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

by J. T. Hobson

In connection with the depository of articles, an aged negro, Isaac T. Montgomery, of Mississippi, said to have been at one time a slave of Jefferson Davis, President of the Southern Confederacy, was assigned the appropriate honor of depositing in the box a copy of President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. In doing this he made a brief speech, in which he referred to himself "as one of the former millions of slaves to whom Lincoln gave freedom, and the representative of 10,000,000 grateful negro citizens."

The cabin in which it is alleged Abraham Lincoln was born will be kept in the memorial building. It is expected that the building will be dedicated in April, by William H. Taft, who will be inaugurated President of the United States, March 4, 1909.

The spot where Abraham Lincoln was born will, for coming ages, be the most sacred shrine in all this great country, whose government he died to save.

At Lincoln City, Spencer County, Indiana, where the Lincolns lived fourteen years after moving from Kentucky, and before moving to Illinois, and where Abraham's mother lies buried, exercises were held. The school children of Evansville, Indiana, raised money to purchase a flag, and the school children of Indianapolis sent a wreath of flowers, both of which were placed on Mrs. Lincoln's grave. A procession of one hundred school children of Lincoln City, headed by Principal Curtis Cox and the other teachers, marched to the grave, where the exercises were held.

At Springfield, Illinois, Lincoln's old home, and where his body rests in the great monument erected to his memory, imposing exercises were held in various places well worthy of the man. Mr. Lincoln was instrumental in having the State capital moved from Vandalia to Springfield. Ambassador Jusserand of France, Senator Dolliver of Iowa, Ambassador Bryce of England, and William J. Bryan were among the distinguished visitors, and who delivered addresses. A most impressive feature of the occasion was the scene at Lincoln's tomb, when Robert T. Lincoln, son of the martyred President, stood beside the sarcophagus in which the body of his great father rests. Here his mother, brothers, and a son named Abraham Lincoln are also entombed. He stood in silent meditation with tear-dimmed eyes, with Ambassadors Jusserand, Bryce, Senator Dolliver, W. J. Bryan, and many other distinguished persons gathered about. In his speech, Ambassador Bryce said, in part:

"Of the personal impression he made on those who knew him, you will hear from some of the few yet living who can recollect him. All I can contribute is a reminiscence of what reached us in England. I was an undergraduate student in the University of Oxford when the Civil War broke out. Well do I remember the surprise when the Republican National Convention nominated him as a candidate for the presidency, for it had been expected that the choice would fall upon William H. Seward. I recollect how it slowly dawned upon Europeans in 1862 and 1863 that the President could be no ordinary man, because he never seemed cast down by the reverses which befell his arms, because he never let himself be hurried into premature action, nor feared to take so bold a step as the Emancipation Proclamation was when he saw that the time had arrived. And, above all, I remember the shock of awe and grief which thrilled all Britain when the news came that he had perished by the bullet of an assassin....

"To you, men of Illinois, Lincoln is the most famous and worthy of all those who have adorned your commonwealth. To you, citizens of the United States, he is the President who carried you through a terrible conflict and saved the Union. To us in England he is one of the heroes of the race whence you and we sprung. We honor his memory as you do; and it is fitting that one who is privileged here to represent the land from which his forefathers came should bring on behalf of England a tribute of admiration for him and of thankfulness to the Providence which gave him to you in your hour of need.

"Great men are the noblest possession of a nation, and are potent forces in the molding of national character. Their influence lives after them, and if they be good as well as great, they remain as beacons lighting the course of all who follow them. They set for succeeding generations the standards of public life. They stir the spirit and rouse the energy of the youth who seek to emulate their virtues in the service of the country."

At Washington City all Government and leading business houses were closed. The Senate adjourned until Monday, but in the House, Lincoln's famous Gettysburg speech was read by Representative Boutell, of Illinois. Appropriate exercises were held at Howard University, where a large negro student body witnessed the unveiling of a large painting of the "Underground Railroad." Secretary of the Interior Garfield and other speakers were on the program.

In Boston, the city sometimes called the literary "hub of the universe," Senator Lodge gave an address on the life and work of Mr. Lincoln before the Massachusetts Legislature. At a meeting held in the evening in Symphony Hall, John D. Long, former Secretary of the Navy, gave an address, and Julia Ward Howe, author of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," read a poem she had written for the occasion, depicting Lincoln's rise from obscurity to the leader of the nation.