North Carolina Newspapers

When Lincoln Spoke at Gettysburg "Three Score and 15 Years Ago" By ELMO SCOTT WATSON HREE score and fifteen years ago a tall, gaunt, sad-eyed man stood up on a platform overlooking the scene of one of the world's decisive battles and began to speak. His voice was thin, shrill, high-pitched in strik ing contrast to the rich, full tones of the trained orator who had preceded him. At first that previous speak er had held his audience spellbound with his elo quence. But as his speech went on and on and on ? for an hour and 57 minutes, in fact, people began to weary. So it was something of a re lief when he finished and there was a certain revival of interest when the next speaker arose and drew him self to his full height. "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in Lib ? 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LINCOLN SPEAKING AT GETTYSBURG (From a contemporary drawing). erty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal," the shrill voice proclaimed. People leaned forward to lis ten, for it was difficult for some of them to hear. A minute passed . . . two minutes . . . then: . . That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." With those words the speaker sat down. His audience looked at each other in amazement. Why, he had stopped just when they thought he was beginning' Who ever heard of a man making such a short speech 1 They were right. For there were exactly 272 words in that speech. As he sat down there was but very little applause and that was apparently for the speaker, be cause he was the President of the United States, and not for the words he had uttered. But in that they were wrong. For the speech to which they had just listened was Abraham Lincoln's Gettys burg Address, that has been called "a classic which will en dure ao long as the English lan guage is spoken." A Disappointed Audience. In the light of that statement ? with which few, if any, will dis sent ? it seems strange indeed that the people who heard it ut tered 76 years ago were so little impressed by it. Yet such was the case. Dr. William E. Barton in his book, "Lincoln at Gettys burg" (a 254-page book about a 272- word speech!) says: "People were disappointed. After Everett's oration, the Pres ident's speech seemed almost no speech at all . . . That night they told of hearing Everett and of seeing the President. Inciden tally some at them mentioned the President had uttered a few re marks; yes, they had heard the President. But while they were , glad to have heard him, not many of them at the time said very much about the President's speech. A "few remarks" indeed! Yet, the people who heard him were not the only ones who felt that way about it. Another of Lin coln's biographers, Ward H. La mon, has recorded Lincoln's own dissatisfaction with his speech . . . how he himself called it "a flat failure" and added, after he re turned to Washington, "I tell you, that speech fell on the audience like a wet blanket. I am dis tressed about it. I ought to have prepared it with more care." But he was wrong about that, just as he was wrong when, in the speech itself, he said "the world will little note nor long re member what we say here." Per haps the world "little noted" at the time what he said there. But certainly it seems destined to "long remember." However, Lincoln wasn't the "world's worst prophet" in this respect. That title must go to the editor of the Harrisburg (Pa.) Patriot and Union who wrote an editorial in which he said: "The President succeeded on this occa sion because he acted without sense and without constraint in a panorama that was gotten up more for the benefit of his party than for the glory of the nation and the honor of the dead . . . We pass over the silly remarks of the President; for the credit of the nation we are willing that the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them and that they shall no more be repeated or thought of." Of course, that was the fulmi nation of a bitterly partisan news paper. But the Harrisburg editor wasn't alone in his attitude. For, as Barton records, "The Chicago Times and the Register in Lin coln's own home town of Spring field and other partisan newspa pers were equally caustic and equally unjust." Lincoln Overlooked. One of the moat interesting ex amples oi failure of the editor* to appreciate the speech was that at the New York Times. The LI.lj. ? following day it carried an edi torial under the head "Two Great Orations" which said: "We de vote a broadside of this morn ing's Times to the publication of two orations which we are sure will command the attention of the day." It then went on to dis-. cuss the beauty of language and the eloquent voices of "two mas ters of oratory." One of these was Edward Everett, who had spoken at the dedication of the National cemetery at Gettysburg. The other was NOT Abraham Lincoln at the same ceremony. It was Rev. Henry Ward Beech er, who had just returned from England and on the evening of the day before had addressed a great crowd at the Academy of Music in his home city of Brook lyn. To the credit of Edward Ever ett, however, let it be said that he was one of the few ? possibly the only one ? who recognized the greatness of Lincoln's speech at the time. He wrote to Lincoln the next day: "I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion in two hours as you did in two minutes." monies From England. But If the greatness of the Get tysburg speech was not appreci ated at the time it was uttered, recognition was not long in com ing. Nor has that recognition been confined to his fellow-coun trymen. It was Lord Charm wood of England who characterized the speech as "a classic which will endure as long as the English language is spoken." And an other Englishman, Lord Curzon, in a lecture at the University of Cambridge paid it this tribute: "I escape the task of deciding which is the masterpiece of mod ern English eloquence by award ing the prize to an American. The Gettysburg Address is far more than a pleasing piece of occa sional oratory. It is a marvel ous piece of English composition. It is a pure well of English un defUed. Lincoln's words are among the glories and treasures of mankind." EDWARD EVERETT If the Gettysburg Address helped make Lincoln immortal, it is one of the ironies of fate that it also helped thrust into obscu rity Edward Everett, the man who had been cast in the role of "chief orator" at the dedication of the battlefield, so that he is now something of a "forgotten man" and he lives in memory mainly as "the other man who spoke at Gettysburg." Everett was born in Dorchester, Mass., April 11, 1794, a membor of one of the leading families of New England. After several years of travel in Germany and Eng land he returned to this country to occupy the chair of Greek lit erature at Harvard and to be come editor of the North Ameri can Review. One of the earliest examples of the "scholar in poli tics," Everett became successive ly congressman, governor of Mas sachusetts, minister plenipoten tiary to England and, after a brief interim as president of Har vard, secretary of state in Presi dent Fillmore's cabinet. But his chief claim to fame lies in his being a vigorous champion of American institutions when it was the fashion in Europe to sneer at our democracy, and an equally vigorous champion of honesty in public affairs and of social justice. He was a resolute opponent of white occupation of Indian lands without the consent of the red man. To him also was due the preservation of a sound currency in the panic of 1837 and the establishment of the first board of education in the United States. No mean record of ac complishment, this, and to it should be added the fact that he was considered the greatest ora tor in the country at that time. He had staked out his claim to that distinction early in life. In 1824, while he was teaching at Harvard, he was chosen to ad dress the Phi Beta Kappa society at Cambridge on the progress of literature in the United States. Tribute to Lafayette. Everyone expected him to de liver the usual scholarly address for scholarly men. But one cir cumstance helped change that. In the audience was Marquis de Lafayette, now an old man, who had come back to Ameriaa to receive the tribute of the people for whose liberties he had fought nearly a half century earlier. Near the end of Everett's speech, he turned to the old sol dier and launched into a tribute to him with such fervor and elo quence that his audience was held spellbound, silent, for several minutes. Then it burst into a roar of handclapping and cheer ing. Everett had said what every American felt in his heart about Lafayette and he had done it so graciously and expressively that his speech became the sensation of the hour, not only in this coun try but in France as well. Helped Save Mt. Vernon. In 1853 he used his eloquence in a cause which helped spread his fame. He became interested in the effort to raise $200,000 to purchase Mount Vernon and pre serve it as a national shrine. He prepared an address on the char acter of Washington and deliv ered this address more than 120 times In various cities all over the country. People came from afar to hear him ? not because there was anything new in what he had to tell them about the Fa ther of His Country but because of the grace and style of the ora tor's presentation of his subject. As a result Everett turned over to the women who were trying to save Mount Vernon nearly $70,000 and did more, perhaps, than any other individual in accomplish ing their purpose. Early in the Civil war he began delivering speeches to arouse en thusiasm for the Northern cause. They were not finished orations ? they were stirring calls to action. He became the most powerful platform orator of his day. So it was only natural that those in charge of the dedication of the National cemetery at Gettysburg should have thought of him first when selecting an orator for the occasion. His long and distinguished ca reer came to an end January 15, ISO? three months too early to see the triumph of the cause which he had so ably championed. Reserve Corps Is Army's Backbone 5,000,000 Can Be Recruited In 18 Months for War Of Defenae. WASHINGTON. ? An army of ? million American men can be mo bilized (or service within a few days for the defense of the nation. Within 18 months 5,000,000 men can be placed under arms and, in the event of a prolonged war, thrice that number could be recruited. These estimates of the vast man power of the nation were made by military authorities close to high War department officials. Preparations Speeded. Preparation of the nation for war began almost as the World war closed and has been accelerated in recent months by the threatening situation in Europe and the Far East. The nation's first line of defense, when mobilization begins, is the reg ular army, composed of 12,760 offi cers and 165,000 enlisted men, and the national guard, whose trained personnel are available for service in a few hours, brings the total to 400,000. Another 600,000 men can be placed under arms within a few days. In this category are the organized re serve officers ? veterans of the World war, retired regular and na tional guard officers, graduates from the reserve officers training corps and citizens' military train ing camps ? and enlisted men with previous military training. Draft if Invaded. A selective draft similar to that used during the World war would be placed in effect upon any inva sion of the nation or declaration of war. Officers and enlisted person nel from the regular army, national guard and organized reserve would be used for the training of drafted men. While preparing the machinery for a quick mobilization of men, the War department has redoubled its efforts to modernize the army's equipment. Emphasizing speed, the army has streamlined its services. Mechani zation of several cavalry regiments has been completed. The tank corps has been given greatly improved tanks of all sizes. Artillery has been motorized and the motor equip ment of the signal and quartermas ter corps improved. New arms of the nation include .50 and .30 caliber machine guns, the former an anti-tank weapon; an .81 millimeter trench mortar, and a light semi-automatic infantry rifle. The air force, with 1,378 modem planes, and 961 under construction, includes the world's fastest fighting, observation and bombing ships. " 1,000 on a Side Chest Match to Run Until 1941 CHICAGO.? The world's greatest chess match, that between 1,000 British players and 1,000 in the Unit ed States, is still on and is not ex pected to be finished until 1941. Since it began in January, 1936, more than 20 players have died. Ac cording to the normal death rate another 20 may die before play ends. Every move is sent by postcard, and about 80,000 of these will have crossed the Atlantic by the time the last move is made. The total cost of the correspondence will be near $2,500. London's latest report showed that England led by 174 games to 151, while 37 games had been drawn. W. Ritson Morry, an attorney of Warwickshire, England, who organized the match, said : "By the time the match ends some warm friendships will have been made." Apple Tree Bears Fruit Second Time This Year CRAWFORDSVILLE, IND.-A 45 year-old transplanted apple tree, in the yard at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Leroy L. Miller, in West Wa bash avenue, bore apples for the second time this year. ? Earlier in the year, the tree bore its usual number of apples and just recently the fruit appeared again which is just as tasty as that which ripened earlier in the season. Never before, according to Mr. Miller, has fruit appeared twice the same season. Lemon Grove Distinguished BABSON PARK, FLA ? This ridge city of Florida boasts the largest lemon grove in the world. Plan* to Cross Sea In Sailing Barrel BATH, N. Y.? Ernest Biegaj ski plans to make a trip from New York to London in a barrel. Biegajski made a voyage be tween Cleveland and Buffalo two years ago in a barrel of the same design he plans to use for his transoceanic voyage. He es timates the ocean trip will take 40 to 60 days. The barrel, he said, will be six feet in diameter and 10 feet in length, specially reinforced. It will have a telescopic mast carry ing 320 square feet of sail with an 18-foot jib. Biegajski plans to take along an auxiliary motor to be used when tailing conditions become adverse. Lights of NewYork , Wy L. L. STtVENSON Scattered over the lower East Side are numerous small restaurant! which are tar more than mere eat ing places. As a matter of (act, they are really neighborhood clubs. Neighbors father in them to dis cuss pushcart business and other weighty affairs, over cups of coffee. Then there are the card playws. In some instances, the games have been going for years. Same play ers in the same places. On occa sions, wives come in and yank hus bands home. Usually, however, there is peace except for such argu ments as arise in the course of a game. There are chess and check er players also with appreciative galleries. The older generation fa vors such quiet games. For the youngsters, who may have gray in their hair, there is stuss. Numer ous efforts have been made to break up the East Side stuss games but they have come to naught. The gambling is for small stakes but the playing is in earnest Evenings, whole families gather in restaurants. After all, space in tenements is limited. Also tene ments are lonely. So at tables there is company, if not $rge space since the tables are packed as closely to gether as possible. But bumping by hurried waiters doesn't affect the general camaraderie in the slight est The patrons know the propri etor. In fact they know all employ ees. There are no rules barring conversations with waiters. So there is exchange of news and views along with coffee, beer and wine. Gen erally each table has its blue siphon of seltzer. Wine and seltzer is a fa vorite East Side drink. When the seltzer bottle is empty, it is quietly replaced. But when the wine bot tle is empty, the party usually breaks up. ? ? ? In some of the establishments, pa trons furnish their own entertain ment. In others, musicians, usually an accordion player, wander about playing the popular airs of the day, their rewards pennies, nickels and dimes contributed when they pass the hat. Some places have floor shows. The performers are either youngsters or old-timers. The youngsters of course are full of am bition. The "old-timers are those who have had their day . and re turned to the East Side -where they started. On Hie' other hand, there are numerous old-timers who have never appeared anywhere else save in the neighborhood. For the secur ity of steady work among friends, they closed their eyes to the glitter of the lights of Broadway. They have their reward. The East Side is loyal indeed to old friends. ? ? ? Youngsters give freely of their talents in their performances. In fact, they give everything they have. Far harder do they work than performers in the night spots up town. Ambition is the cause. Hid den in the chattering crowd of down town dwellers may be talent scouts. Thus the chance of the big time with its heavy rewards. As rec ords show, the lower East Side has made its hill share of contributions to the stage and screen, many now well known having spent their early years down there, star dust in the eyes of the boys and girls in home-made costumes. It strikes me that the patrons of those unpretentious establishments away downtown have more fun than do patrons of the fashionable clubs with cover charges and high priced entertainers. If pleased, they ap plaud loudly. They laugh at jokes. They sway with the music and sing if the notion strikes them. It's a bit noisy. But it's colorful and nat ural. Also inexpensive. A proprie tor who dared to put on a cover charge would soon find himself out of business. A dollar and a quar ter for a heavy table d'hote dinner is high. And the best steak I've eaten in New York was served with one of those $1.25 dinners. ? ? ? Subway eavesdropping: "If he ain't a phoney, then a dime store gold ring won't turn green." ? B*U Syndicate.? WNU Scrvtc*. British Civil Air Corp* To Train Pilot Reserve LONDON. ? The formation in Great Britain of a civil air guard, the members of which will be able to fly for half a crown an hour, has been announced by Sir Kingsley Wood, air minister. The idea is to create a huge reserve of pilots, and others trained to assist the Royal Air force in time of emergency. There are no restrictions ? other than the automatic qualifications of physical fitness and British national ity?and the scheme is open to men and women between the ages of 18 and 50 In an emergency the members of the air guard would not be used exclusively as pilots, and ! may be employed in any useful way in aerodromes. It is also proposed to form a civil air guard section of the gliding movement. At present it costs about $150 to learn to fly, even at those clubs which enjoy a government subsidy. Ox Cart Belie Sold CLINTON, N. Y.-A 144-year-old ox cart seat sold for $11 at a public auction here The seat was an heir loom of the Jennings family, which settled in the town of Salisbury in no* Fashions for Daytime That Are Flattering C'ACH of these good-looking new Ll designs is just as comfortable and practical as it is becoming, and each is accompanied by a de tailed sew chart that assures you no difficulty at all in die making. Dirndl-Style Jumper. High neckline, to cover up her collar bones, with a little round collar to soften. High-puffed sleeves and very full skirt to fill her out. Shirred waistline, to make her look soft and small /T\ at waist. Make the jumper of flannel, jersey or wool plaid, (or every day, with linen, batiste or flat crepe blouse. Repeat it, (or parties, of velveteen, with organ dy or chiffon blouse. Large Woman's House Dress. Plenty of leeway for reaching up, down and under, is promised you by the ample armholes, slight blouse above the belt, and easy waistline of this practical home dress. And it looks very trim and tailored, because the long lines, the darts around the middle, scal loped closing and narrow collar are just as slenderizing as thej^ can be. You will enjoy having a jersey or challis version of this dress for cold weather, as well as several in calico, gingham or percale. It's a diagram design that you can make in no time. v The Patterns. No. 1621 is designed for sizes 8, 10, 12, and 14 years. Size 10 re quires 1% yards of 54-inch mate rial for the skirt and 1% yards of 39-inch material for the blouse. No. 1624 is designed for sizes 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50 and 52. Size 38 requires 4% yards of 35 inch material. Contrasting collar takes Vz yard; 3 yards braid. Fall and Winter Fashion Book. The new 32-page Fall and Win ter Pattern Book which shows photographs of the dresses being worn is now out. (One pattern and the Fall and Winter Pattern Book ? 25 cents.) You can order the book separately for 15 cents. Send your order to The Sewing Circle Pattern Dept., 247 W. Forty-third street, New York, N. Y. Price of patterns, 15 cents (in coins) each. C Bel] Syndicate ? WNU Service. A Three Days' Cough Is Your Danger Signal No matter how many medicines you have tried for your common cough, chest cold, or bronchial irri tation, you may get relief now with Creomulaon. Serious trouble may be brewing and you cannot afford to take a chance with any remedy less potent than Creomulsion, which goes right to the seat of the With a Purpose Be not simply good, be good for something. youH get the genuine the relief you want. 0 emulsion i product AdvJ and Don't Aggravate Gaa Bloatiig D roar OAS BLOATING to ommcI bv ?OMtipfttit* don't expect to cei the rehefyoa eeek by just doctoring your stomach. Whet you need ie the DOUBLE ACTION ?f Adlerika. Thie 35-year-old remedy is BOTH eerminetire end cathxrtio. Carminatives that warm and soothe the stomach end expel OAS. Cathartics that set quickly end gently, clearing the bowels of wastes that may have ' OA8 BLOATING, 1 ^ ? - i nerve pressure far ponthe. Adlerike doee not gnpe? is not haMt forming. Adkrika acts on the stomach and BOTH bowele. It retteres STOMACH OAS almost aU once, and often removes bowel wastes ia leee than two hours. Adlerika has been recommended by many doctors lor 9$ years. Get the genuine Adlerika today. Ssid at aaU dmi item WNU? 4 45 ? 38 GUIDE BOOK to GOOD VALUES ? Too plan a trip abroad, jtm eaa *"We book, aad figure oat mm ?ero yoo wait to go, bow Im? 7?"