Evening star., 1954-11-19
BY {. DonoId Bell

Oy BE 0UuUt0 USst
THE gaunt, haggard man withdrew
J. a manuscript from his pocket, nerv-
ously adjusted his spectacles, and arose
from his chair on the speakers plat
form. He was Shockingly tall, and
appeared to be all arms and legs. His
Prince Albert was mussed, and his
trousers bu1ged at the knees. He was
not an impressive figure.
When he spoke. his tone was without
beauty. His words were clear and dis
tinct, but his voice was metallic and
high pitched. He was not an orator
in the strict sense Of the word, and 1t
usually took him 10 minutes or so to
lower his voice to its normal register.
On this occasion he did not speak that
long. The people were just settling
themselves to hear an address when 1t
was all over. The waiting photographer
had not even had. time to assemble his
clumsy equipment.
ALI the way through, from the very
beginning Of the plans for dedication
of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg
until the final reaction Of the press and
public, the President Of the United
States received second billing. There
is no historical evidence to indicate
that Mr. Lincoln was offended at this
slight, or that he even considered it
as such. The records do indicate, how
ever, that his very presence at the
conservation was due to the fact that
the program committee could not real
lze its original objectives.
The highlight Of the occasion was to
be Edward Everett of Massachusetts,,
ex-president of Harvard and one of the
greatest orators of the day. He was
invited as early as September % to
deliver the main grafton, and the date
OF the ceremony was set for October %.
However, Mr.. Everett advised that he
could not possibly prepare an address
OF such major Importance in so short
a time, SO to oblige him, the ceremonies
were postponed almost a month, to
November 10.
President Lincoln did not receive a
formal written invitation, as had Mr..
Everett. He got printed circular"
one Of many hundreds which were sent
to members of Congress, State digni-
taries, members of the diplomatic corps
and others. It was only after Lincoln
had accepted the invitation, which
came as a not-too- pleasant surprise to
the committee, that one of the members
proposed that the President be invited
"to make brief address" Everett
had been given two months notice:
Lincoln. little over two weeks.
November 10, 1868 was clear and
nf Hnk%
festive and swollen with humanity. The
crowd has been estimated from 10000
to 100000, but the consensus of his
torians is that approximately $4,000
people were present that day. Even
that number would have overrun little
Gettysburg, with an everyday popu-
lation of about 1900.
The procession to the cemetery was
delayed an hour because people
thronged around the President for an
impromptu, informal reception Mr..
Lincoln was somewhat ludicrous on a
horse so small his feet almost dragged
the ground, and he was pathetic pic
ture as he slumped dejectedly, his head
down, apparently thinking of his forth
coming remarks" Mr.. Everett was
half an hour late and the conservation,
which was to have begun at II o'clock,
did not begin until noon.
Mr.. Everett delivered his grafton
first. He spoke for over two hours. He
did not consult manuscript or notes.
Although he was the greatest orator
OF his day, and his diction, demeanor
and gestures were without fault, it was
dull speech. It was rhetorically per-
feet, but "heavy with history" and it
has since been stated that "only man
with little to say could speak for two
hours unashamed before the living and
the dead" The crowd became restless,
but at the conclusion they gave Everett
prolonged ovation.
After dedicatory hymn, the Hon
orable Ward Hill Lamon introduced the
President of the United States. There
was polite applause. Lincoln stood,
holding his manuscript in both hands.
He did not read it, although he glanced
at it from time to time. He made no
gestures, save slight swaying from one
foot to the other; his hands clasping the
paper, were motionless. He uttered 272
words, in less than three minutes, and
sat down.
There is great variance in the many
reports as to what the people thought of
Lincoln's role in the drama at Gettys-
burg that day.
Those who were present at Gettys-
burg told their neighbors when they re-
turned home that they had heard the
magnificent address of Edward Everett.
They mentioned, almost incidentally,
that they had also seen the President:
some of the more reportorial witnesses
even mentioned that he had made
few remarks. Everett was the remem-
bered one, and, generally at the time,
the people thought little about what
Lincoln had had to say.
Nor did the press give him much more
recognition. Everett's address was COM
monty displayed on the front pages OF
the newspapers: Lincoln's was. in many
cases. buried inconspicuously in the in
ner pages The judgments, good and
bad, conformed more or less to the edi-
torial and political policies Of the in
dividual newspapers; some OF the more
foresighted reporters recognized the
truth and value of Lincoln's words,
and gave favorable opinions Of the ad-
dress; great many of the stories. how
ever, were almost insulting.
One of the first favorable stories