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About Corvallis gazette. (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909 | View Entire Issue (March 12, 1907)
incoln's Love Affairs By Ward Hill Lamon, t Lincoln' Friend .nd Bodyguvd CHAPTER IX. Famous Lovejoy Incident at Alton and Lincoln's Attitude. fN 1835-30 Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy had been publishing a moderately antislavery paper at St Louis; but the people of that city did not look with favor upon his enter , prise, and, after meeting with consid erable opposition, in the summer of 1S3C be moved his types and pres3 across the river to Alton, 111. Here he found an opposition more violent than that from which he had fled. His i press was thrown into the river the night after its arrival, and he was in formed that no abolition paper would .be allowed In the town. The better class of citizens, however, deprecated the outrage and pledged themselves to reimburse Mr. Lovejoy In case he would agree not to make his paper an abolition journal. Mr. Lovejoy assured them It was not his purpose to estab lish such a paper in Alton, but one of ft religious character. At the same time he would not give up his right as an American citizen to publish what ever he pleased on any subject, holding himself answerable to the laws of his country lu so doing. With this general understanding, he was permitted to go forward. He continued about a year, discussing In his paper the slavery - qvysstion occasionally, not, however, in a violent manner, but with a tone of moderation. This policy, however, was not satisfactory. It was regarded as a violation of his pledge, and the con tents of his office were again destroyed. Sir. Lovejoy issued an appeal for aid to re-establish his paper, which met with a prompt and generous response. Ho proposed to bring up another press and announced that armed men would protect it. Meantime a committee pre sented him with some resolutions adopted at a large meeting of the citi zens of Alton reminding him that he had previously given a pledge that in his paper he would refrain from advo cating abolitionism and also censuring fciin for not having kept his promise end desiring to know if he intended to continue the publication of such doc trines In the future. His response con sisted of a denial of the right of any portion of the people of Alton to pre scribe what questions he should or should not discuss in his paper. Great excitement followed. Another press was brought up on the 21st of Septem ber, which shortly after followed the fate of its predecessor. Another ar rived Nov. 7, 1837, and was conveyed to a stone warehouse by the riverside, 'where Mr. Lovejoy and a few friends (some of them not abolitionists) re solved to defend it to the last. That night they were attacked. First there was a brief parley, then a volley of stones, then nn attempt to carry the building by assault. At this juncture a shot was fired out of a second story window, which killed a young man in the crowd. It was said to have been fired by Lovejoy, and as the corpse was borne away the wrath of the pop ulace knew no bounds. It was pro posed to get powder from the maga zine and blow the warehouse up. Oth ers thought the torch would be a better agent, and finally a man ran up a lad der to fire the roof. Lovejoy came out of the door and, firing one shot, re treated within, where he rallied the garrison for a sortie. In the meantime many shots were fired both by the as sailants and the assailed. The house was once actually set on fire by one person from the mob and saved by an other. But the courage of Mr. Love Joy's friends was gradually sinking, and they responded but faintly to his strong appeals for action. As a last resource he rushed to the door with a single companion, gun in hand, and was shot dead on the threshold. The other man was wounded in the leg. The warehouse was In flames. The mob grew niore ferocious over the blood that had been shed and riddled the doors and windows with volleys from all sorts of firearms. The aboli tionists had fought a good fight; but, seeing now nothing but death before them in that dismal, bloody and burn ing house, they escaped down the river bank by twos and threes as best they could, and their press was tumbled after them Into the river. And thus ended the first attempt to establish an abolition paper in Illinois. The result was certainly anything but encourag ing and Indicated pretty clearly what must have been the general state of public feeling throughout the state In regard to slavery agitation. Protest Against Abolition. In fact, no state, was more alive to the necessity of repressing the aboli tionists than Illinois, and accordingly It was proposed in the legislature to take some action similar to that which bad been already taken or was actually pending in the legislatures of sister commonwealths, from Massachusetts through the list. A, number of resolu tions were reported and passed with no serious opposition. The record does not disclose the precise form In which they passed, but that Is of little conse quence now. That they were extreme enough may be gathered from the con siderate language of the protest and from the fct that such a protest waa considered necessary at a". The jn tyst- was radcratpdlyttaak And His Early Experiences a.s a. La.wma.ker sould get but one man his colleague, Dan Stone to sign with him. March 3. 1837. The following protest was presented to the house, which was read and ordered to be spread on the journals, to wit: Resolutions upon the subject of domes tic slavery having passed both branches of the general assembly at its present cession, the undersigned hereby protest against the passage of the same. They believe that the institution of slavery is founded on both injustice and tad policy, but that the promulgation of abolition doctrines tends rather to in crease than abate its evils. They believe that the congress of the United States has no power under the constitution to interfere with the insti tution of slavery in the different states. They believe that the congress of the United States has the power under the constitution to abolish slavery In the Dis trict of Columbia, but that the power ought not to be exercised unless at the request of the people of the District. ' The difference between these opinions and those contained in the said resolu tions is their reason for entering this pro test. (Signed) DAN STONE, A. LINCOLN, Representatives from the County of San gamon. Mr. Lincoln says nothing here about slavery in the territories. The Mis souri compromise being in full force and regarded as sacred by all parties, it was one of Its chief effects that both sections were deprived of any pretext for the agitation of that question, from which every statesman. Federalist or Republican, Whig or Democratic, ap prehended certain disaster to the Un ion. Neither would Mr. Lincoln suffer himself to be classed with the few de spised Quakers. Covenanters and Puri tans who were so frequently disturb ing the peace of the country by aboli tion memorials to congress and other public bodies. Slavery, says the pro test, Is wrong in principle, besides be ing bad in economy, but "the promul gation of abolition doctrines" Is still worse. In the states which choose to have It It enjoys a constitutional immu nity beyond the reach of any "higher law," and congress must not touch it otherwise than to shield and protect it. Even In the District of Columbia Mr. Lincoln and Dan Stone would leave It entirely to the will of the people. In fact, the whole. paper, plain and sim ple as it is, seems to have been drawn with no object but to avoid the impu tation of extreme views on either side. And from that day to the day of his inauguration Mr. Lincoln never saw the time when he would have altered a word of it. He never sided with the Lovejoys. In his eyes their work tended "rather to increase than to abate" the evils of slavery and was therefore unjust as well as futile. Years afterward he was the steady though quiet opponent of Owen Love joy and declared that Lovejoy's nomi nation for congress over Leonard Swett "almost turned him blind." When. In I860, the Democrats called Mr. Lincoln an abolitionist and cited the protest of 1837 to support the charge friends pointed to the exact language of the document as his com plete and overwhelming refutation. The suspension of specie payments in 1837 and the general financial panic were felt heavily In Illinois. For the next two sessions of the legislature the chief problem was the saving of the state's credit by the payment of the interest on its debt, which had be come very large because of the general desire for internal improvements and the liberal appropriations made there for. Mr. Lincoln as a legislator took an active part in the efforts toward this end. Two special sessions of the legislature were called to devise plans for meeting the emergency. Mr. Lincoln was his party's candi date for speaker In 1S3S, but was de feated. He retained his old place on the finance committee and, being the leader of his party, submitted a bill which he Intended as an expedient for paying the interest on the state debt. It failed of passage, being considered a very poor expedient, though appar ently the best that could be offered at the moment to avoid the unpopular re sort to direct taxation. Temporary expedients were finally adopted, and the state managed to get along without repudiating its obliga tions, a course which was boldly advo cated by a considerable number. Upon one occasion during the session of 1840-41 Mr. Lincoln and two col leagues Jumped from a window of the church in which the legislature was sitting In order to reduce the attend ance below a quorum and defeat a pet measure of the Democrats. Mr. Gilles pie, a fellow member, states that "Mr. Lincoln always regretted that he en tered Into that arrangement, as he deprecated everything that savored of the revolutionary." Mr. Lincoln was elected In 1840 to serve, of course, until the next election In August. 1842, but for reasons of a private nature, to be explained here after, be did not appear daring the Vesslon of 1841-42. Lincoln Never Drank. In concluding this chapter, taking leave of New Salem, Vandalia and the legislature, we cannot forbear another ' quotation from Mr. Wilson, Lincoln's ' colleague from Sangamon: "In 1838 many of the Long' Ktnea were candidates -for re-eleettea te the or ttie t-ormtr-Vas" Sa Of "the local Is sues. Mr. Lincoln and myself, among others, residing in the portion of the county sought to be organized Into a new county and opposing the division, it became ; necessary that ' I should aake a special canvass through the northwest part of the county, then known as Sand Ridge. I made the canvass. Mr. Lincoln accompanied me, end. being personally well acquainted with every one. we called at nearly' every house. At that time It was the universal custom to keep some whisky in the house for private use and to treat friends. The subject was always cautioned as a matter of etiquette, but with the remark to Mr. Lincoln. Tou tiB'-o- drink, but maybe your friend would like to take a little.' I never saw Mr. Lincoln drink. He of tan told me he never drank; had" no desire for I urink or tee companions nip or unnk- j ing men. Candidates never treated ! anybody in those times unless they ! wanted to do so. "Mr. Lincoln remained in New Salem I until the spring of 1837. when he went to Springfield and went into the law office of John T. Stuart as a partner In j the practice of law and boarded with William Butler. "During his stay in New Salem ha had no property other than what wr.s i-necessary to do his business until after he stopped In Springfield. He was not avaricious to aceuinulnte property, nei ther was be n spendthrift. He was al most always during those times hard up. He never owned land. "The first trip he made around the circuit after he commenced the prac tice of law I had a horse, saddle and bridle, and he had none. I let him have mine. I think he must have been careless, as the saddle skinned the horse's back. "While he lived in New Salem he visited me often. He would stay a day or two at a time. We generally spent the time at the stores in Athens. He was very fond of company. Tell ing or hearing stories told was a source of great amusement to him. He was not in the habit of reading much nev er read novels. Whittling pine boards and shingles, talking and laughing, constituted the entertainment of the days and evenings. "In a conversation with him about that time he told me that, although he WHITTLING FINE BOARDS AND SHINGLES, LAUGHING AND TALKING. appeared to enjoy life rapturously, still he was the victim of terrible melan choly. He sought company and In dulged In fun and hilarity without re straint or stint as to time, but when by himself he told me that he was so over come by mental depression that he never dared carry a knife in his pock et, and as long as I was Intimately acquainted with him, previous to bis commencement of the practice of the law, he never carried a pocket knife. Still, he was not misanthropic. He wa3 kind and tender hearted in his treatment to others. "In the summer of 1S37 the citizens of Athens and vicinity gave the dele gation then called the 'Long Nine' a public dinner, at which Mr. Lincoln and all the others were present. He was called out by the toast, 'Abraham Lincoln, One of Nature's Noblemen. I have often thought that if any man was entitled to that compliment it was he." CHAPTER X Lincoln Removes to Springfield to Prac tice Law. UNDEH the act of assembly, due In great part to Mr. Lincoln's exertions, the removal of the archives and other public property of the state from Vandalia to Springfield began on the 4th day of July, 1839, and was speedily completed. At the time of the passage of the act, in the winter of 1836-37, Mr. Lincoln determined to follow" the capital and establish his own residence at Spring field. The resolution was natural and necessary, for be bad been studying law in all bis Intervals of leisure and wanted a wider field than the Justice's court at New Salem to begin the prac tice. Henceforth Mr. Lincoln might serve In the legislature, attend to bis private business and live snugly at home. In addition to the state courts, the circuit and district courts of the United States sat here. The eminent John McLean of Ohio was the Justice of the supreme court who sat in this circuit with Judge Pope of the district court from 1838 to 1849 sad after that with Judge Drnmmond. The first terms at these eourts sad tbe first ses sion f the taglgaUwy t SpgaaSeld SerrrTt.- rr one turvli and me bouse In another. Mr. Lincoln got bis license as an at torney early In 1837 "and commenced practice regularly as a lawyer in the town of Springfield in March" of that year. His first case was that of Haw thorne versus Wooldridge. dismissed at the cost of the plaintiff, for whom Mr. Lincoln's name was entered. There were then on the list of attorneys et the Springfield bar many names of sub sequent renown. Judge Stephen T. Logan was on the bench of the circuit court under the act of 1835. Stephen A. Douglas had made his appearance as the public prosecutor at the March term of 1S36, and at the same term E. D. Baker had bees admitted to prac tice. Among the rest were John T. Stuiert. Cyrus Walker, S. H. Treat, Jesse B. Thomas, George Forquer, Dan Btone, Ninian W. Edwards, John J. Hardin, Schuyler Strong, A. T. Bled soe and Josiah Lamborn. By this time Mr. Lincoln' enjoyed i considerable local fame as a politician, but none, of cours is a lawyer. He therefore needed a partner and gut one in the person of John T. Stuart, an able and distinguished Whig, who had j relieved his poverty years before by i the timely loan of books with which to study law and who had from the first promoted his political fortunes with zeal as disinterested as it was ef fective. The connection promised well for Mr. Lincoln and uo doubt did well during the short period of its existence. The courtroom was in Hoffman's row. and the office of Stuart & Lincoln was In the second story above the court room. It was a "little room" and gen erally a "dirty one." It contained "a small, dirty bed." on which Lincoln lounged and slept, a buffalo robe, a chair and a bench. Here the junior partner, when disengaged from the cares of politics and the legislature, was to be found pretty much all the time. 'Yeadlng, abstracted and gloomy." Springfield was a small village, con taining between one and two thousand inhabitants. There were no pave ments. The street crossings were made of "chunks." stones and sticks. Lincoln boarded with Hon. William Butler, a gentleman who possessed in an eminent degree that mysterious power which guides the deliberations of party conventions and legislative bodies to a foregone conclusion. Lin coln was very poor, worth nothing and in debt, circumstances which are not often alleged in behalf of the modern legislator, but Bill Butler was his friend and took him in with little ref erence to board bills and the settle ment of accounts. According to Dr. Jayne, he "fed and clothed him for years," and this signal service, render ed at a very critical time. Mr. Lincoln forgot wholly when he was in con gress and Butler wanted to be register of the land office as well as when he was president of the United States and opportunities of repayment were mul titudinous. -It is doubtless all true, but the Inference of personal Ingratitude on the part of Mr. Lincoln will not bear examination. It will be shown at another place that Mr. Lincoln regard ed all public offices within bis gift as a sacred trust to be administered solely for the people and as in no sense a fund upon which he could draw for the payment of private accounts. He nev er preferred his friends to his enemies, but rather the reverse, as if fearful that he might by bare possibility be influenced by some unworthy motive. He was singularly cautious to avoid the imputation of fidelity to his friends at the expense, of Jtiis jODDoner.ts. r. li.o Oe .UOuUiju...; ' m"e Bentifal" Ancona. For some unexplained reason the Ancona (with the exceptions of the White Faced Black Spanish and the Blue Andalusian) is the least popular of the family of fowls known as the Mediterraneans. There has been a good deal of discussion as to the origin of the Ancona, but it is generally con ceded now that the best of the breed have been made by crosses between White Minorcas and Black Leghorns, ANCONA COCK AND HEN. - although most breeders have reversed this, crossing the BlaS; Minorca with the White Leghorn. By the latter plan it is certain that better established blood lines and breed characteristics are obtained. The Ancona is a mot tled fowl of larger size than the Leg born. It is a veritable egg machine and should be more popular than it is. In the early days of the breed the col oring was anything but uniform, but now this fowl has been line bred to such an extent that its feather char acteristics are as well defined as those of many breeds which are much older. A Good Dry Mash. The following ration is a very satis factory dry mash: Twenty pounds wheat bran and ten pounds each corn meal, middlings, gluten meal, linseed meal and beef scrap, the whole thor oughly mixed. Keep this before the birds all the time in a food hopper. Also give one or two feeds- a day of corn, wheat and oats, equal ports, fed in deep Utter. Give vesetabte food aad The more keenly dairymen realize what distinguishes the dairy form from the beef form the sooner will thej learn the importance of having an ani mal in harmony with the function de manded of it Too many men think that. the fat animal is the most profita ble as a milk producer, and if bones GEAY PRINCE OF ST. SAVIOB. The dairy form. are prominent the animal lacks consti tution, stability and vigor. Nothing could be more absurd, says Hoard's Dairyman. To illustrate: Does the grey hound lack constitution as a runner? Yet he is thin. The bulldog is square and blocky, has constitution as a fight er, but can he run as fast or has he the endurance to go as far as the grey hound? The functions of these two animals are entirely different, and therefore the body takes on a different form. Both have constitution and a form to HEREFORD BULL. The beef form. perform their respective functions. One is a fighter and the other a run ner. No matter what class of animals we may study, we find the form in harmony with its function if man will only give it a chance to so arrange it self. The illustrations show the difference between the dairy and the beef form. Right Kind of Cows. Many breeders of dairy cattle have not fully grasped the height and the depth and breadth of their profession. There are too many who think it is' simply the reproduction of pedigreed live stock. It is more than that. It is the bringing together in one animal the capable milk producer and the mother annually of a strong vigorous calf. Mr. Scribner, a very successful breeder, says: "In my estimation a profitable cow is one that can produce year after year a maximum yield of butter at a cost that represents a good profit to the owner. She must also pro duce one healthy calf each year. This ought to be one of the requisites of the sire which is to head the herd. See to it that he is from a productive strain of regular breeders. He will intensify his weak points sfe well as reproduce his good qualities in breeding. He ought to be as nearly perfect In dairy conformation and dairy makeup as pos sible. With all the care we may exer cise in the mating of our animals some faulty ones are sure to develop. We must figure on that. If we have look ed well to this end, to see that the sire Is right and that the dams we are to use for foundation are right, we have gone a long way toward developing the profitable cow." Good Help Important. A good dairy cow deserves good care. This can be secured In two ways, by tending the herd yourself or by having the right kind of a man, says Kimball's Dairy Farmer. If you are unable to give your herd personal su pervision you ought to have employees in whom you can place absolute confi dence. Every one who has anything te do with the cows should be even tem pered, gentle and cleanly. Tobacco in all its forms is obnoxious in every de partment of dairying. The work about the stables, with the herd and In the milk room must be done wift utmost regularity and system. If foul odors or undesirable flavors get Into the milk they get there from one or two sources the cow's feed or the atmosphere in which the products are kept before they are delivered. If the blame Is due to the cow's feed a good herdsman will correct it. If the fault Ues with the personal habits of the employe it Je year piece to correct it by dtoefcargJe SMALL WHITE BEANS. ft. Sheep Putare Generally Makes a Good Bean Kield. In the culture of small white beans elect a warm, dry soil of strong grav elly nature, although they will do quite well on clayey eoils if naturally dry or well drained. Beans will not do well on land Inclined to be wet. The imme diate application of barnyard manure Is not as good as to apply the manure to clover or other sod and plant cora and follow the next year with beans. A field that, has been in sheep pasture a few years generally does well for beans: In soils of n gravelly nature plow early in the spring and fallow as much -as possible bei'ore planting. On clayey or heavy soils it is better to plow in the fall and work well in the spring. The spring fallowing gets the ground in fine condition to receive the seed and also destroys Innumerable weed seeds. Plant with an ordinary grain drill In rows twenty-eight inches apart from June 1 to 15. As soon as the plants are large enough to culti vate. Which ought to be in from ten to fourteen days, go through with a rid ing cultivator, which is better than a walking cultivator, as the depth can be more easily regulated. The first culti vation should be light so as to g?t Ins close to the growing plants as possible without smothering them. If the field Is not too stony go over two or thre times with a weeder at Intervals of three or four days. One or two moi-e cultivations with cultivator and hand weeding if necessary is nil the atten tion that the crop will need until har vest, says a writer in Rural New York er. It is best not to work In beans when the vines are wet or to cultivate after the plants begin to blossom. POPULAR FEED RACK. It Prevents Waste of Corn Fodder. Ensilag-e or Meal. The illustration of a fodder rack here shown is one invented by the editor of the Agriculturist and used by him for many years. The rack is such a good one that hundreds of farmers copied the idea, and they came into quite gen eral use on cattle farms. There is ab solutely no waste of feed in using this rack, and anything can beefed in it, from corn fodder to ensilage and meal, says the Wisconsin Agriculturist. The rack has a tight bottom, into which all litter falls as cattle pull out VEED RACE. the hay or other fodder from between the slats. It is twelve feet long and five feet wide. Three or four such racks in a yard will hold a load of hay or corn fodder. It is the best rack in which to feed corn fodder we ever saw. Cattle will pull out every leaf and husk, leaving the bare stalks in the bottom, which may be removed as de sired. The posts are 4 by 4, six feet long. On top of the posts a 2 by 4 Is spiked, upon which the slats that hold the fod der rest. These slats are four inches wide and placed far enough apart to admit the nose of a cow about six inches. The bottom is made of common six inch boards. If meal is fed in the rack matched flooring is better for the bottom. A six inch board is nailed on around the outside of the bottom to hold the feed. Where young cattle, cows or steers run loose there is no better way of feeding them. We have fed a good many steers in this rack. They were dehorned and ran loose iu a she. The rack was kept full of clover hay and ensilage, and meal was fed twice daily in the tight bottom. Money For Pastnre Brcssh. The witch hazel industry in western Massachusetts is of considerable im portance, although not so extensive as to neighboring sections of Connecticut The brush land in Berkshire county yields quite a crop of the hazel bush, for which the farmers are taid $2 to $3 per ton. The factory near Chester turn ed out 990 barrels of extract last year. This year the factories are also using a lot of black birch brush, instilling a substitute for oil of wintergreen, and farmers are paid for the birch brush $3.50 per ton, one factory using already over 1,500 tons. The resulting oil sells at $2 a pound and is used for flavoring and in medicines. Still another prepa ration is made from sweet fern, which is very abundant In western Massachu setts as well as through other parts of New England. The sweet fern oil is used for the same purpose as the witch hazel. American Cultivator. Growl nir Canllnovrer. The cauliflower is a plant which can not stand stagnant water, but needs plen ty of moisture to keep growing. I use grass or sod land except when using a piece of old ground for second crop and which has not been used the previous year for cabbage, turnip or cauliflower. For the main crop I always use sod land. I rotate every five years. For fertilizers I use stable manure, prefer- . ring the horse manure on low land and cow manure on high land. W. H. T Massachusetts. The Golden Eg-ST. A Maine man claims that twenty-five hens will pay $31 a year besides their board if you buy everything they eat At present prises eggs certainly look like a bonanza. n I