The Dolores star., 1920-02-06

few, ana the most of III" people standing.
Democrats and Republicans packed into II
solid mass together. good-nnturodly talking and
chatting each other Upon the stage were seated
prominent men Of both parties. \ chairman and
secretary, and time keepers who had previously
been agreed upon, were early in their seats, but
made no effort to restrain the grent crowd until
after the speakers had arrived and received the
deafening applause Of their followers.
1t curious sight when the contestants
assembled to their places on the platform-Lin-
coin was tall and Douglas short. Lincoln
:" angular and Douglas so sturdy, Lincoln
spare and Douglas compact and rotund. They
alterated in opening and closing the debates
the opening speaker hour. his competitor fol-
lowing with an hour and a half. and the opening
speaker closing with half an hour
And the whole country realized the importance
OF this local Illinois contest. II understood
tliht this was not so much contest of men rs of
principles. From the beginning all scmbance of
a local personal struggle vanished The eyes Of
the nation were on the two champions. Every
newspaper detailed their speech and action Every
speech was published in fun. Men either side
made the arguments of their champion their own.
II odd Abe and The Little Giant over
again at every crossroads. Illinois the po-
litical and moral battle. ground of the nation
And at Freeport Lincoln made 1t plain that he
stood ready TO sacrifice the senatorshp in order
to advance the anti-slavery cause. At the Ottawa
debate. six days before Douglas had asked seven
n
rious phases of slavery and its management AT
Freeport Lincoln answered these seven questions
frankly. He confessed his rcpugnance TO slavery,
but said he did not believe in immediate drastic
action to abolish it. He opposed its extension.
He declared it VAS the duty of congress to pro-
hibit slavery in the territories. And then he nut
in turn four questions TO Douglas. of which the
second the momentous question with the far
reaching results.
Lincoln put this question 10 Douglas against the
lF. Sui,
visers. They told him it would his defeat
and would lose him the senatorship And Lin
coins reply was this
Gentlemen am killing larger game If Doug
las answers. he can never be president, and the
battle of 1850 is worth n hundred of this"
Lincoln. history has shown was 100 per
cent patriot and American. 1t is no disparaye-
ment to add that no shrewder politician ever ran
for office. To appreciate the shrewdness of this
particular move glance at previous events is
necessary.
The historic Missouri Compromise act of 1920
prohibited slavery in the territories north of SO
degrees, thirty minutes latitude. This was re-
pealed and congress substituted for it Douglas
Kansas Nebraska act of 1851. This empowered
the people of the territories determine for them
selves whether or not they should have slavery
Then the "Dred Scott decision" of the
United States Supreme court in 1857 This held
that congress has exceeded its authority in the
passage of the Missouri Compromise act that
slaves were property and that the owners OF
slaves had the right TO take this property into
the territories and hold it there like any other
property, matter what the wishes of the people
of the territory in question. This decision was
the direct opposite of the doctrine Of Douglas
Kansas Nebraska act. The decision meant that
slavery could exist in Kansas. whether the Kansas
people not willing Moreover it
opened the door wide for the extension of slavery
to the West and North.
When Lincoln ended his single term in congress
in March Of 1S49 he practically gave up politics
and devoted himself to his law practice. The
passage of the Kansas Nebraska act in 1854