Evening star., 1947-07-27

in connection with formal opening
of the Lincoln collection yesterday
These follow, with the catalog-
uers notes abridged
Knowing how important this col
lection is to historians and students
of Lincoln and the Civil War period
everywhere, the Library of Congress
has arranged to make microfilm
copies both of the manuscripts
themselves and of the index to then
quickly available to purchasers al
a reasonable cost The microfiln
copy Of the approximately 1800(
documents is nearly two miles long
Extent of the Collection.
plumbers of papers are estimates
Total number of papers, 1880.
Period covered in dated letters
May /, 1888 to April IA, 1865
Lincoln documents dncluding con-
temporary copies, 900
Letters from members of Lincoln's S
cabinet, 1,l00.
Letters from generals, 1900.
Letters from editors and other
literary figures, ll0
Number of bound volumes, 1874.
Size of volumes, II by ID inches.
Binding, blue buckram, red leather
labels, gold lettering.
Number of entries in index, % $50
T. AN incident in 1912 which helped
mend the strained feelings between
Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln
also caused Lincoln to present him
self as one of the principals on the
duelling grounds.
Mary Todd, along with a girl
friend and Lincoln, printed satirical
articles in the newspaper about a
local political appointee. one James
Shields che, too, later became IA
nous and today represents the
State of Illinois in Statuary Hall in
the national CapitoD. Shields chal-
lenged Lincoln to a duel and the
rules are set forth by Lincoln in the
accompanying letter addressed to
Merryman who served Jas Lincolns S
second.
misunderstanding and smeared
regulations were cleared up at the
meeting on the duelling grounds
across the river from Alton. Lincoln
and Shields came back across the
river in the same boat and remained
forever friends.
Farewell Address in Pencil.
"a rough pencil copy of Lincoln S
farewell address to his Springfield
neighbors on February II, 1861 was
made as he departed by special train
to take his oath of office in Wash
ington This was written partly
from memory by Lincoln as the train
was under way and the balance was
dictated to his secretary, John G.
Nicolay A careful comparison OF
this original document with the
version printed by Nicolay and Hay
in their edition of Lincoln's writings
establishes that they had not
emended the text in any way, as
claimed by one writer who contended
that the biographers had attempted
to handle all Lincoln's writings with
silken gloves and camel-hair
pencil.
"On an envelope which contained
Uri Manly's letter of application, the
President presses the Secretary OF
War to appoint Manly quarter
master or commissary. He adds a
reminder he often found necessary
in making such requests of Stanton
Sec. Of War please do not overlook
this
The Hon. William Kellogg de-
clined the post of consul at Val
paraiso, Chile, in no uncertain terms
A note by Lincoln on the envelope
tells why he declined to read Kel-
logg's letter.
Death Threats in PigeonhOle.
sThreats of his enemies, and
warnings of his friends that his life
was in danger, beset Abraham Lin
coin from the moment of his noml-
nation. There were anonymous,
fanatical scrawls; warnings from in
terested ice-seekers who wrote OF
poison plots to further their appli-
cations for the Office of White House
stewards; and countless rumors,
founded and unfounded, of schemes
for his assassination. A special
pigeorhole in the Presidents desk
contained at least 80 death threats,
but he refused to worry over them.
What does anybody want to assas-
sinate me for?' he would ask, II
any one wants to do SO, he can do
it any day or night if he is ready
to give his life for mine. 1t Is nom
sense
Even the urgent plea of his
trusted friend Ward Hill Lamon on
the eve of his departure on special
mission to Richmond, Va, on Feb
ruary II, 1865, was disregarded. AS
marshal of the District of Columbia
and special protector of the Presi-
dent, Lamon pleaded with him to
go in public as little as possible dur
ing his absence, and never after
nightfall. He particularly requested
that Lincoln stay away from the
theater.
William H. Seward, the future
Secretary of State, dispatched his
son to meet Lincoln on his way to
Baltimore to warn him of an assas-
sination plot.
Gen. William T. Sherman, the
victim of conspiracy to reflect upon
his sanity, had an ardent defender
In his wife, Ellen Ewing Sherman.
She appealed her case to President
Lincoln, AS malice cannot prevail
where justice rules, look for speedy
relief from the sorrow that has af-
f1icted me, in this trial of my hus-
band
Campaign Plan Outlined.
The Commander-in-c chief out
lined his plan Of campaign for the
Army of the Potomac 1t is dia-
metrically opposed to Gen. McClel-
lan's, and LINCOLN was later bitterly
criticized for giving Mcclellan his
way, and abandoning campaign
which military stsategists considered
superior This copy is attested by
Edwin M Stanton, Secretary of War.
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant violently
protests the confirmation of Ma
poleon Bonaparte Buford for Major
General, he would scarcely make a
respectable hospital nurse, If put in