The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1926-02-18
Great American
Legend Lincoln
Emancipation Inspiration of
Lovers of Freedom the
World Over.

Abraham Lincoln has become the
great legendary hero OF the American
people, was the assertion made by
Henry w. Harris in an article In the
Boston Globe.
The power of his name has become
30 great that each of the warning
elements in society seeks to justify its
existence from something Lincoln said
or something Lincoln did. Statesmen
have made tremendous efforts to de-
velop in themselves for public approval
the qualities of Lincoln-at least the
'tfixins" Of Lincoln.
There is a legendary Lincoln Of
reality, the droll rail-splitter, the
Great Emancipator; but there is also
a medley of legendary Lincolns
evolved by the straining imaginations
Of politicians and their partisan fol
lowers.
To Every Nation Is Hero.
Every nation has its great legendary
hero, some of them two or three. Eng
land has King Arthur sleeping peace
fully in a castle somewhere In Wales.
Medieval Germany had the old Hohen-
staufen emperor, Frederick Barbaros-
"a. ssHacrlng Ii the ef cSstfe,
but soon to awake in order to reunite
Germany, to restore the holy Roman
empire and to arrange that Italy be
once more suitably oppressed.
In more recent times one finds
Napoleon at st. Helena, acting as his
own publicity man and laying the foun-
dations of the Second empire with the
advertisement of the "Napoleonic
Ideal" which Thackeray characterized
as Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and
war all over the world"
Most of the Little Peoples Of Europe
went to the peace conference with
legend and prayer. Each Of these peo-
ples had national legendary hero,
who at some time held quarter of
Europe under that nations sway, and
who, the folk lore alleged, was to re-
turn at some not distant date to re-
store to that nation that quarter OF
Europe, and to see that the throats OF
peoples rival to that nation We're
properly cut.
And each Of these peoples thought
that it had an absolutely clear title to
all the territory its particular hero had
held The prayer was for more terri
tory still. Europe is large continent
but unfortunately there was not
enough territory to go around.
In Bold Contrast.
Lincoln stands out in bold contrast
against the bevy of national heroes.
BE is not even nationally selfish. He
does not stand for territorial aggran-
dizement. He stands for American
union, of course, for a New Birth of
Freedom for America. but he also
stands for a desire ito do all which
may achieve and cherish a just and
lasting peace among ourselves and
with all nations"
Brand Whitlock, minister to Bel
GUM, wrote of Lincoln in 1908: THE
secret that reposed in that wonderful
and beautiful life was, let us hope, re-
vealed to America for the saving of
the world"
For Lincoln has become loved the
world over When America entered
the World war, the world, which had
received some pretty hard knocks in
the three years preceding, looked for
this country to evolve another Lincoln
to help it straighten itself out
The London Evening Standard of
April 8, 1917, published President
Wilson'S war message. delivered the
evening before at joint session of the
congress, and went so far as to hail
the author as "A New Lincoln"
A writer in the Review Of Reviews
for February, 1921, said: 1.-THE fact is
that, the world over, Lincoln is coming
Ito be universally revered and loved
!. Disillusioned or skeptical Chris
tians, Jews, Moslems, Confucians and
Brahmins find in him a model whose
life is an inspiration because he lived
as he taught, officially as well as per
sonally."
Legend Thrlves on Truth.
Lincoln, Of course, has not always
been the great legendary character Of
this country. Early American mythol-
Iogy conferred around a cherry tree and
ID Virginia planters son. But tha