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2 GOODLOEON LINCOLN PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREAT EST STATESMEN. HE PLOUGHED ROUND THE STUMP. A List of the Minority Presidents—As a Man of Intellect, He Ranked With The Foremost Men—What the West minster Review Thought ot His Now Justly Celebrated Speech at Gettys burg. Writ ten for Sunday News and Observer. Washington. June 15, 1895. It is meet and proper that I should tell what I knew of Abraham Lincoln, in his day, as President. I was here in Washington while he was President, and had opportunities of seeing and conver sing with him, repeatedly. Those inter views were not merely formal. They all possessed peculiar interest, as tend ing to bring out some characteristic. Os all public men it has been my fortune to encounter, he was the least pretentious, the most frank, cordial, and approach able. In forming a judgment of Mr. Lin coln’s character and conduct, Southern men should remember that he was elected President of the United States by a con stitutional majority, and that his posi tion required him to take an oath to see that the laws were duly enforced—-in a word, to maintain the Union. He did not receive at his first election a ma jority of the popular vote; but that has happened to more than one of our Presi dents, without impairing, in the slight est degree, their constitutional authority. It was the case with both the Adamses; with Mr. Jefferson at his first election; with Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Polk, General Taylor, Mr. Garfield, Mr. Cleveland, at both elections: and with Mr. Harrison. Strange still, Mr. Cleveland, when de feated by Mr. Harrison in 1880, received nearly a hundred thousand more votes than did the latter, while there were more than three hundred thousand votes cast at that election for Mr. Weaver and Mr. Dow. And at the last presidential election Mr. Cleveland fell short of a popular majority by nearly one million of the votes cast. No party that has ever elected a presi dent can take exception to the election of Mr. Lincoln. The most striking illus tration of the discrepancies that have occurred between the electoral and the popular votes was furnished in 1860, when Mr ; Lincoln was chosen. On that oc casion, Mr. Lincoln received 1,866,352 of the popular vote, and 180 electoral votes. Mr, Breckenridge received 845,763 popular votes, and 72 electoral votes. Mr. Douglas received 1,375,157 popular votes, and only 12 electoral votes; and Mr. Bell received 589,581 popular votes, and 39 electoral votes. It is seen that Mr. Douglas received nearly as many of the people’s votes as both Messrs. Breck enridge and Bell and yet they, together, receive more than nine time as many electoral votes as Mr. Douglas did. He had large minorities in large States. I begin with circumstances attending my last interview with Mr. Lincoln. It was on the 19th day of October, 1864. I was at the time connected with the D vily Chronicle of this city, and in the a once of Col. Forney, was requested to cail on the President and hear his views in regard to the conduct of affairs in Tennessee. Andrew Johnson had been appointed military Governor of that State, and while in that position he and his life-long political opponent, Wm. G. Brownlow, had come to terms on the basis of a common hatred of secession. Through their joint influence they had brought together at Nashville early in September of that year a hybrid Convention, partly merely political, or partizan, and partly, as they claimed, legal, with the object of reorganizing the State Government, by the election of county officers. In revolutionary time a rigid conformity with laws cannot be maintained. County governments were indispensable, and they were justifiable in adopting measures for the preserva tion of domestic peace and order. The form of an election were gone through in many counties. In other cases dele gates were admitted from their known character as Unionists and representa tive men. Many delegates were inter cepted, or prevented from attending by an inopportune raid of General Wheel er’s Cavalry. But the Convention met and proceeded to business. After provid ing for a reorganization ot the counties, by an ordinance which embraced a most stringent and searching test-oath for voters, they proceeded to nominate Mr. Lincoln for re election to the Presidency, with Governor Johnson for Vice President, and to put forth an electoral ticket. They adopted a resolution calling on Governor Johnson to order an election, and appoint registrars of voters, and super intendents of the polls. He promptly complied with their wishes, and in his proclamation defined the qualifications of votes, as follows: “All citizens and soldiers, being free white men, twenty one years of age, citizens of the United States, and for six months prior to the election, citizens of the State of Tennes see, who have qualified themselves by registration, and who take the oath pre scribed in the foregoing resolution, shall be entitled to vote:” The oath, besides the usual declara tions in support of the Constitution and laws of the United States, required a renunciation “of all sympathy with the so called Confederate States; an ardent desire for the suppression of the rebel lion; sincerely rejoicing at the success of the Union arms; thorough opposition to all armistices and negotiations with re bels in arms, and hearty support of the Constitution and all laws and proclama tions made in pursuance thereof;” with a pledge of aid and assistance in carry ing out all measures of government that might be adopted for the attainment of these ends.| ““The fiiends of General McOlellen, who Kad b< en nominated for the Presidency, sent a delegation to Washington, appeal ing to the President to ;annul these pro ceedings, and especially the regulation prescribing the qualifications of voters, which they showed to be inconsistent with the laws made in pursuance of the Constitution. It will be noticed that the test oath not merely required voters to swear their allegiance, but to their sen timents and wishes, which may have been justifiable under the circumstances. But the further requirment of a pledge in advance, that they would heartily ap prove all measures that might be adopt ed, was highly absurd, and was more than the most devoted unionist would have been willing to swear to, if he had a conscience. It was at this stage of the proceeding, before the President had given his answer to the Tennesseee committee, that I saw him. It was his custom to receive persons who called on private business, in the afternoon, I went at that hour, and was} told by the secretary that a number of people were waiting to see him and that I had better call again. How ever, as I had been sent for, I went in, and found perhaps twenty persons wait ing their turn to speak with the Presi dent. I took a seat in the rear, intend ing to be the last to go forward. He dispatched their business rapidly, but kindly, and in a tone of voice which could only be heard by the party ad dressed. This I recognized as a mark of high breeding, though proceeding from a rail splitter. Nothing can be more painful to a modest person, when asking a favor, than to have his business pro claimed as from the house-top, which is apt to be done by vulgar fellows dressed in a little brief authority. I had observed a lady in deep mourn ing sitting off to herself as if waiting for others to retire before presenting her petition. She wore a thick veil, but as she sometimes had occasion to remove it, I could see that she was very hand some. When all others had gone up, been heard and had passed out, she went forward. Mr. Usher, the Secretary of the Interior, had in the meantime come in; and we could hear the distressed and tremulous tones of her voice as she ad dressed the President. He heard her patiently for some time. She was probably persistent in pressing her suit, and this caused him, taking her hand as they rose up, to say loud enough for us to hear: “No, Emily, I cannot do that. I cannot do that. It would ruin me. But come again; I will see if I can do something for you.” She then retired. He came forward to meet us, and inquired if we knew that lady. We told him we did not. He said: “She is my wife’s sister.” Her husband, a Confederate General, was recently killed in battle and she has come to ask of me the privilege of cross ing the lines, in order to purchase cot ton.” It was apparent from the circum stances, that she was not a guest of the White House; and to be inferred that the brother-in-law was kinder than the sister. Mr. Usher soon retired when I in formed the President that I had called in obedience to his request, to hear what he had to say about the Tennessee imbroglio. But he commenced talking of the events of the war. He said that half a dozen things had troubled him during the day, and he didn’t know what he should have done, but for the ;ood news from Sheridan that he lad achieved a victory in the Virginia Valley. This event, of which he had heard by telegram, put him in fine spirits. He had much to say about the South. I being a North Carolinian, he never failed, when I met him, to ask me about the state of public sentiment there. He loved to believe that there was a strong union feeling among the Southern people, and especially among those of North Carolina. He had much to say about Messrs. Toombs and Step hens, of Georgia, with whom he served in Congress from 1847, to March 3,1849. They were all Whigs then, and he cher ished a very kind recollection of them — repeating some of Mr. Toomb’s stories, and mentioned the correspondence he had had with Mr. Stephens after the Presidential election, in 1860, and af ter the remarkable speech of that gen tleman before the State Convention, or Legislature of Georgia. Mr. Stephens published a sac simele of this corres pondence in his work on the Constitu 4 * tion. I said at length, to the President, I feared that I was taking up too much of his valuable time, and reminded him of the Tennessee affair, but he paid little attention to the interruption, and con tinued to talk on about the Bouth. I will add, that neither on this occasion, nor at other times, when I had the priv ilege of conversing with Mr. Lincoln— although the South was the principal topic—did he ever utter an unkind sen timent about any Southern man, or about the South. When I again re minded him of the matter regarding Tennessee, he said he had thought it over, and had come to the conclusion to do as Governor Reynolds, of Illinois, did when he was farming in St. Clair county. He found a large, crooked log in a wet piece of ground, which would neither split nor burn. He hesitated for several days as to what he would do with it. At length he decided to plow around it. Acting on this principle, three days later the President informed the Tennessee gentlemen that he could not interfere; that the Presi dent of the United States had no author ity to regulate elections in the States; and that the most he could do was, when called on, to interpose for the pre servation of peace and order. Moreover, if a vote were cast for President and Vice President, it would not be for him to decide whether it should be counted. That duty devolved on Congress. It was not counted. It was perhaps in 1862, that I was re quested by the Rev. Wm. H. Channing to accompany him to the White House, and introduce him to the President. Mr. Channing was Chaplain of the Stan ton Hospital, and desired some change in the regulations. Having disposed of the business, the President spoke to me in regard to public sentiment in North Carolina, and expressed the belief that the people of that State, who had given a large majority of votes against seces sion in February, 1861, still retained a strong feeling in favor of the Union. I replied that there was doubtless a good deal of latent Union sentiment in North Carolina, “but, Mr. President, you should not believe the stories pub lished by (naming him) whom you appointed to the office of United States Marshal of the State, and whose i confirmation by the Senate I defeated by The News and Observer, Sunday, June 16, 1805. exposing his character.” A small man in the high place of president would have resented this plain speech from a citizen. But Mr. Lincoln laughed heart ily at my uncourtly speech, and said ho could not know everybody; that he had to rely upon the statements of Congress men and others, and that he had often been deceived. In the particular case he said that he had not liked the appear ance of the man; that there was some thing hollow and hypocritical in the tones of his voice. It w r as not the privilege of President Lincoln to make annual progresses over the country, nor to enjoy a pleasant re treat in the mountains or on the seaside. The incessant conflict of arms during the whole term kept him constantly in Washington, or within sight of the eapi tol. During the dry summers, when the streets were plowed with army wag ons, and the dust would become insuf ferable, Mr. Lincoln followed the exam ple of his predecessor, Mr. Buchanan, who was wont to make his temporary abode at the Soldiers’ Home. While he was there I went out to see him in com pany with the late Prof. Hedrick, of North Carolina. Our business was to ask some favor for a citizen of the State. He received us very kindly, and was in a fine humor. He told us with glee of a letter he had cut from a newspaper, pur porting to be written by a North Caro lina Confederate soldier. The man had been captured, but was far from desir ing to be exchanged; and on the contrai y he had written the letter as an affection ate leave-taking to Mr. Jefferson Davis. He bid Mr. Davis and his Confederacy a final and affectionate farewell. It was very smartly done, and the fellows’ humor delighted Mr. Lincoln, while the sentiment it breathed served to con firm his belief in the existence of a de cided Union sentiment in North Caro lina. Dark came on, and the par lor lamp, (not gas) was too high, and the light too dim to read by. Another man in the exalted station of President of the United States, would have rung a bell for a servant, but Mr. Lincoln, like an honest farmer of the West, went up stairs for a candle, and brought it down himself; and, hold ing it in one hand, and the printed let ter in the other, like the picture of Dr. Johnson, reading the manuscript of the Vicar of Wakefield, the President read the letter to us with the greatest zest A poem entitled, “Why Should the Spir it of Mortal be Proud,” was a favorite with Mr. Lincoln. I had the honor of being appointed by Mr. Lincoln, in 1862, as chairman of the three Commissioners under the Emanci pation Act, to pay the people of the Dis trict of Columbia for their slaves. It was a work of no little labor and respon sibility, and we wore nearly nine months in completing it. Our report was re turnable to the Secretary of the Treas ury, but in the absence of Mr. Chase at the time, my colleagues, (Hon. Horatio King and Dr. John M. Brodhead) and myself, concluded to call with our clerk, Wm. R. Woodward, Esq., upon the President, and announce the conclusion of our labors. He received us pleasantly, and said he was glad to know that somebody had finished something, and that he wished his work was done.”! Os Mr. Lincoln as a man of intellect, it is sufficient to say, that English critics place him in the front rank of English prose writers. Os his brief little speech at the dedication of the Gettysburg cemetery, the Westminster Review said that nothing of the kind equal to it had appeared since xenophon’s day; and the London Spectator said of him: “It is not too much to say of him that he is among the greatest masters of prose ever produced by the English race.” In 1857 or ’SB, he canvassed the State of Illinois with Mr. Douglas. They were rivals for the Senatorship. The Repub licans published the speeches of both, as a campaign document. Daniel R. Goodloi. Iluekien’s Arnica Salve The best salve in the world for Cuts, Bruises, Sores, Ulcers, Salt Rheum, Fever Sores, Tetter, Chapped Hands, Chilblains, Corns, and all Skin Erup tions, and positively cures Piles or no pay required. It is guaranteed to give perfect satisfaction or money refunded. Price 25 cents per box. For sale by John Y. Macßae. J m § p^iifeyift Mrs. Lou tH'> Ai at lock Co:.! i Lot Be Cored So They SrJd and So ! Thought But Kcod’s £a»3&pariflia Cld Cure. « For 7 Long years I v.as a constant suf ferer with indigestion, at.d I triad pre scriptions and remedies until I became so low that I bad given up all hopes of recov ery, and my friends thought. »Iko that I could not becured. The poison In my blood hrd set in deeply, and rr.y limbs were a Solid Mass of Sores. I was confined to the house ana to my bed most of the time. I happened to read an advertisement of Hood’s Sarsaparilla in Hood's Haraa par ilia the paper and lat £ | | once prevailed upon 1 ' ! 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Even if they only " HEAD 'Acbethey would bo almost priceless to those whd Buffer from this distressing complaint; but fortu nately their goodness does notend here, and those vrhooncotry them will find theeo little pills valu able In so many ways that thoy will not be wil ling to do without them. But after all sick head ACHE fls the bane of so many lives that hero Is where we make our great boast. Our pills cure It while Others do not. Carter’s Little Liver Pills are very small and very easy to take. One or two pills makes dose. They ore strictly vegetable and do not gripe or purge, but by thoir gentle action ploaeeall who use them. lit vials at 25 cents; five for sl. Sold by druggists everywhere, or sent by inaiL CARTER MEDICINE CO., New York- SMALL PILL. SMALL DOSE. SMALL PRICE —THE— H, J, BROWN COFFIN HOUS: JNO. Vs. BROWN, Proprietor. Fuiwr&l Director ar.rt Embalme? RALEIGH, N. C. OFFICE: WAREHOUSE: 115 and 117 R. St D. Wharves, So. Fourteenth St. Rockett?. Robert F. Williams Co., importing n nc AND JOBBINGVjK V-JLrfc.no Richmond, Va, White River Flour our leader. Impor ters of Coffee. Molasses and Salt a specialty ICE. ’ We again offer from the Raleigh Crystal Ice Factory Ice of best quality and at lowest prices, in Raleigh and to near-by railroad points, Ice now ready for delivery in any quan tity. Jones & Powell. Pocahontas Steam Coal is ahead of all others in quality and prices. Jones & Powell, Raleigh Agents. For Grain, Hay, Mill feed, Shingles, Laths, Etc., call jDn JONES & POWELL, RALEIGH, N. C. A HISTORY “7 OF THE Legislature of 1895. Now In Press and Deliv ery in a Few Days. It is a carefully prepared synopsis of the work of the last Legislature in con venient pamphlet form, containing 160 pages. It exposes the incompetency of that body, contrasts its work with that of Democratic Legislatures, and wherein it wrought evil to the State. Sent, post paid, to any address on re ceipt of 10 cents in money or postage. 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Its advan tages are already known far and wide, o «► « * The lessees are pleased to state that they have secured the services of Mr. Wink Taylor, as Manager, an all round Hotel man who knows his business and will leave undone nothing to satisfy his guest. They may be assured of the best of everything to eat and drink—with the best music, and most expert help in every department. Mr. Taylor has employed Mr. D. M. Burns, Cashier and Book keeper; Harry Smith, Room clerk; E. H. Plummer, Night Clerk; Ed. Stagg, late of the Ponce de T eon and now of the Galt House, St. Louis, Steward and Caterer; making altogether one of the best EQUIPPED HOUSES IN THE SOUTH. o P. S.--H may be interesting to some to know that no such stock of Wines, Liquors and Cigars have ever before been brought into the State. Mr. Connie Stonebank and his two assistants will preside in this department, and the well-known T. I. Simons has charge of the dining room.
The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)
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June 16, 1895, edition 1
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