Adventure Magazine Cover — page 127: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The End of the Road and that Constitution and that country are approaching perilous times. There’s ex- plesive stuff about which is going to en- danger the stability of the noble heritage we have received from our fathers, and if . that heritage is to be saved it can only be by those who hold fast to its eternal prin- ciples. “This land can only be saved bv its law- vers, sir. But they must be lawvers pro- foundly read in the history and philosophy of their profession and no catchpenny ad- vocates with a glib tongue and an elastic conscience. The true lawyer must approach his task with reverence and high prepara- tion, for as his calling is the noblest of human activities, so it jis the most exacting.” The point-device young man -spoke with a touch of the schoolmaster, but his audi- ence, who had an inborn passion for fine words, were impressed. .Lincoln sat squatted on his heels on a bit of sack- . ing, staring into the open door of the stove. “There’s truth in that,” he said slowly. His voice had not the mellow tones of the other’s, being inclined to shrillness, but it gave the impression of great power wait- ing in release somewhere in his massive chest. “But I reckon ’tis only half the truth, for truth’s like a dollar-piece—it’s gét two sides, and both are wanted to make it good currency. The law and the Constitution are like a child’s pants—they’ve got to be made wider and longer.as the child grows so as to fit him. If they’re kept too tight he'll burst them, and if you’re in a hurry and make them too big all at once they’ll trip him up.” : ‘‘Agreed,” said Stanton, “but the fashion and the fabric should be kept of the same voo@ American pattern.” ' The long man ran a hand through his thatch of hair. ‘“There’s only one fashion in pants—to make them comforfable. And some day that bov is going to grow so big you won’t be able to make the old ones do and he'll have to get a new pair. If he’s living on a farni he'll want the same kind of good working-pants, but for all that they'll have to be new-made.”’ Mr. Stanton laughed with some irritation. “J hate grguing in parables, for in the nature of things they can’t be exact. 117 That’s a mistake you Westerners make. The law must change in detail with chang- ing conditions, but its principles can not alter, and the respect for these principles is our only safeguard against a relapse into savagery. : ‘Take slavery. There are fools in the East who would abolish it by act of Con- gress. Tor myself I do not love the system, but I‘love anarchy and injustice less, and if you abolish slavery you abolish also every right of legal property, and that means chaos and barbarism. A free people such as ours can not thus put the knife to their throat. If we were the serfs of a monarchy, accustomed to bow before the bidding of a king, it might be different, but a republic can not do injustice to one sec- tion of its citizens without destroying itself.” Lincoln had not taken his eyes from the stove. He seemed to be seeing things in the fire, for he smiled to himself. “Well,” he drawled, “I reckon that some day we may have to find some sort of a king. ‘The new pants have got to be made.”’ Mr. Stanton shrugged his shoulders, and the other, quick to detect annoyance, scrambled to his feet and stood looking down from his great height at his dapper antagonist. A kindly, quizzical smile light- ed his homely face. : “We'll quit arguing, Mr. Stanton, for I admit I’m afraid of you. You’re some years younger than I, but I expect you would have me convinced on your side if we went on. And maybe I’d convince you too, and then we’d be like old Jim Fletcher at New Salem. ‘You'll have heard about Jim. He had a mighty quarrel with his neighbor about a hog, Jim alleging it_ was one of his lot and the neighbor claiming it for his. Well, they argued and argued, and the upshot was that Jim convinced the neighbor that the hog was Jim’s and the neighbor con- vinced Jim that the hog was the neigh- bor’s, and neither of them would touch that hog, and they were worse friends than ever, Mr. Curtin rose and apologized to his companion. He had to see a man about a buggv, and must leave Mr. Stanton to find his way back alone. “Don’t worry, George,” said the long man. “I’m going round your way, and I'll ‘see your friend home.” CO Gbooks CO