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T H E O U T L O O K
7 Ju n e
even disregard ino; nec essities. Shall we or
shall we not grasp the marvelous opportunity
we now have to extend our t rade throug hout
the world ? Th is oppo rtunity will not wait .
Already w e hav e lost invaluable t ime ; we
have lost gro und we can nev er recover. W e
mu st mov e swiftly if we are going to tak e
the place in the wo rld's mark ets which som e
of our leading industrial comp etitors hav e
been forced to aba ndo n. If we do it now ,
we can establish ours elve s so firmly tha t we
cannot be dislodged upon the return of peace.
A B R A H A M L I N C O L N ' S R E L I G I O N
BY LYMAN ABBOTT
M
R. H E N R Y ' B . R .VNKLX, o f
Springfield, Illinois, at eighty years
of age , has written •• Per son al
Reco llections of A bra ha m Lincoln " ((r. P.
Pu tnam 's Sons) . T he ti tle correct ly descr ibes
the book, which is comp osed of scenes and
incidents i l lustrative of Mr. Lincoln's charac
ter based on ei ther the auth or 's personal
knowledge or on informat ion der ived from
thos e who were personally familiar with M r.
Lincoln dur ing the earlier years of his l ife.
It deals, ther efo re, with M r. Lincoln as a ma n
rath er than as a politician, and throw s light
on his pub lic car eer chiefly be cau se of the
light which it throws on his personal charac
ter. It is perso nal, familiar, intimate , and to
lovers of Lincoln is a valuable addition to the
volumes which have been wri t ten about him.
T he cha pte r entit led •• W hat Religion Mea nt
to Ab raha m Lincoln " has a pecul iar value,
becau se i t corrects a widely spread misapp re
hension resp ectin g M r. Lincoln's early
religious views. Mr. W. H . He rnd on , Mr.
Lincoln 's law par tner and his devoted and
inrimate friend, in his " Life of Lincoln," has
given curren cy to a story in confirmation of
the s ta tem ent that p r ior to M r. Lincoln 's
election to the Presidency he was an avowed
disbeliever in Christianity. M r. R an kin 's
acc ou nt of the origin of this story not only
banishes i t to the limbo to which such legends
as Washington 's " l i t t l e ha tch e t" have been
dep orte d, but also furnishes app aren tly
trustworthy informat ion respect ing Mr. Lin
coln's early religious ed ucation, im bibed from
his mother before her death, and his spiritual
faith as well as his ethical standards.
W hat we may call the H ern do n story was
that Mr. Lincoln as a 'yo ung man wrote an
article against Christianity, that he read it to
a friend, w ho took it from him and threw it
into the fire. Th is story was used against
him in a polit ical campaign in 1846, in which
Peter C^artwright, a famous Methodist minis
ter , was his compet i tor for Congress , and
was overw helmingly defea ted. T he polit ical
canard which (^artwright accepted without
investigation was so far discredited at the
time that i t op erate d ag ainst, rath er th an for,
Cartwright . He subsequent ly denied i ts
trut h and affirmed M r. Lin coln 's Christian
cha racte r. T he origin of this story affords
a curious il lustration of how polit ical canards
somet imes grow.
A certain .Mr. Hill wroite to his former
partner, Mr. McNeil, a long letter, giving
the reasons for Mr. Hi l l 's abrupt terminat ion
of the partn ersh ip, in which letter he m ade a
violent personal attack upon his former part
ner for beco mi ng a successful rival in a suit for
the hand of a certain yo ung lady. Th is letter,
accompanied with some invoices of goods,
was drop ped on the road, picked up by a
boy, and given to Abraham Lincoln, who was
a special favorite with the boys and was their
confidant. Mr. Lincoln took it to M r. Hill ,
who " flew into a towe ring rag e ov er the
disclosure of his private busin ess affairs,"
snatched the packag e from M r. Linco ln 's
han ds, and threw it into the fire. By wh at
unfortunate or malicious mischance this inci
dent b ecam e co nnec ted with a religious
man uscript, which M r. Lincoln had written
ten or twelve years before, Mr. Rankin does
not explain. This manuscript is described by
a friend of Mr. Lin coln's, to wh om he read
it , as an arg um en t in defe nse of universal
salvation . Says the writer of this letter, M r.
Menter ( r ra ha m: " I rem emb er well h is
argum ent . H e took the p assag e, ' As in
Ad am all die, even so in Christ shall all b e
mad e alive,' and followed u p with the pr opo
sition that whatever the breach or injury of
Adam's t ransgression to the human race
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1916
A B R A H A M L I N C O L N ' S R E L IG I O N
331
was,
which n o do ubt was veiy grea t, i t was
ma de jus t and right b}' the ato ne m ent of
Chr i s t ."
T he H ern do n story and its refutat ion
would hardly be wo rth recording here were
it not for the fact that i t has furnished M r.
Ra nk in with the occasion for a description of
a conversat ion betw een Mr. Lincoln and M r.
Rankin 's mother , which furnishes the clearest
exposition of M r. Linc oln's religious views
we have ever seen . M rs. Ra nkin was a
fr iend both of Peter Cartwright ahdof Abra
ham Lincoln. A s the result of the ch arge s
of infidelity brought against him in the Con
gressional camp aign, she asked Lincoln as to
his religious views. After a few mo m en ts of
hesitation, he replied by saying that he would
make no publ ic denial of the charge preferred
again st him. " I will n o t, " he said, "dis cu ss
the character and religion of Jesus Christ on
the s tump T ha t is no place for it , thoug h
my op po ne nt, a minister of his (iospe l, thinks
it is ." But he was willing to give his answ er
to Mrs. Rankin, wi th the understanding that
his reply was not to be qu ote d nor the subject
introduce d by his f r iends in the pen ding
Congress iona l campaign . Mr . Ran kin then
gives the entire statement of Mr. Lincoln as
repo rted to him by his mo ther . Mr. Lincoln
said :
" A t the time you refer to I was hav ing
ser ious quest ionings about some port ions of
my form er implicit faith in the B ible. T he
influence that drew me into such doubts were
strong ones—m.en having the widest cul ture
and s t rongest minds of any I had known up
to tha t t ime. In the mids t of thos e shad ow s
and questionings, before I could see my way
clear to decide on them, there came into my
life sad events and a loss that you were close
to and you knew a grea t deal about how hard
they were for me, for you were, at , the t ime,
a m utua l friend. T ho se days of troub le found
me tossed amidst a sea of cjuestionings.
Th ey pi led big upon me, experiences that
brou ght with them great s t rains upon my
emo tional and m enta l life. Th ro ug h all I
groped my way unt i l I found a s t ronger and
higher grasp of thought , one that reached
beyond this l ife with a clearness and satisfac
t ion I had nev er know n before. T he Scrip
tures unfolded before me with a dee per and
more logical appeal , throu gh these new expe
riences, than anything else I could find to
turn to, or ever before had found in them.
" I do no t claim tha t all my do ub ts we re
rem oved then, or s ince th at t ime have been
swep t away. Th ey are not . Probab ly i t is
to be my lot to g o on in a twilight, feeling
and reasoning my way through l i fe , as ques
t ioning, doub t ing Th om as did. Rut in my
poor maimed, withered way. I bear with me
as I g o on a see kin g spirit of desire for a
faith tha t w as with him of th e olden time ,
who, in his ne ed, as I in mine, excla im ed:
' H elp thou my unbelief. . . .
" I d ou bt the possibility or p rop riety of
settl ing the religion of Jesus Christ in the
models of man -mad e creeds and dogm as. I t
wa s a spirit in th e life th at he laid stre ss on
and tau gh t, if I read ar ight. I know I see
it to be so with me.
" T h e fundamenta l t ru ths repor ted in the
four Go spels as from the lips of Je su s Ch rist ,
and that I first hea rd from th e lips of my
mother , are set t led and f ixed moral precepts
with m e. I hav e conclud ed to dismiss from
my mind th e d ebatable wrangles that once
perplexed me with dis t ract ions that s t i r red
up ,
b ut nev er absolutely setded any thing.
I have tossed them aside with the doubtful
differences which divide denominat ions—
sweeping them all out of m y mind am ong the
non-ess entials. I have ceased to follow suc h
discussions or be interested in them.
" I can not w ithout men tal reservat ion s
assent to long and complicated cree ds and
catechism s. If the Ch urc h would ask simplj-
for assent to the Saviou r 's s tatem ent of the
sub stan ce of the law : ' Th ou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart , and with all
thy soul, and with all thy mind, and thy
neighbo r as thyself '— tha t C hurc h would I
gladly unite with."
If Mr. Ra nkin had rend ered no othe r
service by his book, we should be grateful to
him for giving us this information at almost
f i rs t hand respect ing the character and expe
r ience of Abraham Lincoln, an experience in
which a spiritual faith was combined with an
intellectual hon esty and a spirit of reve rential
reticenc e, a com bination which furnished on e
of the secrets of his power as a leader of
men in a great National crisis.
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BY T H E W A Y
Ju n e i s t h e m o n th wh en b y f a r t h e l a r g es t
nu m be r o f b i r ds o f a l l spe c ie s a re ra is ing the i r
. y o u n g , " Am er i ca n Fo r e s t r y " t e l ls i t s r e ad e r s .
I t i s a lso the mo nth when the la rge st nu m be r o f
b i r d s p e r i sh . T h e f l ed g l in g s a r e k i ll ed b y
s to r m s , b y b o y s wi th s l i n g sh o t s o r g u n s , an d b y
m ar au d in g ca t s . T h e i r wo r s t en em y is t h e ca t.
Every owner o f a ca t should see tha t i t i s kep t
sec lu d e d a t t h i s t im e , an d ca t s w i th o u t o w n e r s
shou ld be merc i fu l ly ex te rm ina ted . Only in th is
way can o u r n a t iv e b i r d s b e co n se r v e d an d
a t t r ac t ed to o u r g a r d en s .
M au n a L o a , t h e g r ea t e s t a c t iv e v o lcan o in t h e
wo r ld , i s ag a in in e r u p t i o n . N in e y ea r s ag o th i s
H a w a i i a n v o l c a n o p r o d u c e d w h a t , i s d e s c r i b e d
as the m ost re m ark ab le d i sp l ay of n io l ten " f ire
wo r k s " o f m o d e r n t im es . T h en , a s o n th e
pre sen t o cca sion , the re was l i t t le o r no loss o f
l i fe ,
Mauna Loa ' s e rup t ions in th is respect d i iTer -
ing no ta b ly from the ou tb re ak s o f less er vo lca
n o es su ch a s Ve su v iu s an d M o n t Pe l ee .
" Su d d en ly th e awf u l t h in g h ap p en ed B e f o r e
m y ey es R av an e l , t o wh o m I was r o p ed , was
sl id ing — sl id ing s lowly bu t sure ly o ff the roc ks
i n t o e t e r n i t y " S o e x c l a i m s M i s s D o r a K e e n
in the " Sa tur da y E ve nin g Po st " in te l l ing of a
p e r i l o u s a s c e n t o f t h e " S h a r k ' s T o o t h " i n t h e
A l p s .
" Al l a t once I saw h im wheel ab o u t ; he
gave a mighty heave of h is ax as fo r h is l i fe and
d r o v e i t i n to th e sn o w ab o v e h i s h ead . T h e a x
h e ld . H e h ad sav ed h im se lf an d u s . " Mis s
K e e n f o u nd t h i s a " d e e p s p i r i t u a l e x p e r i e n c e , "
bu t most readers wi l l b rea the a s igh of re l ie f
wh en th e p a r ty g e t s sa f e ly b ack to t h e h o te l , an d
wo nde r w hy they ever le f t i t to go on suc h an
u n n ecessa r i l y p e r i l o u s ex p ed i t i o n .
C o o ln e ss an d r e so u r ce in d an g e r can b e f o u n d
in ind us tr ia l l ife as well as in wa r. L. H . Be ck,
o f B e r k e ley , C a l i f o r n i a , a s r ep o r t ed , was cau g h t
in so m e r ev o lv in g m ac h in e r y . F in d in g h im
se l f be i ng d ra gg ed s lowly in to the cogs , he
se ized a kn i fe and seve red h is ma ngled foo t , thus
f ree ing himself. H e t h e n a p p l i e d a t o u r n i q u e t
an d d i r ec t ed h i s t r a n sp o r t a t io n b y l au n ch an d
h an d - ca r t o a h o sp i t a l .
Mis s E m i ly M cC o y , t h e d au g h t e r o f t h e Go v
e r n o r o f P i t ca i r n I s l an d , i s i n Am er i ca s tu d y in g
m e th o d s fo r h e lp in g h e r p eo p le , wh o so m e t im e
ago we re af fl icted wi th the typ hu s p lag ue . Pi t
ca i r n I s l a n d , i t w i l l b e r em em b er ed , was se t t l ed
b y th e m u t in ee r s o f t h e sh ip B o u n ty , wh o , w i th
a n u m b er o f T a h i t i an wo m en , we n t t o t h a t r e
mo te i s land in 1789 and rem ain ed und isco vere d
by the Br i t i sh au t ho r i t ies t i l l 1814 . T he ir de
scen d an t s n o w n u m b er ab o u t 1 7 0 .
Mr . Ke en e Ab b o t t t e l ls in " H a r p e r ' s Mag a
z in e " so m e sec r e t s o f t h e O m a h a I n d ian h o u se
wi f e ' s f o od su p p ly an d h e r l ab o r - sav in g m e th o d s
in ge t t in g i t . T h e tu be rs o f the pond- l i ly a re
333
d e l i c io u s w h e n r o a s t e d ; t h e m u s k r a t l i k e s t h e m
raw, and she r i f les h is h oa rd ; she g e ts the
wo o d - r a t ' s c ach e o f w i ld p lu m s , g r a p es , an d
chok e-che r r ies , t he vo le ' s ha l f -bushe l o f wi ld
b ea n s an d h aze l - n u t s , an d th e s h r e w ' s s to r e o f
wi ld pea s and ar t ic ho ke s . Al l thes e go in to the
c lay po t o f the tepee-dwel ler , " and a lso the tuber
o f a ce r t a in sed g e , t h e d e l ec t ab le g r o u n d - n u t
wh ich m ay ev en tu a l ly b eco m e a s p o p u la r a s
th a t o th e r n a t iv e v eg e tab le , t h e p ean u t . "
. Au n t Po l ly , t h e " L a d ie s ' H o m e Jo u r n a l "
s a y s ,
d id n o t c a r e t o m ix p o l i t i c s w i th b u s in ess ,
and her exam ple m ay be p rof i tab le to som e per
s i s t en t t a lk e r s d u r in g th e co m in g c am p a ig n .
Sh e was mi lk ing in the cow lo t , and her po l i t i
ca l ly exci te d son foun d he r the re . " M aw ,
you 're a D em oc ra t, ain ' t you .'" ' he asked._ Sh e
m ad e n o an swer , b u t h e p e r s i s t ed : " Say , M aw ,
a in ' t y o u a g o o d D em o c r a t ? " F in a l ly sh e sa id ,
em pha t ica l ly : " I ha i 'n ' t no th in ' . I 'm a wo ma n
ni i lk in ' a cow.
.
Yoi i go in the hous e and sh u t
u p "
• • ; : ; : , '
A g r o u p o f t h i r ty p r i so n e r s a t S in g S in g h av e
b een t r a in ed b y th e p h y s i ca l d ep a r tm en t o f t h e
W es t S id e Y . M. C . A . o f N ew Y o r k to a c t a s
tea che rs o f physic a l cu l tu re to the i r fe llow-con
v i c t s .
G r e a t b e n e f i t i s e x p e c t e d f r o . n l t h i s w o r k ,
f o r m en wh o h av e ab u n d an t p h y s i ca l ex e r c i se
of a w hole som e k ind are fa r less l ike ly to be
come v ic ious , su l len , o r despera te than i f they
are requ ired to s i t inac t ive in the i r ce l l s .
I l l u s t r a t in g R u s s i an d e l ib e r a t io n in b u s in es s
a ff a ir s, R . W . C h i l d in " E v e r y b o d y ' s " s a y s
th a t an Am er i ca n b u s in e ss m a n wen t t o Pe t r o -
gra d to sel l war goo ds wh ich were bad ly nee ded .
I n s t ea d o f o r d e r s h e r ece iv ed in v i t a t i o n s to
dinner, f irst f rom one high off icial , then another .
Af ter a week of th is he sa id to the bu re au cra t
wh ose word wa s f inal , " Loo k here , th is m a yb e
the R us si an way ; I will indul ge in i t if you wish ,
b u t t h e Am er i ca n way i s t o ch a r g e th e co s t o f
p r o d u c t io n an d sa l e s t o t h e p r i ce . My ex p e n ses
are la rg e . E ac h da y f rom now on I wi ll add
th ese ch a r g es to t h e p r i ce . " H e was a s g o o d
as h is word , an d c ha rg ed JS400 a da y ex t ra t i l l
t h e n eg o t i a t io n s we r e co m p le t ed , t en d ay s l a t e r ,
wh en h e g o t h i s co n t r ac t .
An E n g l i s h p l ay wr ig h t ap o s t r o p h ize s t h e G e r
m a n a d m i r e r s of S h a k e s p e a r e t h u s : " O h , w e ll
h a v e y o u c h o s e n ' M a c b e t h ' f o r y o u r F e s t i v a l ,
( }e r m an p l ay g o e r s . . . Po n d e r h im d eep ly ,
n o w th a t a t l a s t t h e s lo w, im m i t ig ab l e m ig h t o f
E n g lan d h as b eg u n to en c o m p as s y o u " T o
wh ich an u n ex p ec ted ly c l ev e r G e r m an r ep ly
co mp are s the E ngl ish Lion to tha t of " Mid
s u m m e r - N i g h t ' s D r e a m : "
Sm ug : H ave you the l ion 's par t wr i t ten ? Pr ay you. if
i t be, give it nie, for I am slow of stu dy .
Quince; You may do i t extempore , for i t i s nothing but
r oa r i ng .