Fifty Years of Public Service / Personal Recollections of Shelby M. Cullom, Senior United States Senator from Illinois

by Shelby M. Cullom

CHAPTER XXXII LINCOLN CENTENNIAL: LINCOLN LIBRARY

The name of Springfield will forever be immortalized as the home and burial-place of Abraham Lincoln. As the hundredth anniversary of his birth approached, it was determined to hold a great celebration, and it was generally agreed that Springfield was the fitting and proper place in which to hold it.

In 1907 the Legislature of Illinois passed a joint resolution providing:

"Whereas, the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Abraham
Lincoln will occur on the twelfth day of February, 1909; and,

"Whereas, it is fitting and proper that the State of Illinois should celebrate the anniversary of the birth of this greatest of all American statesmen; therefore, be it

"Resolved, by the Senate of the State of Illinois, the House of Representatives concurring therein, that the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln be celebrated in the City of Springfield, on the twelfth day of February, 1909, and, be it further

"Resolved, that the Governor is hereby authorized and empowered to appoint a commission of fifteen representative citizens of this State to have charge of all arrangements for such celebration."

The Governor thereupon appointed fifteen of the most distinguished citizens of Springfield as the State Centennial Commission to have charge of the celebration.

It was determined that the celebration should not be a local one, but should be more in the nature of a State celebration, and that it would be well to incorporate it under the name of "The Lincoln Centennial Association." The original incorporators were:

The Hon. Melville W. Fuller, Chief Justice of the United States; the Hon. Shelby M. Cullom, United States Senator; the Hon. Albert J. Hopkins, United States Senator; the Hon. Joseph G. Cannon, Speaker of the National House of Representatives; the Hon. Adlai E. Stevenson; the Hon. Charles S. Deneen, Governor of Illinois; the Hon. John P. Hand, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois; the Hon. J. Otis Humphrey, Judge of the United States District Court; the Hon. James A. Rose, Secretary of State of Illinois; the Hon. Ben. F. Caldwell, Member of Congress; the Hon. Richard Yates; Melville E. Stone, Esq.; Horace White, Esq.; John W. Bunn, Esq.; and Dr. William Jayne.

I was requested to secure speakers of national reputation, and it at once occurred to me that I would invite the Ambassadors of France and Great Britain, and Senator J. P. Dolliver, to visit Springfield, on February 12, 1909, and deliver addresses. These distinguished gentlemen at once accepted the invitation which I extended them on behalf of the Governor and the committee. Later, the Hon. William Jennings Bryan was invited to be present also and deliver an address, which invitation he accepted.

The memorial exercises celebrating the hundredth anniversary of Lincoln's birth were held under the direction of the State Centennial Commission, appointed by the Governor, working in conjunction with the Lincoln Centennial Association. There were a number of distinct events, but the most important were the great memorial exercises held in the State Armory, at which addresses were made by Ambassadors Jusserand and Bryce, and by Senator Dolliver and Mr. Bryan, and a banquet served to eight hundred guests. The celebration was in every way a great success, largely due to the efforts of Judge Humphrey.

It was quite an event in the history of Springfield, as it was the first time, so far as I know, that the Ambassadors of two great Nations visited Springfield.

I regretted very much that I was so engaged in matters pertaining to my official duties in Washington that it seemed impossible for me to be present. I was requested to write something which could be read at the banquet, and so I addressed to Judge Humphrey the following letter:

"Washington, D. C.,
"February 6, 1909.

"Hon. J. Otis Humphrey,
"President Lincoln Centennial Association,
"Springfield, Illinois.

"My dear Judge:

"It is a matter of sincere regret to me that I am unable to be present at your great anniversary celebration of the birth of the immortal Lincoln, and to welcome to my home city the Ambassadors of Great Britain and France and the distinguished guests who are to be with you.

"Abraham Lincoln, greatest of Americans, greatest of men, emancipator, martyr, his service to his country has not been equalled by any American citizen, not even by Washington. His name and life have been an inspiration to me from my earliest recollection.

"On this one hundredth anniversary of his birth, the people, without regard to creed, color, condition, or section, in all parts of this Union which he saved, are striving to do honor to his memory. No American has ever before received such deserved universal praise. Not only in his own country, but throughout the civilized world, Abraham Lincoln is regarded as one of the few, the very few, truly great men in history. His memory is as fresh to-day in the minds and hearts of the people as it was forty years ago, and the passing years only add to his fame and serve to give us a truer conception of his noble character. The events of his life, his words of wisdom, have been gathered together in countless volumes to be treasured up and handed down to generations yet to come.

"I knew him intimately in Springfield; I heard him utter his simple farewell to his friends and neighbors when he departed to assume a task greater than any President had been called upon to assume in our history; it was my sad duty to accompany his mortal remains from the capital of the Nation to the capital of Illinois; and as I gazed upon his face the last time, I thanked God it had been my privilege to know him as a friend; and I felt then, as I more fully realize now, that the good he had done would live through all the ages to bless the world.

"Springfield, his only real home, the scene of his great political triumph, was his fitting resting-place. In the midst of this great continent his dust shall rest a sacred treasure to myriads who shall pilgrim to his shrine to kindle anew their zeal and patriotism.

"Again expressing regret that I can not be with you to take part in honoring the memory of our greatest President, on the one hundredth anniversary of his birth, and feeling sure that the Springfield celebration will be the most notable of all, as it should be, I remain

"Sincerely yours,
"(Signed) S. M. Cullom."

Of all the notable celebrations held on the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Lincoln in every part of the United States, the Springfield observance was the most dignified and impressive; and it was determined that on Lincoln's birthday each year, under the auspices of the Lincoln Centennial Association, fitting memorial exercises should take place in Springfield, to which guests and speakers of national and international renown, from all parts of the United States, should be invited.

Springfield has a great public library, called the "Lincoln Library," toward which Andrew Carnegie very generously contributed seventy- five thousand dollars. I took considerable interest in the Springfield Library, and I did what I could to prevail upon Mr. Carnegie to make as generous a contribution as he would toward the project. I remember that I wrote him a letter on the subject.

It was at first proposed by the Springfield people to name the Library "The Lincoln-Carnegie Memorial Library"; but after Mr. Carnegie had made his contribution, through his secretary he informed the Rev. E. S. Walker, of Springfield, who carried on the correspondence with him, that he would consider it a desecration to have any name listed with that of Lincoln. "He trusts that the library will be known as the 'Lincoln Library,' not the 'Lincoln Memorial Library,' as Lincoln needs no memorial, being one of the dozen supremely great rulers of men the world has ever seen."

The Library was completed in 1904, and I was invited to deliver the dedicatory address, which invitation I was very glad to accept. It was an interesting occasion, held in the main room of the library building, which was crowded with the very best people of the city. I give a few extracts from the speech I delivered that evening:

"Mr. Chairman: It was a great pleasure to me to be invited by your library board to participate in these exercises attending the opening of this splendid library building.

"I can not resist on this occasion the inclination to say a few words in reference to Springfield and my early relations to it.

"Old historic Springfield! Here have taken place many of the most important events in the history of Illinois. Springfield has been the centre of the political struggles of both parties since it has been the capital of the State. Many of the great statesmen of Illinois have occupied seats in the legislative hall in Springfield. Here were mobilized during the Civil War the thousands of troops who went forth to do and die for the Union. Here the greatest General of the age received his first command. Here Lincoln and Douglas met, and from here Lincoln went forth to assume a task greater than any President has been called upon to undertake in all our history.

"Springfield is endeared to me by all the sacred memories of friendship, family, and home.

"I came here fifty years ago. In Springfield I received my legal education, was admitted to the Bar, and in your old courthouse here I practised my profession. In Springfield I married and reared my family, and here my children are laid in their final resting-place.

"Those early days of my residence here are among the happiest of my life. Official duties have necessitated my absence a great part of the time for the past twenty years, but my heart lingers with it, and the ties which made those early days so happy will never be broken so long as I shall live."

After giving a history of the library and referring to the generosity of Mr. Carnegie, I continued:

"This is a material age. Carnegie, the great captain of industry, is a typical representative of the leaders of this age. It is well worth our while to stop to consider why he should devote a part of his great wealth to the founding of public libraries.

"Andrew Carnegie was a poor boy, enjoying none of the advantages and opportunities which are afforded by a good library. He missed in his early life the opportunity for culture which is now obtained through the facilities supplied by libraries in the towns and cities. He knew that there was no other agency so valuable for the purpose of spreading culture among the people as the public library. No word so precisely describes the influence of good reading as does the word 'culture'. Emerson tells us that the word of ambition of the present day is 'culture.'

"Andrew Carnegie, the great leader of the industrial world, desiring to give to the young men and the young women of this day an opportunity for education, for culture, whose value to the young he realizes so well, has devoted the enormous fortune of over one hundred million dollars for the founding of public libraries. . . .

"There should be no pleasure like the pleasure derived from reading a good book. Emerson, expressing our debt to a book says: 'Let us not forget the genial, miraculous, we have known to proceed from a book. We go musing into the vaults of day and night; no constellation shines, no muse descends, the stars are white points, the roses brick-colored leaves; and frogs pipe, mice cheep, and wagons creak along the road. We return to the house and take up Plutarch or Augustine, and read a few sentences or pages, and lo, the air swims with life, secrets of magnanimity and grandeur invite us on every hand, life is made of them. Such is our debt to a book.'

"The founding of public libraries is the surest mark of advanced civilization. The origin of libraries is lost in the dim twilight of the early ages. When they commenced, how they commenced, we do not know; but we have authentic records that centuries before the Christian era the temples of those countries of the East where civilization had made the greatest advances, contained libraries of clay tablets, carefully shelved in regular order. Among the Greeks, private libraries existed at least four hundred years before the birth of Christ. The Roman Caesars returning from conquest to the development of the arts of peace, established libraries in the then great Capital of the World.

"But the United States is pre-eminently the home of the free public libraries, supported by taxation. This country has more free public libraries than any other country in the world.

"What a great thing it is for our people to have these advantages! The foundations of our Republic are being well laid. The family, the church, the school—and the library! A people who will adhere to the great principles of the sacredness of the family, the church, and the school, will not perish from the earth. Virtue and intelligence are the necessary foundations on which a republic must rest. Education is more necessary in a republic, where the people are the sovereigns, than it is in a monarchy, where the people are subjects. With education and the library comes culture. The family, the church, the school, and the library are all necessary to qualify the citizen for the great duties of life. . . .

"Mr. Carnegie has given us this building and has requested that it be named in honor of the great emancipator, Abraham Lincoln. Like a number of others who are in this room to-night, I knew Abraham Lincoln intimately and well. We are proud that this city was the home of Abraham Lincoln while living, and now that he has passed away, it is the home of his sacred dust. The words of Mr. Carnegie, that no name should be coupled with the name of Mr. Lincoln manifested the highest appreciation by him of the great name of Lincoln. He was a noble man. Only forty-three years ago, he was going in and out among us, interested in the local affairs of our city, doing his duty in the common affairs of our community, and at the same time grappling with the great questions pressing upon the attention of the people and touching the life of the Nation.

"My friends, in the language of Mr. Carnegie, Lincoln has been 'one of a dozen supremely great rulers of men that the world has seen.' He was one of a few men in the world's history whose great and noble life and deeds will be remembered forever. I rejoice that he lived among us and that he was loved by our people while he lived, and that his memory is fresh and green in our hearts.

"My friends, as we reflect upon the progress of our Nation in wealth and power and influence among the Nations of the world in the century just closed, our hearts swell with pride and thankfulness that we have been so favored. As a Nation we are now in the first rank of the nations of the earth.

"Let us do our part in maintaining our national supremacy. We can hold our place by standing by the right as a community, as a State, and as a Nation, adhering rigidly to the foundation principles of our Republican Government, cherishing liberty, and obeying law; upholding the sacredness of the family, the church, and the school; with school, the library will follow, and in the time to come our Nation will endure, and its people will cultivate from generation to generation, a better and higher civilization."