The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-02-12
LINCOLN WOULD
HAVE VOTED FOR
HOUSE BILL A
Coates Says League Legislators
Today Stand Where Eman-
cipator Did in 1884
RADICALISM OF PATRIOT
DWELT ON BY SPEAKERS
,Thomason Compares Him With a
Second Nameless One-Many
Hear Northwest Address

| ''As a legislator for eight years in
Illinois, Abraham Lincoln was trying
to do the simple things you men ii
the year 1917 are attempting to do in
North Dakota An attempt was made
in the house of representatives two
weeks ago to align Abraham Lincoln
against you. If he could have come
into the house that day, he would have
said: Shame on you for that lie.
stand in this year 1917 where |
stood in 1894, and l will vote for
House Bill Az" .
This was one Of the opening state
ments of ID. C. Coates yesterday at
tern0on in an address which he deliv-
cred to an audience which packed the
assembly room of the Hotel North
west. His subject was abraham Lin
cOln,' but he announced in opening
that he was not going to deal with
the glorified Abraham Lincoln OF tic-
ton, but with the real Lincoln, who
was described as the most hated char
acter in America from 1862 to 1865, a
man excoriated, cartooned and derid-
ed to his death. And when he died,
NJ. A. Thomson stated, in introducing
the speaker Of the afternoon, America
lost one of it's two greatest patriots.
The other, he said, he would not
name J
Lincoln in death is nothing to
me-" said the general manager OF the
Non-partisan league. Lincoln in life
was everything. Much that is not
true has been written Of Lincoln and
his lowly beginning. Lincoln in boy
hood was in much the same situation
as is the North Dakota farmer boy
Of today. He belonged to the same
pioneering period. There was, per-
haps, more agitation for the princi-
pies of human rights then than now.
Lincoln's inspiration came from the
declaration of independence. He be-
lieved that when any form of govern
ment becomes destructive Of human
life, liberty and the pursuits of happi-
ness then it IS the right of the people
to amend or change or overthrow that
government.
you men get the same cartoons
and e1idicule today that Lincoln did.
But I haven't lost moments sleep
since I came to North Dakota over
what the newspapers have said about
me or pictured of me. 1t didn't make
any difference to him how many times
they attempted to put him in an in
sane asylum. nor how often they call
ed him free-lover and nigger-lover.
1T doesn't matter today. auN0a Ha
There's many a man who tomor-
row will point to the flag and sing
the patriotic, hymns of America, shed
tears and slop over in his overflow Of
patriotism who doesn't know the first
attributes Of patriotism or of the prin-
ciples OF Lincoln so far as the rights
of the people are concerned"
Coates then quoted from a book of
Lincoln's debates, saying: 'This is
the greatest book in my library. 7
have four histories OF Abraham Lin
coin, but I'd pitch them all away be-
fore l would lose this book. Histories
Of Lincoln usually are '99 per cent hot
air. This is compilation Of all the
recorded utterances Of Abraham Lin
coln-it is the real Lincoln"
+ Statements Of the Emancipation as
to the right of the people to change
their form of government were read,
and the speaker referred to these as
sertions as having had prophetic bear
ing on the Chamber of Commerce of
Minneapolis and the "15 per cent
sharks of North Dakota. Keep in
mind" he said, "the fellow who is sit
ting in the shade and taking your
profits" and he proceeded to draw an
analogy between the North Dakota