  Have you ever seen the Douglas monument There in Chicago? They say it’s by the Lake, With a column of marble a hundred feet high, And a statue of The Little Giant on top, With knit brows and lion face, Like he used to look when debatin’ with Linkern. I want to go up to Chicago sometime, To see that monument. And some one told me They carved on his marble coffin the words: “Tell my children to obey the laws, And uphold the constitution.” Well, they couldn’t have put sadder words On his coffin than that. For it was tryin’ to obey the laws and support the constitution That killed him. And why should his children do the same thing and die? You young men of this day don’t care, And you don’t understand the old questions. But a man’s life is always worth understanding, Especially a man’s like The Little Giant. Now this was the point: There was that devilish thing slavery, And The Little Giant, as senator, Put through a bill for leaving it to the people Whether they would have slavery in Kansas or Nebraska, Or any other territory, and that was popular sovereignty— And sounds democratic; but three years later Along comes the Supreme Court and says: The people of a territory must have slavery Whether they want it or not, because The constitution is for slavery, and it follows the flag! Well, there was The Little Giant Caught between the law and the constitution! And tryin’ to obey ’em both! Or better still he was like Lem Reese’s boy Who was standin’ one time one foot on shore, And one in a skiff, baitin’ a hook, And all at once Col. Lankford’s little steamer Came along and bobbled the skiff; And it started to glide out into the river,— Why the boy walked like a spread compass For a month. For the skiff was movin’, and that’s the law. And his other foot slipped on the slimy bank, And that’s the constitution! But if you want to consider a minute How Time plays tag with people, And how no one can tell When he’ll be It, just think: There was Bill McKinley Who kept the old constitution’s from goin’ to the Philippines, And they elected him. And here was The Little Giant, Who wanted to send it everywhere, And they defeated him. So you see it depends on what it means Whether you want to keep it or send it. And nobody knows what it means— Not even judges. But just the same them were great days. One time The Little Giant came here with Linkern And talked from the steps of the Court-house; And you never saw such a crowd of people: Democrats, Whigs, and Locofocos, Know-nothings and Anti-masonics, Blue lights, Spiritualists, Republicans Free Soilers, Socialists, Americans—such a crowd. And didn’t carry. But Douglas! People out yonder in Proctor’s Grove, A mile from the Court House steps, Could hear him roar and hear him say: “I’m going to trot him down to Egypt And see if he’ll say the things he says To the black republicans in northern Illinois.” It made you shiver all down your spine To see that face and hear that voice— And that was The Little Giant! And then on the other hand there was Abe Linkern standing six foot four, As thin as a rail, with a high-keyed voice, And sometimes solemn, and sometimes comic As any clown you ever saw, And runnin’ Col. Lankford’s little steamer, As it were, you know, which would bobble the skiff, Which was the law; and The Little Giant’s other foot Would slip on the bank, which was the constitution. And you could almost hear him holler “ouch.” And Linkern would say: This argument Of the Senator’s is thin as soup Made from the shadow of a starved pigeon! And then the crowd would yell, and the cornet band Would play, and men would walk away and say: He aint no match for The Little Giant. But I’ll declare if I could decide Which whipped the other. For to let the people decide whether they wanted slavery Sounded good. And to have the constitution in force sounded good. And not to have any slavery at all sounded good. But so far as the law was concerned, And where it was, and what you could do with it It was like the shell game: Now you see the little ball and now you don’t! Who’s got a dollar to say where the little ball is? But when you try to obey the laws and support the constitution, It reminds me of a Campbellite preacher We had here years ago. And he debated with the Methodist preacher As to whether immersion or sprinkling Was the way to salvation. And the Campbellite preacher said: “The holy scripture says: ‘And Jesus when he was baptised Went up straightway out of the water.’ And how could he come up out of the water If he wasn’t in?” asked the Campbellite preacher, |
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