Evening star., 1922-02-12
IYN this city of Washington, on
street corner, on q bright
morning of a day which must
= no.. ho,n than Anril

morning of a day which must
have been not later than April
a. 1865, the fatal day Con which Alb
raham Lincoln was assassinated) ana
not earlier than March Of that
year, very tiny boy stood on tiptoe.
trying with his tiny stature to look
,,p into the face Of the tallest man
he had ever seen-a very talf man
very dark as to hair and beard. There
was doubt when the little fellow
went home to his parents boarding
house and reported that President
Lincoln had stopped him and pulled
his ears and tousled his hair. but the
little fellow never doubted, and to-
day, after a lapse of flfty-six years. I
am satisfied that on that one occa-
sion 1 saw and talked with Father
Abraham"
That Is how Representative Richard
Yates Of Illinois. whose father was
close personal friend of Lincoln and
war governor of the state, and whos
following in his fathers footsteps.
has been both governor and congress-.
man. describes the one time that he
best recalls of having met and talked
with Lincoln in the flesh. In describ-
ing how the personality of that hero
President was impressed upon his
earliest youth, Representative Yates
says:
Men and women are wrong who
think that a little child cannot re-
member things which happened at
~ All
mothers know that If you talk to a
child about one thing only. morning,
noon and night. breakfast. dinner and
supper and around the fireside in the
evening. and keep it up for your long
dramatic years. that child will re-
1nember it. 1t so happened that notn-
hug else was talked about under the
roof that sheltered me IN 1861, 1852.
1853 and 1854 but the Union and the
Nag. the Union and liberty, the Union
and abraham Lincoln. So 1t is not
strange I recognized him that day,
not immodest in me to claim that
saw him once"
X
THE Yates family was probably
more Intimately associated with
Abraham Lincoln during his life as a
national leader than any other. Rep
resentative Yates grew UP In an at
mosphere that was born OF the inti-
macy with the great martyred Presi-
dent of the United States. The per-
sonal. professional and political con-
nection between Representative Yates
father and Abraham Lincoln was re-
markable. They were born about the
same time They were admitted to
the practice of law about the same
time. They lived in adjoining coun-
ties-Lincoln at Springfield. in San
cannon county, and Gov. Yates at
jacksonville. in Morgan county. They
travelled the circuit together as prac-
ticing lawyers. They both served In
the sta te legislature Of Illinois. They
both served in Congress here In the
f1ftics. The one was a candidate Tor
President of the United States in
1860 and the other was candidate
for Governor of Illinois.
1t may be stated that they made the
campaign together, although it is
we'll known that Lincoln did not leave
his front porch. They were in con-
stant consultation during those years.
During the war Gov. Yates visited
Washington frequently. He was elect
ed to the Senate in 1864 and took his
place in 1865, the lth of March, He
was almost daily in consultation with
Lincoln until the assassination and
death, April II, 1865.
Representative Yates has old-time
family albums filed with pictures Of