Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1921-12-02


and had only one pair Of breeches and
they were buckskin. II you know the
nature Of buckskin, you know that
when it is wet and dried by the sun II
will shrink and my breeches kept
shrinking and deserving the sock area
OF my legs until several inches of
them were bare above my shoes.
Whilst / was growing longer they
were growing shorter and SO much
tighter that they left blue streak
around my legs which can be seen to
this day. If you call that aristocracy
/ know Of one Wing that 10 an aristo-
craft
"But look at the New England type
Of Wing exempllfied by the imperious
and majestic Webster" said Douglas.
webster was another poor lad"
Lincoln answered. His fathers home
was log cabin In lonely land until
about the time Daniel was born, when
the family moved to a small frame
house. His is the majesty of a great
intellect"
There was much talk of this sort
walk home with his two friends who
had just returned from the North, be-
ing eager to learn of Samson's visit.
The latter gave him full account of
1t and asked him to undertake the col
lection Of Brimstead's note.
'T'll get after that fellow right
away" said Lincoln. SIN glad to get
a chance at one Of those men who
have been skinning the farmers"
They sat down by the fireside in
Samson's house.
"Joe has decided that he wants to
be a lawyer" said Samson.
well, Joe, wen all do what we can
to keep you from being a shotgun
lawyer" Abe Lincoln began. "Tve got
good first lesson for you. /, found 1t
In a letter which Rufus Choate had
written to Judge Davis. In it he says
that we rightly have great respect for
the decisions Of the majority, but that
the law is something vastly greater
and more sacred than the verdict of
any majority. The law he says,
comes down to us one mighty and
continuous stream Of wisdom and ex-
perience accumulated, ancestral,
widening and deepening and washing
itself clearer as 1t runs on, the agent
Of civilization, the builder of a thou
sand cities. To have lived through
ages Of unceasing trial with the pas
sions, interests and affairs of men, to
have lived through the drums and
tramplings of conquest, through revo
luton and reform and all the changing
cycles Of opinion, to have attended
the progress of the race and gathered
unto itself the appreciation Of civil
lied humanity Is to have proved that
1t carries in it some spark of immor
tai life"
The face of Lincoln changed as he
recited the lines Of the learned and
distinguished lawyer of Massachu
chusetts.
"His face glowed like lighted Ian
tern when he began to say those elo-
quent words" Samson writes in his
diary. "He wrote them down so that
Josiah could commit them to memory"
''That is a wonderful statement"
Samson remarked.
Abe answered: ut suggests to me
that the voice Of the people In any one
generation may or may not be In
spired, but that the voice of the best
men of all ages, expressing their sense
Of justice and of right, in the law, is
and must be the voice OF God. The
spirit and body of its DEGREES are as
indeStructible as the throne Of Heaven. |
You can overthrow them but until
their power Is re-established, as surely |
1t will be, you will live In savagery."
''You do not deny the right of revo-
luton"
mo, but / can see no excuse for it |
In America. 1t has remained for us |
to add to the body OF the law the idea |
that men are created free and equal.
The lack of the saving principle In the
codes Of the world has been the great |
cause of injustice and oppression"
Honest Abe rose and walked up and |
down the room in silence for a mo-
ment. Then he added:
"Choate phrased it well when he
said: we should beware OF awaking
the tremendous divinitIes of change
from their long sleep. Let us think
Of that when we consider what we
shall do with the evils that afffict u.s. %
The boy Joe had been deeply In.
terested In this talk.
'If your lend me book, I'd like
to begin studying" ne said.
There's time enough for that" said
Lincoln. First, want you to. under
stand what the law is and what the II
lawyer should be. You wouldn't want
to be a pettifogger. Choate is the
right model. He has a dignity suited
to the greatness of his chosen master
They say that before a justice of the
peace, In a room no bigger than a
shoemaker's shop, his work is done
with the same dignity and care that
he would show in the supreme court