The Washington times., 1916-09-04
PRESIDENT ACCEPTS.
LINCOLN BIRTHPLACE.
Dedlcates Shrine Of Martyr TO
American People at Hodgsn-
vile, KY, Today.
Continued from First Pase)

Continued from First Pase)
presently emerged upon. the great
shy. ungainiy. but dominant and ma.
lestic, q natural ruler OF men. himself
.nsvit.6iy rss. , the central figure OF the
mo man can explain this. but every
vtgor Of democracy, whore every doom
is open, In every hamlet and country
side. In city and wilderness alike, for
the ruler TO emerge when he VIII
lie. Such are the authentic proofs,
racy. o"
Mystery Of Democracy.
Here. no less. hides the mystery OF
democracy. Who shall gues this secret
OF nature and providence and free
polityy Whatever the vigor and vitality
OF the stock from which he sprang. It's
mere vigor and soundness do not ex-
plain where this man got his great heart
that seemed to comprehend all mankind
In Its catholic and benignant sympathy:
the mind that sat enthroned behind
those brooding. melancholy eyes, whose
vision vision swept many an hor1scn hnt wnhcn
mind that comprehended what II had
never seen. and understood the Ian
guage OF affairs with the ready ease OF
one TO the manner born-or that nature
which seemed In its varied richness to
be the familiar Of men Of every way OF
This 10 the sacred mystery OF democ-
racy. that its richest fruits spring up
out Of soils which no an has prepared
and In circumstances amidst which they
are the least expected. This Ia q place
alike Of mystery and Of reinsurance.
1T 10 likely that In q society ordered
otherwise than our own Lincoln could
not have found himself or the path OF
fame and power upon which ne ws,seo ~ %
right that We should remind ourselves
of the solid and striking facts upon
which our faith In democracy 10 FOUND
ed. Many another man besides Lincoln
has served the nation In Its highest
places of counsel and Of action whose
origins were as humble as his. Though
the greatest example Of the universal
energy. richness. stimulation. and force
OF democracy. he Is only one example
among many: The permeatiSs peri essadc and h,nh All,
challenges US In America to make the
most OF every gift and power we possess
every page OF our history serves to en-
phasize and illustrate. Standing here in
this place. II seems almost the whole OF
the stirring story.
End Seems Incredible.
Here lincoln had his beginninss
Here the end and consummation Of that
great life seem remote and a bit incred-
ible. And yet there was no break any
where between the beginning and end,
no lack of natural sequence anywhere.
Nothing really incredible happened.
Lincoln was unaffectedly as much At
home In the White House a. he was
here. Do you share with me the feel
In \ hat ~ slx,
at home nowhere? II seems to me that
in the case Of q mani would rather
say Of a spirit--like Lincoln the question
where ne was Is of little significa nee.
that It II always what he was that
really arrests our thought and takes hold
OF our Imagination.
1t Is the spirit always. that is SOW
ereign. Lincoln. like the rest Of US, was
put through the discipline. Of the world
a very rough and exactins discipline for
him. an indispensable Discipline for every
man who wound know what he Il about
his spirit got only It's schooling there.
II did not derive its character or its
vision from the experiences which
brought. II to its full revelation.
'"rhe test of every American must al
ways be. not where he 10. but what he
is. That also is Of the essence Of democ-
racy, and is the moral OF which this
place IL most gravely expressive.
We would like to think Of men like
Lincoln and Washington as typical
Americans. but no man can be typical
who 10 so unusual a. these great
lean life that It should produce
such men with supreme indifference as
to the manner in which It produced
them. and as readily here In this hut
as amidst the little circle Of cultivated
gentlemen to whom Virginia owed SO
oh "a
-, Typical Americans.
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.
IT have read many biographies OF Lin
coin: have sought out with the great
est interest the many intimate stories
that are told OF him. the narratives of
NEARBY ie S,eb dne thnse Mno tSe
privilege OF being associate with him
have tried to depict for us the very man
himself In his habit as he lived but
I have nowhere found real intimate
1T nowhere get the impression In any
narrative or "Reminiscences that the
writer had In fact penetrated to the
heart Of his mystery. or that any man
could penetrate to the heart OF Il. That
hrooding spirit had no real familiars. !
get the impression that II never spoke
out in complete self-revelation, and that
II could not reveal itself completely to
anyone. 1t was a tery lonely spirit that
looked out from underneath those
shaggy brows and comprehsnded men
without fully communing with them. as
II, in spite OF oil Its genial efforts at
comYadeship. II dMeN apart. saw its