Evening star., 1947-07-27
Tired Senate Thrown Into Uproar
By Missouri Vote Issue Revival
As Congress Races to Adjourn
Documents dwelling Brings
LincoIn's Life in Sharper Focus
Salient Facts of Presidents Career Stond,
But Scholars Find New Wealth Of Detail

a humble appeal for a Government
Job, threats of assassination and
letters of mercy for war offenders
These papers cover nearly the whole
range of human emotions.
These are the martyred Presi-
dents personal papers, many OF
them dealing with the period of his
presidency but surprising num-
Der concerned with affairs of his
earlier life. A few days after his
assassination, they were gathered
up by his son, Robert Todd Lincoln
later Secretary of War and Am
bassador to Britain. They have
been held in almost complete Sc
crecy ever since.
Yesterday marked the expiration
of 81 years since the younger Lin
coins death, the period stipulated
that the manuscripts should remain
sealed when Mr.. Lincoln decided
them to the Library of Congress as
the custodian for the American peo-
pie. The library haH was packed
with Lincoln admirers when Libra
rian Luther H. Evans formally
turned the papers over to the pub
lie in a ceremony in which he was
assisted by Dorsey J. Bartlett, chief
page of the House of Representa-
tives. Senator Brooks, Republican
of Illinois, introduced guests. DR.
Roy P. Basler, executive secretary
of the Abraham Lincoln Associa-
ton and one of the foremost living
Lincoln scholars, spoke on the sig
nif1cance of the collection and OF
Lincoln himself in the troubled
world of today.
Reasons for Secrecy Cleared Up.
Ever since Robert Lincolns gift
was announced there has been much
speculation as to his reasons for the
secrecy stipulations. These became
clear with the opening. He had
said that some of them reflected on
the characters of immediate ances-
tors of persons living at the time
of his death.
This is true, but the reflections
were not those of Lincoln. Many
of the letters are from politicians
and Office seekers protesting Fedora
appointments, which contained bittel
and often false accusations against
rivals. 1t is noteworthy, according
to DR.. C. Percy Powell, the library
specialist who has indexed the
papers and is the only man living
who had seen them up to last mid
night, that there is not single un'
kind remark about anybody writer
by Lincoln himself.
There is surprisingly little touch
ing on the Lincoln family. Such
papers either were destroyed by th'
President himself or taken from thu
collection by Robert Lincoln before
he placed it in the Library of Con
gress for safekeeping in 1919.
The safes containing the paper
were opened at one minute afte
midnight yesterday morning, thu
earliest time possible under tn
terms of Mr.. Lincoln's deed. Emin
ent Lincoln scholars worked owe
them all night, but at best were abl'
only to skim through the subject
which particularly interested them
Available to Biogra pliers.
It was their consensus that ther
is little in the collection which will
change history. All these paper
had been made available to Lin
coins two secretaries, John G
Nicelay and John Hay, when the,
prepared their official biography o
the President shortly after his death
Robert Todd Lincoln, however, ha'
maintained a censorship over Wha
they wrote. insofar as, it was base
on his fathers private papers.
There is much that makes tn
Civil War President appear an evel
more human figure than he ma
have been pictured in the past. n
received thousands of letters from
all sorts of people. including man
cranks, and often would refer thes
to the proper Government depart
ments with humorous or sarcastl
] Endorsements across the back.
The papers contain the origina
) manuscripts of some of Lincoln
best known state documents, sucl
as the Emancipation Proclamation
as first sketched and shown to tn
cabinet in July, 1862.
Letter About His Father.
OF touching human interest Is tn
letter to Lincoln from his step
brother, John D. Johnston, date
May Is, 1349, referring to Tom Lin
coin, father of Abraham Lincoln:
Dear Brother
II hast to inform you That fathe
is yet Live & that is all g. n
Graves to See you all the time 1
he wonts you to Come if you a
able to git hure, for you are hi
only Child that is, of, his own fius
(See LINCOLN, Page A-4D