It is a matter of keen regret to me that owing to a long standing promise to speak in New York on the occasion of the one-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, I find myself unable to accept your generous invitation to speak in his home city on that day. There is no spot in America where it would have given me greater satisfaction to have spoken than in Springfield - the city that he loved and the city where his body rests.
"There are many lessons which can and will be drawn from the life of our great hero, but there is one above all others at this moment that I deed fitting to call attention to on this occasion. Among other reasons, I do it because of recent occurrences in the city of Lincoln's adoption.
" When Lincoln freed my race there were four millions. Now there are ten millions. Naturally, more and more this increase means that they will scatter themselves through the country, north as well as south. A large element already is in the north. If my race would honor the memory of Lincoln and exhibit their gratitude for what he did, it can do so in no more fitting manner that putting into daily practice the lessons of his own life. Mr. Lincoln was a simple, humble man. Great men are always simple. No matter where members of my race reside, we should resolve from this day forward that we will lead sober, industrious, frugal, moral lives, and that while being ambitious, we shall at the same time be patient, law-abiding and self-controlled as Lincoln was. These are the elements that will win success and respect, no matter where we live. Every member of my race who does not work, who leads an immoral life, dishonors the memory and the name of Lincoln. Everone, on the other hand, who leads a law-abiding, sober life is justifying the faith which the sainted Lincoln place in us.
"In every part of this country I want to see my race live such high and useful lives that they will not be merely tolerated, but they shall actually be needed and wanted because of their usefulness to the community. The loafer, the man who tries to live by his wits, is never wanted anywhere.
"Many white people in the north who are now honoring the memory of Lincoln, are coming into contact with the race that Lincoln freed for the first time. I have spoken of the patience and the self-control needed on the part of my race. With equal emphasis I wish to add, that no man who hallows the name of Lincoln will inflict injustice upon the negro because he is a negro or because he is weak. Every act of injustice, of law-breaking, growing out of the presence of the negro, seeks to pull down the great temple of justice and law and order which he gave his life to make secure. Lawlessness that begins when a weak race is the victum, grows by what it feeds upon and soon spreads until it includes all races. It is easy for a strong man or a strong race to kick down a weak man or a weak race. It is ignoble to kick down; it is noble to lift up as Lincoln sought to do all through his life. Just in the degree that both races, while we are passing through this crucial period, exhibit the high qualities of self-control and liberality which Lincoln exhibited in his own life, we will show that in reality we love and honor his name, and both races will be lifted into a high atmosphere of service to each other.
"Yours truly,
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