New-York tribune., 1922-05-31
Vast Throng
Hears Harding
At Dedication

sion and triumph OF his life. II Is pecu~
lIarly appropriate that it should
The only other speaker was Or. Rob
ert r. Motion. of Tuskegee Institute.
speaking for the negro Americans, and
be laid weight upon the declaration
that IL was Lincoln's name that stood
FIRST in the hearts OF these twelve mil
lions Of his countrymen. I.incoin's
death. he said was "ths last and costli-
est sacrifice upon the altar of free
dcr''
Markham Reads Poem
The only other feature Of the dedica-
ton ceremony was Edwin Markham s
defamation of his revised poem TO Lin
coin:
man. TO hold against the world
to match the mountains and
tho
IN the concluding stanza, it read
And when he feH IN whirlwind. nc went
\. when iordly cedar green with boushs.
GOES down with great shout upon the
hills
And leaves lonesome place against the
At the end of the ceremony, Presi-
dent Harding turned TO inspect the
great statue, brooding in the vast. pill
Jared chamber Of the Aemple. then
closed about him II was then the
President sought out the bent, feeble
figure OF Lincoln's son.
And when Mr.. Harding had left amid
another calling Of the bugles, the peo-
pie out beyond the restraining ropes
surged upward in mass TO maze
the Lincoln Memoria their own for
ell time.
The Pesident's Address
TIE President spoke as follows:
1T is supreme satisfaction officially
20 accept on behalf of the government
This superb monument to the savior
OF the Republic No official duty could
be moro welcome. no official function
more pleasing. This memorial ,difice
is q noble tribute, gracefully bestowed.
and it's offering is the reverant heart
America; in its dedication is the con-
seriousness Of reverence and gratitude
beautifully expressed.
Somehow my emotions incline me
70 speak simply as a reverent and CRATE
flu American rather than one in official
responsibility. ! am thus inclined be
cause the true measure of Lincoln is in
his place day in the heart Of Ameri-
can citizenship, though near half cen
fury has passed since his colossal ser
vice and his martyrdom. In every
couragement, whenever the clouds
gather, there is the image of Lincoln TO
rivet our hopes and to renew our faith
Whenever there ia glow of triumph
over national achievement there comes
tn reminder that but for Lincoln's
heroic and unalterable faith in the
Union, these triumphs could not have
been.
"No great character in all history has
x,,J
more monumental, no likeness more
portrayed. Painters and sculptors por-
tray as they sec, and no two see pre-
cisely alike. So, too, is there varied
emphasis IN the portraiture Of words,
but ali are agreed about the rugged
greatness and the surprising tender
ness and uufailing wisdom of this mas
ter martyr.
History is concerned with the things
accomplished. Biography deals with
the methods and the indiyi dual attri-
butes which led to accompli shment.
Sole Aim to Retain Union
THE supreme chapter in history is
not emancipation, though that achieve
ment would have exalted Lincoln
throughout all the ages. The simple
truth is that Lincoln. recognizing an
established order. would have compro-
y
he could have halted its extension.
Hating human slavery as he did. he
doubtless believed in its ultimate abo
lition through the developing con-
science of the American people, but
he would have been the last man in
the Republic to resort to arms to ef-
feet it's abolition. Emancipation was
means TO the great end maintained
union and nationality. Here was the
great purpose, here the towering hope,
here the supreme faith. He treas
ured the inheritance handed down by
the founding fathers, the ark of the
covenant wrought through their heroic
sacrifices and buided in their inspired
genius. The Union must be preserved.
1t was the central thought. the un-
alterable purpose, the unyielding in
tent, the foundation of faith. 1t was
worth every sacrifice, justified every
cost. steeled the heart to sanction
every crimsoned tide of blood. Here
was the great experiment popular
government and constitutional union
menaced by greed expressed in human
chattels. With the greed restricted
and unthreatenirg, he could temporize
When it challenged Federal authority
and threatened the Union it pronounced
its own doom. In the first inaugural
he quoted and reiterated his own Oft
repeated utterdnce: i have no purpose.
directly or indirectly, to interfere with
the institution of slavery in the states
whore 1t exists. believe ! have no
lawful right to do so, and | have no
inclination to do So He Believed in
maintaining inviolate the rights of the
states, but he believed no less firmly
IN the perpetuity of the union of the
states. The Union. having been con-
tracted, could not be dissolved except
by consent of all parties to the con
tract. He recognized the conflicting
viewpoints, differing policies and con-
troverted questions. But there were
constitutional methods of settlement,
and these must be employed
Called Secession Anarchy
'In the first inaugural address he
stressed the great general principle
that:
"'In our constitutional controversies
we divide into majorlties and minori-
ties. If the irority Will not acquiesce
the majority must. or the government
must cease. There is no other alter
native. for continuing the government
is acquleScence on one side or the
other. II the majority in such case
will secede rather than acquiesce they
make a precedent which IN turn will
divide and ruin them. Plainly the cen
tTal idea Of secession is the essence of
anarchy. A majority held in restraint
by constitutional checks and limita~
tions, and always changing easily with
deliberate changes Of popular opinions
and sentiments, is the cnly true soy