Tabor City tribune., 1963-08-21
To The Editor
Dear Sir.

the editorial praiSing Abra-
ham Lincoln in your issue OF
August I. but | must confess
that upon reading il careful
~ l was staggered by the
lack of knowledge of history
which the writer of i; dis
played. As Il result. the edit
oral loses any Importance Il
might have had and its auth
or reveals himself as an ie-
norant man who reached
blindly back into his uu.S-
tlOnaDlC education for an uX-
cuSc tu criticize President
John +. Kennedy. Added Ia
tins Is Il chaos OF nun-seuuit-
orS which reduces the writ
er'S presentation To sheer
nonsense.
As Il first example of what
| mean. the editorial writer
points out that MIR. Kennedy
has a Boston accent and NJ.
Lincoln did not. as THOUGH
this were any basis To Judge
either man OF make a COM
pdrlSOn between them. II i
a matter of record that Nj.
Lincoln had Il ni2h-pitchCi.
nasal. quaNcGing voice which
his contemporaries consider
ed unpleasant 10 hear, but
this should MT reflect against
the man any more than you.
writer's southern accent
should bC a reflection against
him. To this peculiar cvalua-
tluu of q mau--h:S looks md
his SpccCh-thc writer adds
TN" observation that Mr..
Lincoln was wise. 'uSiuuatiny
thereby that Mr. Kennedy PES
not. and that Mr.. Liucu!u'S
writings Indicated much FORE
thought. o-ain iusinuating
that MI KcuucIy's do not.
'Drly one II Mr.. Linculn's
speeches Cndurcs - the Get
tySburg Address. whereas
three of Mr.. Kcuucdy's
speeches in less than icur
years have been Acknowledge
ed by literary critics as hist
oiic masterpieces. For that
matter. MI Kennedy has
won the Pulitzer Prize fur his
writings. a prize. know.
which has been awarded 10
your paper for community
service. and if 1t is suggest
cd that the judges made a
mistake with Nj. Kennedy il
can also be suggested, in light
of this misleading editorial.
that another mistake may
have been made with your
paper.
Your editorial writer CON-
mCnts that Mr Lincoln was
not born an heir To a great
fortune for his father was
not an importer Of Scotch
whiskCy. implying that the
circumstances Of Mr.. Ken
nCdy'S family background
dISquaiiiv him for the Prcsl-
dvncy OF our country. Does
your writer know that MI.
LInCuln'S mother was born
out of wcdluck and that her
mother was once arrested for
prostitution? Or Mr.. LinCOln's
father. the Encyclopedia Bri-
tanTiCa says: 1t seems tolcv-
ably certain that his father.
Thomas. was a ShiftlCsS peg
son who tried this and that.
both CarpCntCring and farm
ing. who had something of
the VdgabUnd in his blood.
also something of the dream
cr. and was always at heart
a rolling stone" II a bum and
a bastard can produce pres
ldCnt. there Is no reason why
Il liquOr-pcddlcr and the dau-
ghtcr of the mayor of Boston
cannot.
Your writer further shows
his ignorance by saying that
Mr.. Lincoln did not bring
his brothers and sisters or a
large number Of close rela-
lives" 10 Washington. Mr..
Lincoln had no brothers: his
sister. Sarah. died in child
birth in Mr.. Lincoln's youth.
and his close relatives were
illitCratGS whom he seldom
saw after he went into polit-
iCS. This snide editorial re-
mark. then. is Cncxcusable:
IT becomes insulting in view
Of the well known fact thGt
none of the Kcnnedys i'm
Government service includ-
ing their relativeS) kept their
pay-checks but endorse them
over to charitable organiza-
tions every month. Also in
excusabie is the crack that
MIR. Lincoln spent his time in
thoughtful solitude instead Of
"parading down the streets
before chanting masses
Where does your writer think