Evening star., 1941-02-13
y tire Associated Press.

NEW YORK. Feb. 13-The
Transcribed tert OF Wendell L.
Wilkes Lincoln Day address
last night tollo'Us.
recently had the very stimulating
privilege Of spending a week END
with the man whom I think is
the greatest public figure in the
world-Winston Churchill. With
that gracious. complimentary hos
pitality for which he is famous, he
proceeded into a discussion Of the
respective operations of the Amer
lean constitutional system and the
English constitutional system.
He added. to demonstrate, that
under the English system defeated
candidates for high Office remained
connected with the government
while under the American system
they retire to private life. And
he was lamenting as a compll-
mentary gesture to me the difference
in the American system that re-
quired the retirement of presidential
candidates to other occupations.
suggested to him as a loyal
American in defense of our system
that perhaps ours had the advan-
tage because they had with them
political figures always while we had
a convenient method of retiring
them.
Good to Have Heroes.
We meet here this evening as
members of the Republican Party
and people all over the country are
meeting as members of the Repub-
lican Party to honor the name of
Abraham Lincoln. And also citizens
who are not members or active men,
bers of political parties are likewise
paying their respects to that i'm
mortal figure.
It's good for nation to have
its heroes. It's fine for the people
of q nation to turn in reverence to
our very beloved. We in America
have three distinguished political
figures, three persons that instinc-
lively everybody every year turns to.
Frequently in the last several years
when I've had to visit Washington,
as all people must these days when
the smoke has gotten too thick and
the conversation too heavy at night,
I'VE climbed into a car and I've
driven past the Washington Monu-
ment and Lincoln Memorial and on
out to Arlington to the home of
Robert E. Lee. Here lie the men
irrespective of politics that all Amer
lean hearts turn to as the three
great figures of our public life and
the qualities that make them the
heroes of this country are as much
a compliment to the people of this
country as they are to the men
themselves. And the three of them
had one common quality. And that
was the quality of magnanimity.
Caught Faith Of People.
George Washington said that
without more tolerance for the
views of others, this Nation can
not survive. Robert E. Lee said:
although I've fought the North
because I thought it was seeking
to take from us our most cherished
right. I have never seen the night
that have not prayed for the peo-
pie Of the North"
Abraham Lincoln said: With
malice toward none, with charity
toward all"
And so as I say, going by that
tall shaft that pierces the sky and
that classic temple with the simple
brooding figure of Lincoln in it and
to the stately home of Robert E.
Lee. I've caught a spiritual value
and a real faith that the American
reople after all worship most, not
rartisanship, nor bitterness, nor
vindictiveness in their public lead
ers, but love of mankind and mag
nanimitv and tolerance and under
standing.
George Washington, without whose
talent. without whose sacrifices and
without whose ability this Nation
could not have been created, strug-
gled throughout his public career
to bring the people into union, and.
although Robert E. Lee. giving one
Of the finest minds and the utmost
of energy in the struggle for the
political beliefs that he believed IN
when the arbitrament of battle went
against him, he settled down to a
simple job and preached to all who
would listen to him that America
must be united.
Loved Those Who Fought Him.
Abraham Lincoln's whole career
vas to build of these United States
a united country. Eighty years ago
tonight Abraham Lincoln on his
way to be inaugurated as President
was travelling across my home State
of Indiana to make a speech in
Cincinnati that night. He had lived
in that State 25 years before as a
boy, and I think that we all can
see him noW-that somple soul,
that great mind. that man who
could love even those who fought
him. He knew how to fight with
out vindictiveness. We can see him