The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-02-13
|NSP |RAT ION GIVEN. BY LINCOLN TOPIC IF HARDING TALK
Supreme Gift of Martyrd President Not in Construc- ton But Preservation, He
 Declares.


 preservation, President Harding de- clared in an address tonight at a Lincoln memorial dinner rendered by friends of Uincoln Memorial uni versity of Cumberland Gap, Tenn.
 Humanity itself" the President declared, needs to drink of the cup of unfailing confidence which enabled him to stand erect and unshaker which would have crushed any less than a master heart and soul"
 The President spoke as follows:
 No human story surpasses the fascination and the inspiration of that of Abraham Lincoln. The re- public pays tribute tonight, and most ence, because in his unshaken faith the world finds it's own hopes nightly strengthened Our words are all feeble, because we are deal ing with the master martyr, the su- preme leader in national crisis the surpassing believer in a fulfilled destiny, and a colossal figure among the hero statesmen of all ages.
 Turning over, in the last few days, the promise I had made to add z to be spoken, I have been impressive ly reminded of the greatly revived interest in everything concerning Lincoln, which has marked the past few years notably the last two.
 It does not seem hard to under stand why in times like these ir which we live there Is such a re- naseence of sentiment for Lincoln, of n fv, of his life. For men have come te think of him as they have no thought of others among the merely human characters of history. Lincoln has appealed to them as one who manifestly was brought forth with the destiny or consecrated by an in- finite hand to render a particular service to save a nation, to emanci- pate people, to preserve in the world the fruits of the American experiment in and for democracy.
 Need of Leadership
 Surely it is not strange that the eyes and the interest of the world should turn to him now when all mankind feels the need for such leadership and service and direction as he gave. A world, a civilization
 
 need for the moral purpose of the noble aspirations the hing courage that he interpreted to our America in the days of it's crisis. More, humani- ty needs to drink of the cup ot untaillng confidence which enabled him to stand erect and unshaken amid encouragement and criticism which would have crushed any less Q mi a c fny. h
 The world today sees civilization brought to it's supreme test. It's trial came when 1t might least have been expected. At the very apex of ma terial advances, when science and industry and invention and tulture seem to have united in justifying mans proudest estimate of his des- tiny, there came among the nations such clash of ambitions, such a confusion of ideals. such a crash of conflicting aims and aspiration, as it had never known before. It brought peWlidering confusion, and over whelming amazement to those who had been esteemed the wisest among their kind and who in the toliy Of their wisdom had been most certain that such thing could -->'Nt haPPCH. AllQ m the very face of havoc wrought. of the utter fu- tility of it all. we still wonder that 1t could have been.
 But the sobering and distressing realization has come at last, that in its eagerness to harness and dominate the material forces of the world. humanity had lost it's anchorage to the ultimate things of the higher. the nobler, the spiritual universe. Turn ing now, in the midst of the wreck age, to seek for whatever can be trusted as safe and strong and last ing, 1t is not to b wondered that peo- pie turn anew the pages of Lincoln's story. In every truth his soul. is marching. To him it has been given to leaving a living heritage of vital power and supreme inspiration to the race. Out of Lincoln came the proof that lofty achievement is not in ideals alone but in that spiritual and material justice which is the wholesome blending of infinite pur- pose and mans capacty for fulfil. ment."