The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1924-02-22
Second Prize Winning Essay
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Eugene Beckner

Abraham Lincoln! Speak the name
reverently. No greater man was
ever born in this beloved country
than the big hearted, homely individ-
ual who became the sixteenth presi-
dent of our country, the United
States of America.
+ This rail splitter, as he has been
called, who passed his uncouth youth
in the dire poverty of the poorest
of the frontier folk, rose, unhamper-
ed by these obstacles, to the leader
most crucial times of its existence.
Abraham Lincoln possessed sense
of duty, that tremendously import
ant quality of which so many po-
tentially great men are devoid. Any
thing which he considered duty was
promptly attended to, no matter how
trivial or under what circumstances
it occurred. A story is told of Lin
coin when he was a candidate for
Congress. 1t was a very crucial
time during the campaign and he
was slated to address body of peo-
Pile the following Friday. 1t was
Wednesday at the present time. He
told his campaign manager that he
would be unable to speak. The man
ager was startled, but his coaxing
and pleading were of no avail--Lin-
coins mind was set. Friday came
and Lincoln left Springfield, where
he was. staying at the time, and
walked to neighboring village
about fifteen miles distant. There
he acted as counsel for a boy of fiji
teen, indicted for murder, who had
no money with which to hire law
yer. Lincoln's speech moved the
gentlemen of the jury SO much that
the boy was acquitted.
Honestly This virtue stands out
in Lincoln just as truthfulness does
in George Washington. ! wonder if
we took the trouble to count them
just how many persons there are,
who have not at some time or other
heard or read something of Lincoln's
honesty. The most well known.
imagine, is his walking ten miles
after working full day at store
where has was employed, to pay back
; six cents to woman he had short
changed.
Speaking of truthfulness above,
did not mean to say Lincoln was not
truthful. He has been called, by
some of our foremost statesmen, the
most square-dealing executive in this
country During his practice of the
law Lincoln was never known to
plead case unless he was sure his
client was on the right side.
He possessed lofty ideals, but in
striving to attain these lofty ideals
he was guided by very sound com
mon sense. This quality prevailed
Throughout his entire life. He never
jumped head foremost into any plan,
deal, or transaction, without first Civ
ing it due consideration. He realized
during the Civil War that his gen
Ierals knew more about warfare than
he, and so, although he watched each
maneuver very carefully, he left the
direction of the fighting to those
who better understood it. Through
this common sense Lincoln found it
: much easier to attain his idealsl
) COULD NOT YOU AND /?
Abraham Lincoln possessed inflex
ible courage in adversely. Never, no
matter how stupendous the task
confronting him, did he finch. Even
though at times more than his share
of misfortune seemed to be coming
his way, he never turned his back
through a sea of conflicting and trou-
bled waters to success greater than
any other known. He grew to know
greatness but never ease. Prosper
ity came to him but never ease, and
further still let us not forget that
in the face of this so well earned and
deserved prosperity his soul re-
manned unspoiled. Let us all re-
member, too, that after he obtained
his power he did not do as many of
us would be apt to do, exercise this
power for his own good, but for the
betterment and welfare of his coun-
try.
No more practical man ever lived
than this homely backwoods idealist.
The problems which confronted Lin
coin required the combination of in
domnitable resolution and cool head
ed sanity. He possessed these traits
and the way he sought to preserve
this union shows us how he used
them. He never went to extremes,
but worked step by step, advancing
just as far as his common sense told
, him. Even when the goal was in
sight he picked his way cautiously
continually checking his associates
who wished to go forward too fast
and in the end he triumphed over
L II