The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1939-02-14

ciai equality. of personal freedom.
Of seeing IN the horizon Of his fu.
ture the perpetual star Of hope.
He preserved his individuality and
self-respect.
He knew and mingled With
men Of every kind: and after
all, men are the best books"
Llnooln's opportunity to develop
Is credited 10 the new country In
which he lived.
In a new country. Ingersoll
continues, "a man must possess
three virtues - honesty, courage
and generosity. In cultivated so
ciety, cultivation is more often
important than soil. A well exc
cuted counterfeit passes more
readily than a blurred genuine.
In new country character Is
essential. in the old. reputation Is
sufficient. In the new, they find
what man really Is. in the old,
he generally passes for what he
resembles. People separated only
by distance are much nearer to-
gether than those separated by the
walls of caste.
1T is no advantage TO live in a
great city. where poverty degrades
and failure brings despair The
fields are lovelier than paved
streets and the great forests than
walls Of brick. Oaks and elins are
more poetic than steeples and
chimneys.
In the country is the idea Of
home. There you see the rising
and the setting sun. you become
acquainted with the stars and the
clouds. You hear the rain on the
roof and listen to the rhythmic
signing Of the winds. Every field
Ia q picture, landscape; every
landscape a poem: every flower
a tender thought. and every forest
q fairyland
In the country you preserve
your identity your personality.
There you are an aggregation of
atoms. but in the city you are only
an atom of an aggregation.
Lincoln never finished his edu-
cation. To the night Of his death
he was pupil. learner and an
a seeker after knowl-
edge. You have no idea how many
men are spoiled by what we call
education. For the most part coll
leges are places where pebbles are
polished and diamonds are dimmed
Ii Shakespeare had graduated al
Oxford he might have been
clubbing attorney or an hypo-
critical parson.
AS Ingersoll knew Lincoln. he
Was "a many sided man. acquaint-
I'd with smiles and tears, complex
n brain. single in heart, direct as
light: and his words. candid as
mirrors, gave the perfect image of /
ais thought. No man had
xeener wit nor kinder humor. He
vas not solemn. Solemnity is a
mask worn by ignorance and n.y.
,ocrisy--it is the preface. pro-
ogue and index to the cunning or
he stupid. -.
He WA = logician. Logic
h 4 necessary product of In
telligence and sincerity. II
cannot be learned. II II the
child Of q clear head and
good heart. He WAS candid,
and with candor often deceiv-
ed the deceitful. He had intel
ligence Will bout arrogance,
genius without pride and re-
ligion without cant-that In to
say. without bigotry and with
ont deceit.
He was an orator-clear and
atural. If you wish to be sublime
ou must be natural--you must
.eep close to the grass. You must
il by the fireside Of the heart;
bove inthe clouds II is too cold.
II you wish To know the differ
nee between an orator and an
what is felt
nd what in said-read Lineoln's
1ondrous words at Gettysburg.
nd then the speech of Edward
,verett. ,
The GRAFTON of Lincoln's
will never be forgotten. II I
will live until languages are I
dead and lips are dust. The I
speech Of Everett win never
BE- read. >.
Wealth could not purchase,
over could not awe this divine, ;
his loving man. He knew no fear
kept the fear of wrong doing. -.
Ie spoke not TO inflame, not TO ]
phraid. but to convince He raised ,
Is hands, not TO strike, but In |
Lincoln WAS the grnndest
figure Of the fiercest civil war.
He h the gentlest memory Of
our world