P. Miller for his father's views on that subject, he replied by sending him a copy of that address. At the time when that address was delivered, Mr. Lincoln had just passed his thirty-third birthday and was near the close of his eighth and last year as a member of the Illinois legislature. He was at the beginning of his high political aspirations, yet in no part of that speech is there the least disclosure of timidity or of that caution which frequently is manifest in discussion of the great reform questions by ambitious politicians. His arraignment of the liquor traffic, while dominated by a spirit of charity, is as vigorous, and his demands for the support of all good citizens in temperance reform as unequivocal and imperative as those of the most advanced advocate of today. Every note throughout the address rings clear and true, and every argument and appeal is fully up to date, although the address was delivered nearly three-quarters of a century ago, and early in the history of our first great nation-wide temperance movement. Although delivered at the celebration of the birthday of George Washington, Mr. Lincoln's famous temperance lecture was not produced by that occasion. It was the product of many years of deep meditation and of a large experience in efforts to promote sobriety by inducing people to sign a temperance pledge. It stands out as a conspicuous and significant landmark along the way by which he reached his great distinction. It was given at the high-noon of his life, and will forever remain a revelation of what he had attained and a prophecy of what he was to become. Every glimpse we have of his attitude to the cause of temperance in the years that followed is in harmony with that address. During the summer of 1847 a temperance meeting was held by Mr. Lincoln at the SOUTH FORKS SCHOOLHOUSE in Sangamon County, Illinois, about sixteen miles from Springfield. He had been invited to conduct that meeting by Preston Breckenridge, one of the prominent farmers of that vicinity. The meeting was held in a grove near the schoolhouse, which had recently been erected, and was attended by the country people, who remained standing during the exercises, or found seats upon logs, stumps and branches of trees fallen to secure material from which to erect the new schoolhouse. Mr. Lincoln was A MEMBER OF CONGRESS at the time he conducted that meeting, and the reputation he had gained as a public speaker attracted a large audience to hear his address; and in the solemn hush produced by his superb personality and the fervor of his eloquence, the brilliant young statesman pointed out the evils of intemperance and earnestly pleaded with old and young to sign the following total abstinence pledge: "Whereas, The use of intoxicating liquors as a beverage is productive of pauperism, degradation and crime: and believing it is our duty to discourage that which produces more evil than good, we therefore pledge ourselves to abstain from the use of intoxicating liquors as a beverage. This pledge had been prepared and signed by Mr. Lincoln, and on that day received the signatures of nearly all who were present. Moses Martin, a farmer's son, nineteen years of age, attended that meeting and was so impressed by Mr. Lincoln's address that he memorized the pledge which he signed, and at the launching of the Lincoln-Legion* at Oberlin, Ohio, in 1904-fifty-seven years after the South Forks meeting, and when he was seventy-six years old-he led that great audience in repeating verbatim, with uplifted hands, the solemn covenant written, signed and advocated by Abraham Lincoln. *The name of this organization has since been changed to LincolnLee Legion, to commemorate the total abstinence principles and habits of General Robert E. Lee. Cleopas Breckenridge, a ten-year-old lad, son of Preston. Breckenridge, before referred to, was also present at that meeting in the grove and was so deeply moved by the persuasive address to which he listened that when Mr. Lincoln said to him, "Sonny, don't you want your name on this pledge?" he promptly and eagerly answered in the affirmative; but being unable to write, his name was written for him upon the pledge by the hand that wrote the Emancipation Proclamation, thus binding him to the cause of temperance by bonds stronger than triple steel. And when far advanced in life, at the launching of the Lincoln-Legion movement at Oberlin, already referred to, he declared that he had kept that pledge inviolate. Few scenes which mark the career of Abraham Lincoln are more expressive and significant than that which represents him as standing at a typical frontier gathering beneath the leafy branches of a beautiful grove, with his hand upon the head of this ten-year-old lad whose name he had just written upon a total abstinence pledge, and to whom he is saying in tones of never-to-be-forgotten tenderness, "Now, sonny, you keep that pledge and it will be the best act of your life." Dr. Howard H. Russell, founder and first superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League of America, and founder and superintendent of the Lincoln-Legion, was instrumental in securing and making public information relative to the South Forks temperance meeting. While in Springfield, in 1900, he visited a drug store kept by Mr. Roland Diller, for the purpose of seeing the desk used by Abraham Lincoln while he was a member of the Illinois legislature. During the conversation with Mr. Diller, Doctor Russell, for the first time, heard the name of Cleopas Breckenridge, and learned that he was then living about sixteen miles from Springfield. With characteristic zeal, he prosecuted his search, and having some time later secured an interview with Mr. Breckenridge at Springfield, he received from him an account of the South Forks temperance meeting. To the facts he then learned, further information was added until the fascinating story was obtained in its entirety. And it is worthy of note that this story contributed largely to the organization of the Lincoln-Legion branch of the Anti-Saloon League, and to the choice of the name by which that total abstinence movement is known. In August, 1903, I was present at the conference of AntiSaloon League superintendents, held at Winona Lake, when Doctor Russell read a written statement of his interview with Mr. Breckenridge, and asked the conference to approve of the proposed Lincoln-Legion movement, which was done with unanimity and great enthusiasm. Subsequently, when it was decided to launch the new movement at Oberlin, Ohio, where the Anti-Saloon League was born, Doctor Russell secured the presence of Moses Martin and Cleopas Breckenridge at that meeting, where they publicly gave an account of Lincoln's temperance work at the South Forks schoolhouse and at other places in Central Illinois. To the alertness and untiring perseverance of Doctor Russell we are indebted for the priceless information he secured concerning Abraham Lincoln's active and successful participation in the promotion of the pledge-signing feature of temperance reform. It adds immensely to the unique character and significance of this story to remember, as I have already stated, that at the time of the South Forks meeting Mr. Lincoln was a very energetic member of the national House of Representatives at Washington, and a promising young statesman. MAJOR MERWIN'S WORK Mr. Lincoln's great interest in total abstinence was never more significantly manifested than by his action as President in furthering the temperance work of Major J. B. Merwin among the soldiers in the Union Army. Major Merwin was a rare man. With his pleasing and impressive personality were united superior intellectual endowments and ripe scholarship. |