ive, I shall
be governed by their will on all subjects upon
which I have the means of knowing what their
will is; and upon all others I shall do what my
own judgment teaches me will best advance
their interests. Whether elected or not, I go
for distributing the proceeds of public lands
to the several States to enable our State, in
common with others, to dig canals and construct
railroads without borrowing and paying interest
on it.

"If alive on the first Monday in November, I
shall vote for Hugh L. White for President.

"Very respectfully,
"A. LINCOLN."

The earliest railroads in the United States had been built during the
five years just preceding this announcement, the first one of all, only
thirteen miles long, near Baltimore, in 1831. It is interesting to
observe the enthusiasm with which the young frontier politician caught
the progressive idea, and how quickly the minds of the people turned
from impossible river "improvements" to the grand possibilities of
railway transportation.

Many are the stories of the remarkable Sangamon campaign in 1836. Rowan
Herndon, Abe's fellow pilot and storekeeper, told the following:

WINNING VOTES, WIELDING THE "CRADLE" IN A WHEAT FIELD

"Abraham came to my house, near Island Grove, during harvest. There were
some thirty men in the field. He got his dinner and went out into the
field, where the men were at work. I gave him an introduction, and the
boys said that they could not vote for a man unless he could take a
hand.

"'Well, boys,' said he, 'if that is all, I am sure of your votes' He
took the 'cradle' and led all the way round with perfect ease. The boys
were satisfied, and I don't think he lost a vote in the crowd.

"The next day there was speaking at Berlin. He went from my house with
Dr. Barnett, who had asked me who this man Lincoln was. I told him that
he was a candidate for the Legislature. He laughed and said:

"'Can't the party raise any better material than that?'

"I said, 'Go to-morrow and hear him before you pronounce judgment.'

"When he came back I said, 'Doctor, what do you say now?'

"'Why, sir,' said he, 'he is a perfect "take-in." He knows more than
all of them put together.'"

TALKED TO A WOMAN WHILE HIS RIVAL MILKED

Young Lincoln happened to call to speak to a leading farm