LN

THE WRITER'S SPEECH AT THE LINCOLN CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, 1909
--PATRIOTIC CHARACTER OF THE MEETING--LEADING HISTORICAL EVENTS
BETWEEN 1809 AND 1909--BIRTH OF LINCOLN--TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION OF
ILLINOIS--BIRTH OF DARWIN AND GLADSTONE--CAREER OF NAPOLEON--WAR
OF 1812--THE SLAVERY QUESTION--SEIZURE AND SURRENDER OF MASON
AND SLIDELL--EMANCIPATION OF SLAVES.

February 12, 1909, will long be remembered as the day of the
celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Abraham
Lincoln. For on that day was the culmination of a celebration
which, in various parts of the country, had begun at least a
week before. Rarely has there been an occasion of so much decoration,
so many addresses, or so much patriotism. The largest celebration
occurred in New York City, but that of Chicago, if not so large,
was at least as interesting and impressive, for in it and surrounding
parts of Illinois some of the most memorable events in the life of
Lincoln took place. Yet these manifestations were not a whit more
patriotic than those of many small towns and villages.

Every hamlet, every town, and every city of the United States seemed
to be imbued with a desire to do honor to the memory of the man
Lincoln. Every newspaper and every magazine of whatever name or
order was filled with pictures, anecdotes, and sketches of the life
of "Honest Abe." Books galore were published emphasizing every
phase of his life, character, work, and influence; and they sold
well.

My contribution to this occasion was the following speech delivered
at Bloomington, Illinois, February 12:

"We have assembled to commemorate one of the epoch-making events
in history. In the humblest of homes in the wilds of a new and
sparsely settled State, Abraham Lincoln was born one hundred years
ago, this day.

"The twelfth day of February, like the twenty-second day of the
same month, is one of the sacred days in the American calendar.
It is well that this day be set apart from ordinary uses, the
headlong rush in the crowded mart suspended, the voice of fierce
contention in legislative halls be hushed, and that the American
people--whether at home, in foreign lands, or upon the deep--honor
themselves by honoring the memory of the man of whose birth this
day is the first centennial.

"This coming together is no idle ceremony, no unmeaning observance.
To this man, more than to any other, are we indebted for the supreme
fact that ninety millions of peo