Evening star., 1926-06-05

The Declaration of Independence
stands for the just and reasonable
rights of free people. The Constltu-
| ton is q guarantee for the fultillment
and granting of these rights to a Ma
ton. The United States of America
| was the first brave and clear-sighted
Nation ever to embark on political
sea in such ship as the Constitution.
And. in spite of the vicissitudes
through which our country has passed;
| in spite of her present difference from
| the little Nation of 1888: in spite oil
the apparent simplicity Of that docu-
ment, the Constitution still is today
| the most stalwart and important IN
stitution in the United States.
| To form a more perfect Union, to
establish justice, to insure domestic
tranquility, provide for the common
defense. promote the general welfare
and to secure the blessings of liberty
to ourselves and our posterity-theSe
are what promoted the shaping OF our
Constitution. And it is for this cr1-
terion of the American people that
we honor our Constitution, revere the
| men who formed it and esteem the
| men who have upheld it.
To every great leader of our Gov
/ ernment has come a struggle for the
Constitution.
The most outstanding and ar'duous
struggle any American has ever had
! for this Constitution is that OF Abra-
ham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln, the
man who crossed the stage at the
country's most critical moment; the
, man to whom was given the lead in
| the great drama Of the Civil War; the
misjudged hero who gave his heart,
body and soul to his love-America.
There is not a more sublime or in
spring personality in history than
Abraham Lincoln. He stands out as
the great peace lover, plunged into
the horrors of O war where man killed
his brother. He is known as the pro.
tector Of the negro, the promoter OF
equality, the preserver OF the Union
and, besides all that, he Is universally
recognized as one of the noblest char
acters in the world.
This is the man to whom was given
, the Constitution to guard in the days
| Of the Nations great crisis.
When Lincoln came into office the
condition of our Nation was so grave
| that any but a strong man would
have been stunned. The country was
divided. A Confederacy who had
| broken away from the Constitution
was set up in the South with JEFF
| ferson Davis at it's head. Buchanan,
| Lincoln's predecessor had all but
recognized the South as q nation. The
| slave question lay before the coun-
| try like an open wound, ready to
| bleed when touched and seemingly
| unbeatable. The eyes Of the world
were on Lincoln. The people Of his
own country watched him with open
curiosity, quick to criticize, unwilling
| to trust and eager to attack their
leader at a moments notice. The
situation was like the few tense mo-
| ments when the angered bull in the
arena paws the ground and eyes the
| waving red cape of the matador before
rushing on to kill or be killed.
No wonder Lincoln said, "a duty
devolves on me which is greater than
| that which has devolved on any man
since the days Of Washington" And
1t Is true. No other President had
ever faced the peculiar difficulties that
he was called to face.
To him was given to solve the prob.
lem that had been the main issue
| before the Government since the days
of the old confederation. That is the
question of Nation versus State. 1t
Is true, those who preceded had laid
! the foundations for his great decision
that was to alter all future history
of the United States, but Lincoln
could look to no definite precedent.
the Constitution gave him no direction.
1t was through himself that he
achieved victory, through his own
sense of right and wrong.
Thus we find that Lincoln disre-
garded many old constitutional
checks upon a President He realized