the Hon. J. D. Caton, formerly Chief Justice, who presented a Memorial which was spread upon your records and which appears in the thirty-seventh of Illinois.

Lincoln as a man, I repeat, was all-comprehensive in his appeal. As between man and man he stood for equality of rights. He knew no church, he knew no faction, he knew no section-no North, no South, no East, no West. He knew only the Union. He had no racial antipathies. His life was given to the working out of justice so far as he knew it, and we can only marvel that he knew it so well. It is, therefore, especially appropriate that this Court should take fitting recognition of his life.

Lincoln, perhaps as no other man, made his appeal to the people as a whole. He is, in fact, the prototype of American citizenship-the ideal of the nation realized. It has been said that he is "the first American," and truly so, for in him for the first time were embodied the ideals which we all believe should go to make up American manhood, and to him we look for inspiration for the upbuilding of that manhood and the inculcation of those ideals in the citizenship of the future.

What better tribute could be paid to Lincoln and the spirit that guided and directed his private life and professional and public career, than to spread upon the records of this Court that immortal definition which he gave at Alton of the eternal issue in life's struggle and to recognize the truth that he ever chose the right? He there said:

"That is the real issue. That is the issue that will continue in this country when these poor tongues of Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the eternal struggle between these principles-right and wrong throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time and will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity, and the other the 'divine right of kings.' It is the same principle in whatever shape it develops itself."

Let these words stand as our tribute to the life of this man, -citizen of Illinois, lawyer of this bar, greatest son of the State and Nation, the apotheosis of American manhood.

LINCOLN'S PREPARATION FOR THE PRESIDENCY

IN

JUSTICE HAND

'N the public mind the fame of Lincoln has in the past rested, and will in the future largely rest, upon his conduct of the War of the Rebellion, the liberation of the black men from bondage, and the preservation of the union of the States; and by reason of the great height to which, as a patriot and statesman, he attained, the fact that he was a great lawyer when elected President has been largely overlooked; and the further fact that the training and development which enabled him to meet and solve the great questions which confronted him during the years that intervened between the firing upon Fort Sumter and the surrender at Richmond had been acquired while he was practising law in the courts of Illinois has generally been lost sight of by the people. Some of his biographers, even, have passed over, with but little note, the great work of preparation in which he was engaged in his law office and in the courts where he practised from 1837 to 1860. I quote from one of his biographers, who says, "He had had no experience in diplomacy and statesmanship. As an attorney he had dealt only with local and State statutes. He had never argued a case in the Supreme Court and he had never studied international law." And we often hear it said by his eulogists, that without training in statecraft or in the law, he was called from his humble surroundings by his fellowcountrymen to assume responsibilities which well might have deterred the wisest, the most experienced, and the bravest man who had ever been called to rule over the destinies of men or of nations. It has been said that, in some mysterious way, without any previous preparation either by study or experience, within a few weeks at most within a few months after his election as President he developed into the foremost man in modern

history. That view of the life of Lincoln is based upon a total misapprehension of his history. Lincoln, at the time he took the oath of office as President of the United States, was a great lawyer and a statesman of broad views, and while in all his undertakings for the preservation of the Union he recognized an all-wise overruling Providence, he was thoroughly trained, prepared, and amply qualified by a long course of study and by much reflection to perform the great work to which he had been called, and which preparation and reflection gave him, throughout his turbulent administration, the forbearance and wisdom which were necessary to enable him to accomplish with a brave and steadfast purpose the great undertaking to which he had consecrated his life.

It must not be supposed, however, that Lincoln reached the high position which he occupied, at once or without the most persistent and painstaking labor, which extended over many years of his eventful life. He came from good New England stock. He was licensed as an attorney, September 9, 1836, enrolled March 1, 1837, and commenced practice April 21, 1837. Prior to that time he had been a farmhand, a river boatman, a soldier in the Black Hawk War, a Deputy County Surveyor, a Postmaster, and a member of the State Legislature, and while he then had but little knowledge of books, he knew well the motives which control the actions of men.

During his professional career Lincoln had three law partners-Major John T. Stuart, Judge Stephen T. Logan, and William H. Herndon. When he entered upon the practice of the law the country was new and the people were poor. The Courts were held in log houses. There were few law books to be had and the litigation involved but little in amount -the civil cases being mainly actions of assumpit based upon promissory notes and accounts, and actions of tort for the recovery of damages for assaults, slanders, etc., and the criminal cases generally involving some form of personal violence -and most of the lawyers of that day divided their time between the law and politics.

When Lincoln, in the Spring of 1837, came to Springfield to commence his professional career he rode a borrowed horse

Executive Department.

Springfield.

February 5, 1909.

The celebrations which throughout the country are to mark the One Hundredth Anniversary of the birth of Lincoln are an expression of the esteem and affection in which his name and character are universally held by the American people.

In this memorial occasion, the people of Illinois have a special and peculiar interest. Here Lincoln passed his mature years and here he began that marvelous public career which has earned the admiration of his countrymen and the world.

It is gratifying, therefore, to witness the extensive preparations which are being made by the citizens of Illinois to observe this great day in a manner worthy of its significance in the history of our State and country and of the movement for liberty throughout the world. And I urge the citizens of Illinois to participate in these celebrations in their various communities. In Lincoln's life every citizen may find an incentive to patriotism and the earnestness with which we join in this tribute to his memory will attest the measure of our devotion to the great principles of liberty and nationality with which his name will be forever associated.

1.1. Koneen

Governor.

Facsimile of Governor Deneen's Proclamation