The Washington herald., 1917-02-07
Man who Helped Everybody
Bx ORlsoN SWEET HARDEN.

past injustice ana acknoWieuRinG>S
tremendous change of feeling toward
Lincoln was the utterance Of the Lon
don Punch, years ago. In its re-
cantation of the sneering criticism
and caricature with which it had re-
ientlessly pursued him. Punch said:
"Yes, he lived to shame me from my
sneer.
To lame my pencil and confute my
To make me own this hind of princes
This railsplitter-a true born king
of men,"
As the stress and anxiety of the
great war increases, one of the most
noticeable things in England is its
increasing admiration and apprecia-
ton of the greatness of Abraham
Lincoln.
Leading English publications re-
Gently printed long articles about
him, and English statesmen have
quoted his words and acts as prece-
dents for their guidance in momen-
tous crises developed during the war.
The reason why Lincoln is so loved
and admired today, not only by the
people of his own land, but by the
people of every land on the earth,
was never more clearly and briefly
stated than in those words by we'll
known Chinese diplomat.
In an address to the Union League
Club, of Brooklyn, on the o2d ami
versary of Lincoln's birthday, Mr..
Wu-Ting-Fang, then the Chinese
Minister to the United States, said:
"To Lincoln may be applied the
words which a Chinese historian
uses in describing the character of
Yao, the most revered and honored
of the ancient rulers of China. His
benevolence was boundless, his wis
dom was profound; to anyone ap-
preaching him, he had the genial
warmth of the SUM- When viewed at
distance he seemed to have the
mysterious warp of the clouds;
though occupying the highest sta
tion, he was not naughty; though
controlling the resources of the whole
nation, he was not lavish; justice was
the guiding principle of his actions;
nobleness was written on his face"
That "nobleness was written on
every lineament of his face" and that
he was destined for greatness was
apparent to the reader of character
when Lincoln was still youth.
Captain John lie Mar tells us that
one day while riding with his father
past where young Lincoln was work
ing, his father said to him in simple
Western fashion, "John, look at that
boy yonder and mark my words, he
will make smart man of himself
l may not live to see it, but you see
if my words don't come true"
Lincoln was loved in his lifetime,
and is loved today as perhaps no
other man on this continent was ever
loved, because of his genial, lovable
disposition and his rare spirit of
helpfulness. His spontaneous desire
to help everybody, and especially to
return kindness, endeared him to
all who knew him. His desire to
serve, in youth as in later life,
amounted to passion with him. He
chopped wood for the poor widows
in his neighborhood, helped those
who were out of work, ran errands,
did chores for people, and in fact was
known as "the man who helped
everybody"
Herndon, his law partner, said:
when the Rutledge Tavern, where
Lincoln boarded, was crowded, Lin
coin would often give up his bed and
sleep on the counter in his store with
a roll of calico for his pillow. Some
how. everybody in trouble turned to
Lincoln for help"
No man hated deception of any
kind or loved truth more than he did.
One simple illustration of this trait
might be studied with advantage by
glib political campaign managers of
today. When John L. Scrip, of the
Chicago Tribune, had written I'D a
little biographical sketch of Lincoln
for campaign purposes, Lincoln ask
ed to see advance sheets of the book.
After reading them he sent for Scrip
and said to him: THAT paragraph
wherein you state that l read 'Plu-
tarch's Lives was not true when you
wrote 1t, for up to that moment of
my life I had never seen that great
contribution to human history. But I
want your book, even if it Is nothing
more than campaign sketch, to be
faithful to the facts, and in order that
the statements in it might be literally
true, l secured copy of 'Plutarch's
Lives few weeks ago, and have