Footprints of Abraham Lincoln / Presenting many interesting facts, reminiscences and illustrations never before published

by J. T. Hobson

After prayer, Ex-Governor Folk, of Missouri, president of the Lincoln Farm Association, said, in part:

"Here, on this farm, one hundred years ago to-day, was born the strongest, strangest, gentlest character the republic has ever known. His work was destined to have a more far-reaching influence than any that went before him. Until recently this spot which should be hallowed by every American, was unnoticed and abandoned. Inspired by the idea that due regard for the apostle of human liberty who sprang from this soil demanded the preservation of his birthplace, a few patriotic men organized the Lincoln Farm Association, to purchase this property and to erect upon it a memorial to that simple, but sublime life that here came into the world. This association is purely patriotic in its purposes, and the movement has met with a ready response from every section of the nation. In revering the name of Lincoln, there is now no North or South, or East or West. There is but one heart in all, and that the heart of patriotic America. So the memorial to be erected here, by South as well as North, will not only be in memory of Lincoln, but it will be a testimony that the fires of hatred kindled by the fierce civil conflict of nearly half a century ago, are dead, and from the ashes has arisen the red rose of patriotism to a common country and loyalty to a common flag."

President Roosevelt, in behalf of the nation, said, in part:

"He lived in days that were great and terrible, when brother fought against brother for what each sincerely deemed to be the right. In a contest so grim the strong men who alone can carry it through are rarely able to do justice to the deep convictions of those with whom they grapple in mortal strife. At such times men see through a glass darkly; to only the rarest and loftiest spirits is vouchsafed that clear vision which gradually comes to all, even to the lesser, as the struggle fades into distance, and wounds are forgotten, and peace creeps back to the hearts that were hurt. But to Lincoln was given this supreme vision. He did not hate the man from whom he differed. Weakness was as foreign as wickedness to his strong, gentle nature; but his courage was of a quality so high that it needed no bolstering of dark passion. He saw clearly that the same high qualities, the same courage and willingness for self-sacrifice, and devotion to the right as it was given them to see the right, belonged both to the men of the North and to the men of the South. As the years roll by, and as all of us, wherever we dwell, grow to feel an equal pride in the valor and self-devotion alike of the men who wore the blue and the men who wore the gray, so this whole nation will grow to feel a peculiar sense of pride in the man whose blood was shed for the union of his people, and for the freedom of a race. The lover of his country and of all mankind; the mightiest of the mighty men who mastered the mighty days, Abraham Lincoln."

Governor Willson, in behalf of Kentucky, for her greatest son, said, in part:

"We have met here on this farm where he was born, in memory of Abraham Lincoln, to know for ourselves and to prove to the world, by a record made to endure, and deep graven on these acres, that the love of country and of its nobly useful citizens are not dreams, nor idle words, but indeed living, stirring, and breathing feelings. Abraham Lincoln is claimed by all humanity and all time as the type of the race best showing forth the best in all men in all conditions of life.

"Here are met to-day, with equal zeal to do him honor, soldiers of the war for and against the Union, heroes of the Union and the Confederacy, Americans all, no one less pledged than the other, not only by the bond of the covenant of our law, but alike by the dearest feelings of his heart and fervor of his blood, to our united country and its beautiful flag."

General James G. Wilson, of New York, who was in the Union Army, spoke fitting words in behalf of the Union, while General Luke E. Wright, who was in the Confederate Army, now Secretary of War, spoke fitting words in behalf of the Confederacy.

President Roosevelt laid the corner-stone of the Lincoln Museum, which is to be built of limestone and white marble. He spread white cement with a silver trowel where the stone was to set. The stone, weighing three thousand pounds, was placed in position with a derrick. A number of articles were deposited in a leaden box placed in the stone before it was set, among which was the life of Lincoln written by President Roosevelt and the speeches delivered on the occasion.