  Celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of Lincoln's Birth Preparations—General Observance—President Roosevelt Lays Corner-stone of Lincoln Museum at Lincoln's Birthplace—Extracts from Addresses at Various Places—Closing Tribute. Never, perhaps, in the history of mankind has such general recognition been given to the anniversary of any man's birth as was given to the one hundredth anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth on Friday, February 12, 1909. For weeks in advance the newspapers, both religious and secular, and the magazines were decorated with his pictures, and other pictures illustrating many scenes in his life. The recollections of personal friends and acquaintances, war incidents, stories, anecdotes, and his personal traits were placed on record, with various announcements and programs for the coming anniversary, showed the great interest attached to his name and his history. The day was made a national holiday by Congress and the proclamation of the President, supplemented by legislatures and governors of many States. The event was celebrated, almost without exception, by all the common schools, colleges, and universities throughout the nation. Churches, Grand Army posts, Young Men's Christian Associations, the various temperance organizations, clubs, trades unions, and almost every form of organized bodies celebrated the day. Courts and legislatures adjourned and joined in the general anniversary Orations delivered by great and undistinguished men and women, pertaining to many phases of Lincoln's life and character, were given. Prayers, religious and patriotic songs were heard. Pictures, flowers, flags, parades, and banquets were greatly in evidence. The Gettysburg address, the Emancipation Proclamation, the second inaugural address, Lincoln's favorite poem, "Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud?" with many other selections, were recited and read. The Southern people, as well as the Northern, joined in the general exercises of the day. The colored people were enthusiastic in showing their appreciation of what Mr. Lincoln had done for their race. In many cities in foreign countries, including London, Berlin, Honolulu, and Rome, the anniversary was observed. The center of attraction was the celebration at Lincoln's birthplace, on the farm three miles from Hodgenville, Larue County, Kentucky. A large tent had been erected for the occasion, with a platform inside for the speakers. In front of the platform was placed a rebuilt little cabin, sixteen feet square, which had itinerated in many parts of the country and exhibited as the cabin in which Abraham Lincoln was born. The little cabin, set in flowers contributed by the school children of Kentucky, and decorated with the national colors, very fitly illustrated the kind of a cabin in which the great emancipator was born. When Lincoln was born in a Five extra trains came from Louisville to Hodgenville, bearing persons from various points in the United States. These were conveyed by carriages to the place of celebration. The day there was rainy, but the foreign and local attendance was estimated at eight thousand. Among the distinguished persons present were President Roosevelt, Mrs. Roosevelt, and daughter, Miss Ethel; Mr. Loeb, the President's private secretary; Ex-Governor Joseph Folk, of Missouri, president of the Lincoln Farm Association; Governor A. E. Willson, of Kentucky; General James G. Wilson, and Luke E. Wright, Secretary of War. There were various committees, guards and police. Good order prevailed. All lines of the North and the South were blotted out in representation, men of both sections taking part in the exercises. Twenty-six negro citizens, appointed by Governor Willson, as a reception committee, represented their race. After prayer, Ex-Governor Folk, of Missouri, president of the Lincoln Farm Association, said, in part: "Here, on this farm, one hundred years ago to-day, was born the strongest, strangest, gentlest character the republic has ever known. His work was destined to have a more far-reaching influence than any that went before him. Until recently this spot which should be hallowed by every American, was unnoticed and abandoned. Inspired by the idea that due regard for the apostle of human liberty who sprang from this soil demanded the preservation of his birthplace, a few patriotic men organized the Lincoln Farm Association, to purchase this property and to erect upon it President Roosevelt, in behalf of the nation, said, in part: "He lived in days that were great and terrible, when brother fought against brother for what each sincerely deemed to be the right. In a contest so grim the strong men who alone can carry it through are rarely able to do justice to the deep convictions of those with whom they grapple in mortal strife. At such times men see through a glass darkly; to only the rarest and loftiest spirits is vouchsafed that clear vision which gradually comes to all, even to the lesser, as the struggle fades into distance, and wounds are forgotten, and peace creeps back to the hearts that were hurt. But to Lincoln was given this supreme vision. He did not hate the man from whom he differed. Weakness was as foreign as wickedness to his strong, gentle nature; but his courage was of a quality so high that it needed no bolstering of dark passion. He saw clearly that the same high qualities, the same courage and willingness for self-sacrifice, and devotion to the right as it was given them to see the right, belonged both to the men of the North and to the men of the South. As the years roll by, and as all of us, wherever we dwell, grow to feel an equal pride in the valor and self-devotion alike of the men who wore the blue and the men who wore the gray, so this whole nation will grow to feel a peculiar sense of pride in the man whose blood was shed for the union of his people, Governor Willson, in behalf of Kentucky, for her greatest son, said, in part: "We have met here on this farm where he was born, in memory of Abraham Lincoln, to know for ourselves and to prove to the world, by a record made to endure, and deep graven on these acres, that the love of country and of its nobly useful citizens are not dreams, nor idle words, but indeed living, stirring, and breathing feelings. Abraham Lincoln is claimed by all humanity and all time as the type of the race best showing forth the best in all men in all conditions of life. "Here are met to-day, with equal zeal to do him honor, soldiers of the war for and against the Union, heroes of the Union and the Confederacy, Americans all, no one less pledged than the other, not only by the bond of the covenant of our law, but alike by the dearest feelings of his heart and fervor of his blood, to our united country and its beautiful flag." General James G. Wilson, of New York, who was in the Union Army, spoke fitting words in behalf of the Union, while General Luke E. Wright, who was in the Confederate Army, now Secretary of War, spoke fitting words in behalf of the Confederacy. President Roosevelt laid the corner-stone of the Lincoln Museum, which is to be built of limestone and white marble. He spread white cement with a silver trowel where the stone was to set. The stone, weighing three thousand pounds, was placed in position with a derrick. A number of articles were deposited in a leaden box placed in the stone before it was set, among which was the life of Lincoln written by President Roosevelt and the speeches delivered on the occasion. In connection with the depository of articles, an aged negro, Isaac T. Montgomery, of Mississippi, said to have been at one time a slave of Jefferson Davis, President of the Southern Confederacy, was assigned the appropriate honor of depositing in the box a copy of President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. In doing this he made a brief speech, in which he referred to himself "as one of the former millions of slaves to whom Lincoln gave freedom, and the representative of 10,000,000 grateful negro citizens." The cabin in which it is alleged Abraham Lincoln was born will be kept in the memorial building. It is expected that the building will be dedicated in April, by William H. Taft, who will be inaugurated President of the United States, March 4, 1909. The spot where Abraham Lincoln was born will, for coming ages, be the most sacred shrine in all this great country, whose government he died to save. At Lincoln City, Spencer County, Indiana, where the Lincolns lived fourteen years after moving from Kentucky, and before moving to Illinois, and where Abraham's mother lies buried, exercises were held. The school children of Evansville, Indiana, raised money to purchase a flag, and the school children of Indianapolis sent a wreath of flowers, both of which were placed on Mrs. Lincoln's grave. A procession of one hundred school children of Lincoln City, headed by Principal Curtis Cox and the other teachers, marched to the grave, where the exercises were held. At Springfield, Illinois, Lincoln's old home, and where his body rests in the great monument erected to his memory, imposing exercises were held in various places well worthy of the man. Mr. Lincoln was instrumental "Of the personal impression he made on those who knew him, you will hear from some of the few yet living who can recollect him. All I can contribute is a reminiscence of what reached us in England. I was an undergraduate student in the University of Oxford when the Civil War broke out. Well do I remember the surprise when the Republican National Convention nominated him as a candidate for the presidency, for it had been expected that the choice would fall upon William H. Seward. I recollect how it slowly dawned upon Europeans in 1862 and 1863 that the President could be no ordinary man, because he never seemed cast down by the reverses which befell his arms, because he never let himself be hurried into premature action, nor feared to take so bold a step as the Emancipation Proclamation was when he saw that the time had arrived. And, above all, I remember the shock of awe and grief which thrilled all Britain when the news came that he had perished by the bullet of an assassin.... "To you, men of Illinois, Lincoln is the most famous and worthy of all those who have adorned your commonwealth. To you, citizens of the United States, he is the President "Great men are the noblest possession of a nation, and are potent forces in the molding of national character. Their influence lives after them, and if they be good as well as great, they remain as beacons lighting the course of all who follow them. They set for succeeding generations the standards of public life. They stir the spirit and rouse the energy of the youth who seek to emulate their virtues in the service of the country." At Washington City all Government and leading business houses were closed. The Senate adjourned until Monday, but in the House, Lincoln's famous Gettysburg speech was read by Representative Boutell, of Illinois. Appropriate exercises were held at Howard University, where a large negro student body witnessed the unveiling of a large painting of the "Underground Railroad." Secretary of the Interior Garfield and other speakers were on the program. In Boston, the city sometimes called the literary "hub of the universe," Senator Lodge gave an address on the life and work of Mr. Lincoln before the Massachusetts Legislature. At a meeting held in the evening in Symphony Hall, John D. Long, former Secretary of the Navy, gave an address, and Julia Ward Howe, author of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," read a poem she had written for the occasion, depicting Lincoln's rise from obscurity to the leader of the nation. In Chicago, the metropolis of Lincoln's adopted State, fifty public meetings were held in his honor. The city was fairly buried beneath flags, buntings, and pictures of Lincoln. Show-windows were filled with war relics and Lincoln mementoes. Streets were crowded with marchers and military bands. Standing bareheaded in Lincoln Park, in sight of the Lincoln Statue, a group of Civil War veterans fired a presidential salute. Dexter Pavilion, at night, was crowded, while a chorus of one thousand voices sang patriotic songs. At Gettysburg, where Lincoln delivered his classic address dedicating the national cemetery, November 19, 1863, the day was duly observed. The principal exercises were held on the campus of Gettysburg College, near Seminary Ridge, where much of the first and second days' fighting occurred during the great battle. Lincoln's Gettysburg address was read by Judge Samuel McSwope. At Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Vice-President Fairbanks said, in part: "Who, among all the men of his day, has produced utterances so classic and lofty and which will survive so long as many of the speeches of Mr. Lincoln? It is impossible to think that schools, colleges, or universities could have increased the intellectual or moral nature of Lincoln. He was the marvelous product of the great school of nature. He kept close to nature's heart, close to the people, close to the soul.... His life was spent in the field of conflict. In his youth he struggled with nature. At the bar he contended for the rights of his clients. In the wider field of politics he fought with uncommon power to overthrow the wrong and enthrone the right. He fought not for the love of contest, but for the love of truth. By nature he was a man of peace. He did not like to raise his hand against his fellow-man. He instinctively loved justice, right, and In New York City the celebration was the most hearty and widespread of its kind ever seen there. The city's official celebration was held in Cooper Union, in the hall in which Lincoln made his great speech called the "Cooper Union Speech," delivered in 1860. Addresses were delivered by Joseph H. Choate and Rev. Dr. Lyman Abbott. At a great club meeting, Booker T. Washington delivered an address, and referred to himself as "one whom Lincoln found a piece of property and made into an American citizen." In closing this little volume as an humble tribute to the memory of Abraham Lincoln, I desire to say that, while Mr. Lincoln possessed so many excellent traits of character, the most significant and worthy one was his constant anxiety, as he expressed it, to know and do the will of God. This, in the providence of God, is what made him truly great. Transcriber's Note:
|
|
