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Recall English Immigrant Boy Who Became a Great American Edward Dickinson Baker Held High Office in Three States of the Union, Became Known as "One of the Greatest Orators of Modern Times," Served Galantly in Three Wars and FinaRy Gave His Life in Defense of the Country of His Adoption. \ ? Western Newspaper Union. * ' * _ '? Rescuing the body of Colonel Baker at the Battle of Ball's Bluff. (rw? u? paiatiai *y r. o. c. o*ri?y.> By ELMO SCOTT WATSON FEBRUARY 24 is the anniversary of the birth of a great American who, paradoxically, was not an American at all ?at least, not by birth. He was born in England, but he held high office in three states of the Union, wore the American uniform in three of our wars and finally gave his life in defense ? of the country of his adoption. They called him A Modern Knight urrant," (or he was a very gallant and courageous soldier. They called him "The Gray Eagle" because of his 'long, gray hair, eyes of fire, noble forehead and 0nely chiseled features." He has been described as "orie of the greatest public speak ers of modern times" and they said of one of his Speeches that it was "the most eloquent delivered by an American since Patrick Henry closed with his immor tal 'Give me Liberty or give me death!' " His name was Edward Dickinson Baker. Baker was the son of an Eng lish Quaker and his wife who lived on the Isle of Wight. Later the family moved to London and there a son was born on February 34, 1811. He was named Edward Dickinson Baker in honor of one of his uncles, a British naval of ficer who fought at the Battle of Trafalgar. Another of his un cles was Lord Somerville. When the boy was five years old the Baker family moved to Phila delphia, the "City of Brotherly Love" founded by the Quaker, William Penn. There the father died while Edward was still a boy and he supported himself and his younger brother by working as a weaver. When they grew to young manhood, the two broth ers emigrated to Illinois where Bdward Baker began the study of law in the little town ofSpring field on the Sangamon. There the 30-year-old lawyer met Southern-born Mary Ann Lee, a 33-year-old widow with two children. They married in 1S31. The next year Baker left his bride to march away to war?as ? volunteer in the Illinois troops raised to resist the "invasion" by Chief Black Hawk and his Sac and Foxe warriors. Although he had no opportunity to distinguish himself in that brief and inglori ous "war." Baker did form a friendship which was to be an Important factor in his later ca 'rear. It wan with a tall, gangling militia captain from New Salem named Abraham Lincoln. -Abe" aad "Ned." IT* years later these two friends?"Abe" and "Ned" they called each other?were both gSMlng i? the Illinois legislature at Vandalia as Whig representa tives and from that time on their careers were closely linked. With Stephen Logan, they were las Jars in a little group, known as the "Springfield Junto," which dominated Whig party councils in After serving one term in the - legislature, Lincoln retired to his law practice in Springfield, but 5pafeer rose a step higher by be ing elected to the state senate in 1M0. Four years later the two friends were rivals tor the Whig mains tkn for representative in congress and Baker was the sue r j nois. Two years later "Abe" Lincoln took his seat beside "Ned" Baker in the lower house of congress. When Lincoln's sec ond son was born in 1846, he named him Edward Baker Lin coln in honor of his friend. By this time the United States was on the verge of a war with Mexico. Baker immediately re turned to Illinois, making the trip in the record time of six days, raised a regiment of volunteers and marched to the Rio Grande. When congress assembled Colo nel Baker obtained a leave of ab sence, hastened to Washington COL. E. D. BAKES and appeared an the floor of con gress In full uniform (the only case on record up to that time) where he made a plea for money and men. Baker Gees te War. He entreated the partisans In congress to cease their "mutual criminations and recrimina tions." "What matters differ ences of opinion about the origin of the warT" he pleaded. "Send our soldiers aid, comfort, succor and support. Action! Action!I ACTION!!!!" Heaecured action, resigned from congress two days later, overtook his regiment on the march from Vera Crux and fought with distinction in every engagement on the route to Mex ico City. When Gen. James Shields, leader of the Illinois troops, was wouritled at the Bat tle of Cerro Gordo, Baker be came commander of the brigade and led it during the remainder of the war. Returning to Illinois at the close of the conflict. Baker moved to Galena. According to one story, he did this so he would not be a candidate for re-election to con gress against his old friend, "Abe" Unrein If that is true, it was an unnecessary gesture, for Lincoln realized that his con stituents were dissatisfied with his record in congress and de clined to make the race again. Baker was re-elected in 1848, but, becoming interested in the proj ect of a railroad across the Isth mus of Panama, he declined a renom(nation in 1880. Baker moved to California in 18S1 and aooo became a leader of the bar in that state. One of his most famous casts eras the defense of Charles Cora, aa Mai ian gambler who had killed Gen eral Richardson, United States marshal. Baker's address to the Jury, "brilliant, eloquent, impas sioned," won an acquittal (or his client, but it also led to Baker's social ostracism for a time by some of the "better citizens." When the new Republican par ty was organized Baker became a member and candidate for the Republican nomination for Unit ed States senator. He won the nomination but lost the election, partly because of the prejudice against him as a result of the Cora case. Then word came from Oregon that a Republican leader was needed there and he moved to that new state. Elected to Senate. In the campaign of 1860 he was elected to the senate by a coali tion of Republican and Douglas Democrats. But his greatest vic tory during this campaign was to carry Oregon and California for his old friend "Abe" Lincoln, can didate for President. In Oregon Lincoln won by only 300 votes, in California by only 614 and the fact that he won at all was a tribute to the eloquence of Baker. When Lincoln was inaugurated, it was Baker who introduced him to the throng of people gathered in front of the capital?an honor which no one else sought at a time when sedition filled the air and there w?s even danger of assassination. Taking his seat in the senate, Baker became the most effective orator and leader in supporting Lincoln's adminis tration in dealing with the prob lem of secession of the southern states. When Fort Sumter was fired upon, he went to New York to deliver an address in Union square on April 10, 1861, and thrilled the immense crowd there with his appeal for the preserva tion of the Union. He did not remain in the senate lonf, however. For the "Gray Eagle," old war-horse that he was, wanted action. Lincoln of fered him a commission as briga dier-general but he declined it and asked only to be made colo nel of a regiment which he would raise. Although the men were recruited in New York and Phila delphia, it was called the First California, in honor of the state of his adoption. During the time he was raising this outfit, he again appeared on the floor of congress in his uniform, thus giv ing him the distinction of being "the only man ever to address both houses of -congress in uni form." "Father" Baker. Finally his regiment eras ready for service and he led it to Fort ress lfonroe. His paternal ap pearance and kindness to his men, although he remained a good disciplinarian, won for htm another nickname by his men? "Father" Baker. His career in the army was almost as short as had been his service in the sen ate. At the Battle at Ball's Bluff on October SI, 1861, he was In command at a brigade and, ex posing himself to the hottest fire, fell mortally wounded while lead ing a charge. They took his body bade to his adopted state of California and buried it in the famous Lone Mountain cemetery. Years later It was moved to the Presidio burial ground near Sen Francis co's Golden Gate and his grave win he a shrine for thousands of Americana who attend the expo sition there this year. I Among the many eloquent speeches made by Baker there are three which are outstanding. One, known as the "American theater speech," was delivered in San Francises in 1860 and is cred ited with swinging California for Lincoln in the crucial election in that year. In it he said in part: "We live in a day of light. We live in an advancing generation. We live in the presence of the whole world. We are like a city set on a hill, that cannot be hid. The prayers and tears and hopes and sighs of all good men are with us, of us, for us. "As for me, I dare not, I will not, be false to freedom. Here, many years long gone, I took my stand, and where in youth my feet were planted, there my manhood and my age shall march. I am not ashamed of freedom. I know her power. I glory in her strength. I rejoice in her majesty. 1 will walk be neath her banner. "I have seen her again and again struck down on a hundred chosen fields of battle. I have seen her friends fly from her. I have seen her foes gather around her. I have seen them bind her to the stake. I have seen them give her ashes to the winds, re gathering them that they might ' scatter them yet more widely. But when they turned to exult I have seen her again meet them face to face, clad in complete steel and brandishing in her strong right hand a flaming sword red with insufferable light." "Talking Like a God." Of the demonstration which fol lowed, a historian writes: "Cheer after cheer rolled from side to side, from pit to dome. Even the reporters were swept away in the frenzy and left their desks and tables to fall in with the shouting multitude. A young fellow just come of age?after ward famous as Bret Harte? leaped upon the stage and fran tically waved an American flag. "Another reporter ran out into the street gesticulating wildly and cried: 'Come in I Come in I The old man is talking like a god!' " ? ? ? Almost as famous as this Cali fornia speech that "left its im print upon the history of the West," was the speech which he delivered in Union square, New York, on April 20, 1861. It be gan: "The majesty of the people is here today to sustain the majesty of the constitution, and I come, a wanderer from the far Pacific, to record my oath along with yours of the great Empire state." Further along in the speech he uttered these often-quoted words: "Fellow citizens, what is this country? Is it the soil on which we tread? Is It the gathering of familiar faces? Is it our luxury, and pomp, and pride? Nay, more than these, is it power, and might and majesty alone? "No, our country is more, far more than all these. The coun try which demands our love, our courage, our devotion, our heart's s blood, is more than all these. Our country is the history of our fa thers?our country is the tradi tion of our mothers?our country is past renown?our country is present pride and power?our country is future hope and des tiny?our country is greatness, glory, truth, constitutional liber ty?above sill, freedom forever!. These are the watchwords under which we fight; and we will shout them out till the stars appear in the sky, in the stormiest hour of battle." A Pledge to fight. The address closed thus: m "And if from the far Pacific a voice feebler than the feeblest murmur upon its shore may be heard, to give you courage and hope in the contest, that voice is yours today. And if a man whose hair is gray, who is well-nigh worn out in the battle and toil of life, may pledge himself on such an occasion and in such an audi ence, let me say, as my last word, that when amid sheeted fire and flame I saw and led the hoots at New York as they charged in contest on a foreign soil far the honor of the flag, so again, if Providence shall will it, this feeble hand shall draw a sword never yet dishonored, not to fight for honor on a foreign soil, but for country, for borne, for law, for government, for con stitution, for right, for freedom, for humanity?and in the hope that the banner of my country may advance, and wheresoever that banner waves there glory may pursue and freedom be es The third of Baker's greatest speeches was delivered in the United States senate in reply to Senator Judah P. Benjamin of Louisiana (who, like Baker, was j English-born and an American by adoption), who claimed that the southern states had the right to secede from the Union. To this claim Baker hurled defiance in these words: "I deny that this union is a compact between sovereign states at all . - . There is hot one sov ereign snd that Is the people. The state government is its crea tion; the federal government is its creation; each supreme in its sphere; each sovereign for its purpose; but each limited in its SMkJSl nower dependent Tells Horrors Of Chinese War Major Chin, American Born, Relates Confusion at Fall of Canton. HONGKONG.?There are things about this war that must be termed fantastic. You can meet and talk to war refugees, and when you see a ragged Chinese peasant who has carried his wounded wife for miles to find sanc tuary, you stare at first and then fight the desire to run away from it And you can meet some one like Maj. George B. Chin, of Boston, who is also a refugee, in a sense, and, talking to him. you find yourself ?taring at him. Here you have a young man who was born in San Jose, Calif., who played on the streets of Boston, and who still has his home there. He talks about the fall of Canton, and his voice is quick, impatient with bits of American dang: Uses American Slang. "It was one (or the books. Here I was with 500 men, ordered into third-line position, and finding my self in front-line position instead. That shows how fast the Japanese came through. I had my men on both sides of the highway, in rough, hilly country. No equipment to speak of, but we did have a couple of anti-tank guns and a lot ot hand grenades. "The Japanese showed up with five tanks. We let go at them with the anti-tank guns and got two of the tanks. Then the Japanese came back with 15 tanks and about 30 air planes. They bombed us, and how. All I could see for a time was men bouncing into the air as the bombs hit all around us. There was noth ing we could do against that I got back to Canton with about 275 of my men. "In Canton it was all confusion, with troops moving out Things were all washed up. There was nothing to do but get out I made H." (a Dirty Prison. Without realizing it, he gives you a perfect word pat that strange and awful imprisonment How they were unable to identify themselves, as a group of fleeing Chinese officers, and bow they were arrested by the troops of another district on suspicion of being spies "It was a wet, dirty hole of a place where you wouldn't keep a dog. (He is an educated Chinese-American.) They chained us to a wall. I got loose and managed to get my com rades loose. Then we heard some one coming and we had to run. There was just one old man left" "What happened to the old manT" you ask. "I told him, "Here, perhaps they won't kill you because you're an old man.' And I managed to find a piece of iron that he could use in getting himself free. Then we had to run for it" You start to say, "sort of tough on the old man, wasn't itT" but be doesn't give you a chance. He talks on, as youth, and it is so apparent that he sees old age as being close to death anyway, so what difference does it make. And it is, after all, war in China. Ruins in France Yield Vases of Fifth Century NANCY, FRANCE.?Fifteen glass vases dating from the Fifth century were discovered in the village of Haut-de-Totnbeaux on the baidw of the Moselle when a cemetery of 13 tombs dating from the Middle ages was excavated. Modern spectographic analysis at the Paris Optical institute estab lished the age of the vases, which were made in the region, but from materials which could only have come from the Far East and prob ably peddled by wandering nomad traders of that period. Systematic excavations have been started to And further medieval ob jects. Australia Laments Lack of 'Housemaid's Knee' MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA? What has been described by the Country Women's association of Vic toria as the "national tragedy of Australia" is the lack of "house maid's knee." The lack of housemaid's knee, they have pointed out is due to almost the acute shortage of housemaids. They have launched a scheme tor group nomination of migrants from Great Britain who will work in coun try homes. Blast It, Yon Know, It Isn't Being Done LONDON.?Forty-Ave unem ployed persons, including three women, marched into the grill room of the fashionable Ritr ho lei in Piccadilly, sat down and demanded that they be served tea. All the men politely re moved their caps. The staff of the hotel was tn consternation. The management cunfeired and refused to serve the demonstrators, who offered to pay for the tea. The grin room was closed and police called in. Before police persuaded the demonstrators to depart, ttelr^Waders^ made Lights of New York ky L. L STEVENSON There la many a story among the uniformed men who stand at the doors of various New York estab lishments, night chibs and apart ment houses. Though their attire is often glittering, the iob is a menial one, bowing and scraping and open ing and closing doors of imported cars or mere taxicabs. But in the ranks at the moment are a former star of the silent screen, a former boxing champion, a one-time big contractor, several members of Russian nobility as well as men who have held positions of trust and responsibility. Then there is Elmer Szemzo, guardian of the portals of Zimmerman's Hungaria. He sel dom plays cards. When be does, it is never for more than a penny a point. Yet Szemzo. a member of a noble family of Hungary, is a doorman because of gambling. ? ? ? Szemzo's uncle was known throughout Europe as the man who played cards with gloves on. Natu rally there was a reason for such ac tion. When a young man, he had promised his distressed mother that he would never touch a card. The gloves enabled him to keep that promise. But luck was against him and his fortune wint over the gam ing tables. Then there was Szem zo's father, also a well-known but more conservative gambler. For years his lucky streak continued and finally he became known as one of the richest men in Hungary. But the turn came and the fortune he had amassed went back over the gaming tables. Now he lives on the Riviera, his sole income a small pension which he receives as a retired Hungarian general. m w w When the family estate shrank from 30,000 acres to a small plot near Budapest, Szemzo came to this country to study agriculture, intend ing to cultivate that last bit of land. But word came that his father had lost it in a card game. So he looked about for a job. As that was just aft er the World war, jobs were scarce. But he finally obtained a position in a restaurant. He worked his way up quickly and became man ager of that restaurant He held other similar positions, then mar ried a young American girl, a phy sician. She preferred to practice in the Mid-West and they separated. Then bad breaks came. When Zim merman opened his new restaurant Szemzo applied for the doorman's post. Zimmerman knew his father in the old country and put him to work. And he has no taste for gam bling. ? ? ? Daniel E. Eisenberg is president of an-organization which in the last IS years has found more than 162, 000 missing persons. Well, Mr. Eis enberg recently turned over to the police the job of finding a missing person. When he returned to his Brooklyn home the other evening, he found that a burglar had been there ahead of him and had stolen a number of valuables. It was a bit embarrassing for him to call up the Seventieth precinct station and give his name and occupation but there was nothing else to do. And that embarrassment hasn't been lessened by telephone calls and let ters, as well as telegrams, advis ing him how to go about finding the culprit. ?m <? <m There'* something appealing in this homely bit of philosophy ex pressed by Gertrude Berg, whose radio aerial, "The Goldbergs," has been running for the last nine years: "When your clothes are soiled, you soak them thoroughly, wash them and then iron them out. The same should apply to your worries, your opinions of others, your general viewpoint on life itself. Take stock once In awhile, rinse your mind of bad opinions and you'U find it easy to iron out most of your troubles." ? ? ? The old publicity stunt of rushing a star from ohe show to another with a police escort failed to ma terialize when Mary Martin did a piece on the Eddie Cantor broad cast. Plans were all made to hurry Miss Martin from "Leave It to Me," in which she is featured, when it was learned that "Leave It to Me" was playing next door to the thea ter horn which Cantor was to broad cast. a Ban syndicate.- STHU Strain. Native's Death Blamed To "Pointing the Bone' BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA.? "Pointing the bone," which corre sponds among Australian aborigines with the "evil eye," caused the death of at least one native recently, ac cording to Mount Isa police. During a dispute one of the adver saries "pointed the bone" at his fel low tribesman, a man of about 40. The latter fled from the sinister omen and a little later was found dying. An autopsy report gave as the cause of death "obsession and persecution complex." In "pointing the bone" the natives use the thigh bone of a turkey, topped with beeswax, which is said to be capable of scaring the victim to death. ?tof Tnnu tnte hat) COOKSTOWN, AUSTRALIA.?Bit ten on the toot by a make, William Howard raached down for a stick with which to kill it. but tha "stick" turned out to be another snake, which bit him an tha arm. Prompt FARMS FOR SALE FORECLOSED FARMS at bargain prices ?RO to ISO acres cultivated land In each tract?eound shore and paved highway frontage. FIRST AND CITIZENS NA TIONAL RANK. ELIZABETH CITY. N. C. POULTRY BRED rOB PRODUCTIONt Decks RAISED FOB PROFIT: Chieks SOLD BY QUALITY: Terkcjs MILFOBD HATCHERY PlkesviUe P. O. Backdate. Mi. i n TIPS to (jardeners VflANY hobbyists get pleasure from special gardens. Some have been successful with all marigold, or all-petunia gardens. Marigolds are available in a wide variety of sizes and shapes and provide a golden-brown garden scene of unusual richness. Petunias have a wide range of color, and more and more they are being used for cut flowers as well as for garden color and beauty. Some have grown gardens pri marily for fragrance. The best flowers for such a garden, accord ing to Harry A. Joy, flower expert, are: Alyssum, carnation, pinks, mignonette, nicotiana, sweet pea and sweet William. For a garden of plants without actual flowers but with showy foli age, interesting results have been obtained with the following: Jos eph's coat, coleus, dusty miller, snow-on-the-mountain, annual poinsetta, kochia and castor oil bean. The following will fit well into a typical wildflower garden; An nual lupin, bachelor button, rud beckia (cone flower), columbine, perennial aster, heuchera (coral bells), and perennial lupin. ( Safety Talks ) IT'S an art, this walking along 1 the highway, and not every body who doe# it lives to tell about it afterward. At least a third of the pedestrians fatally injured in rural districts are struck while walking along the roadway, ac cording to figures of the National Safety council. And about two thirds of these were walking with their backs to approaching traffic. In many places, sidewalks are being built parallel to the high ways to segregate motor and pe destrian traffic, but in places where they aren't yet built, the council has these four suggestions to offer: 1?Walk on the left side of the road. 3?At night, carry a light. 3?Wear light clothing or at least some article of clothing that's white, to make it easier for the motorist to see you. 4?Walk on the shoulder of the road instead of the pavement, where possible, to keep from forc ing cars into the path of oncoming traffic. ~ YES! "Lnden'f arc a natural choice, became they > contribute to yon* (\ albaline reaet le when ft you hare a cold." ^ M. SOUTHARD. tttkut UNmrn, Ntm Ym* LUDEN'S MINTHOL COUCH DtOPS ^ Humane and Just One cannot be just if one is not humane.?Vauvenargues. CCC COLDS ODD? saLVt'wae'oeoM .???P**!* WWU?4 7?3? Ifegfect TWn 1 I s I SSrsajsrwa^a I %dSfi3K,?&sH ? Mmm Iwfcl. than ta nmrtn af ljifi|pg?| I ajgSiL^^IS^ i&SSSSSS Isag^^
The Alamance Gleaner (Graham, N.C.)
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Feb. 16, 1939, edition 1
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