressor."
He was strongly opposed to slavery. We;
1t was not his purpose nor that of his
party to legislate against it. where it al
ready existed but to prevent it's further
extension and eventually it would become
extinct. He urged the slave states Ia
abolish slavery, pledging the financial ad
of the government to compensate the own.
ers. He said to them. 80 much has no,
been done in all past time as it is now j,
the providence of God, your high privilege
to do. Nav the vast future not have ca,se