Anne-"Yes, sir; and my brother's name is Will Marshall. He's only a boy, Mr. Lincoln, younger than I am; we grew up together on a little farm out in Ohio, Mr. Lincoln."

Lincoln-"I was raised on a farm myself." (With sympathy.)

Anne-"They put him on picket duty, sir, and he went to sleep."

Lincoln-"It is not to be wondered at that a boy raised on a farm, probably in the habit of getting to bed at dark, should fall asleep on watch.'

Anne-"No, sir." (Hopefully.)

Stanton "Mr. President, there are too many soldiers going to sleep on picket duty these days and discipline must be maintained in the army at any cost."

Lincoln-"I suppose you are right, Stanton; I suppose you are right."

Anne "He's only a boy, Mr. Lincoln, and he's been fighting for his country nearly two years. My father was killed at Chicamagua and my brother at Malvern Hill. Will is all we have left. Are you going to take him from us, too?" (Holds arms out appealing, and John comes to her aid.)

John "I cannot stand this, Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Secretary. Her brother and I went to the same little school house together; he enlisted when you called for volunteers two years ago. We were in the same company, sir; one night it was my turn to go on picket duty; I was sick and could not go, so Will Marshall went in my place. The very next night Will was chosen for picket duty in his own name, and he had to go, though he had had no sleep the night before. He was so tired that he fell asleep. They must not shoot him, Mr. Loncoln. They must not. Let them shoot me in his place, for it was my fault, not his."

Lincoln-"Well, well-who is this?"

John "John Stevens, private, Company H, 89th Ohio, sir." (Saluting.)

Anne "My sweetheart, Mr. Lincoln; we are to be married as soon as this cruel war is over."

Lincoln-"God grant that it may be soon."

Stanton "This is doubtless very true, Mr. President, but there is the finding of the Court Martial and I have approved it."

Lincoln (looks at Anne weeping)-"There are already too many weeping mothers, wives and sweethearts in this country. For God's sake, Stanton, don't ask me to add to the number for I won't do it."

Stanton "Mr. President, you will destroy the discipline of the army if you pardon any more soldiers who have been sentenced to be shot."

Lincoln-"Stanton, if you go deep enough below the surface in any man, you will find a quality that is far greater than discipline-and that is love, love for your fellow-man. Do that, Stanton, and you will find a conscience which tells you as mine does that I am right. After a hard day's work, if I can find some excuse to save some poor fellow's life, I can go to bed happy. So forgive me, Stanton, for I am going to pardon this boy. Give me a pencil." (Stanton hesitates. Lincoln insists commandingly.)

Stanton "I think there is a lack of backbone here somewhere."

Lincoln-"Well, maybe so; but I don't think that shooting the boy will do him any good; besides I believe the boy will do us more good above the ground than under it. Give me that pencil. (Stanton hands him pencil and Lincoln sits and signs paper and hands it to Anne.) Here, young lady, your brother is pardoned. The dispatch will be sent at once."

Anne "Thank you, thank you, Mr. Lincoln." (Kisses him.)

Lincoln-"Young lady, if you had started in that way with Stanton, here, you never would have had to come to me. (Anne rushes into John's arms overcome with joy.) Stanton, just see how happy it has made those two people, just signing my name, 'A. Lincoln,' to that paper."

Stanton "But, Mr. President, that kind of work will set at naught authority and power over the army and

Lincoln-"I may have displeased you, my dear Mr. Secretary, by this act of clemency, but I believe in my soul I have done right. Stanton, die when I may, I should like to have it said of me that I plucked a thistle and planted a flower wherever I thought a flower would grow." (A soldier enters in haste with a telegram.)

Messenger Boy-"Telegram for Mr. Lincoln." (Hands telegram to Lincoln who opens and reads it aloud, to Stanton):

Lincoln-"A telegram from General Sherman, he wires: 'I am ready to beseige Atlanta. When it falls I will march through Georgia to the sea. The end of the war is in sight.'' (Lincoln hands telegram to Stanton and after reading they all shake hands in glee of rejoicing while the orchestra or band plays "Marching Through Georgia." After a moment or two Lincoln raises his hand to the leader and after a pause of deep silence Lincoln says: "Now play 'Dixie,' that's ours, too." As Dixie is played the CURTAIN FALLS.)

1

Second Curtain

Vision of LINCOLN, WASHINGTON, WILSON.

FINAL CURTAIN

THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC

ACT V

PRESIDENT WILSON'S WORLD-WAR SPEECH

(Vice-President Thomas Marshal presiding)

Mr. President-"Gentlemen of the Congress, I have called the Congress into extraordinary session because there are serious-very serious-choices of policy to be made, and made immediately.

"The extraordinary announcement of the imperial German government that it was its purpose to put aside all restraints of law or of humanity and use its submarines to sink every vessel that sought to approach either the ports of Great Britain, the western coasts of Europe, or any of the ports of the Mediterranean, was such an act that I was for a little while unable to believe would in fact be done by any civilized nation. International law had its origin in the attempt to set up some law that would be respected and observed upon the seas where lay the free highways of the world. By painful stage after stage has that law been built up, with meager results, indeed but with always a clear view, at least, at what the heart and conscience of mankind demanded.

"The German government has swept aside, under plea of retaliation and necessity, all scruples of humanity that were supposed to underlie the intercourse of the world. Even hospital ships and ships carrying relief to the sorely bereaved and stricken people of Belgium as well as vessels of every kind, whatever their flag, or character of their cargo, have been sunk without warning.

"I am not thinking of the loss of property involved. Property can be paid for; the lives of peaceful and innocent people cannot be.

"The German submarine warfare is a warfare against all nations. American ships have been sunk. American lives taken in ways that have stirred us very deeply. But the ships and peoples of other nations have been sunk in the same way. The challenge is to all mankind. Each nation must decide for itself how it will make it.

"The choice we make for ourselves must be made with moderation. We must put excited feel

ing away. Our motive must not be revenge but only the vindication of right, of human right, of which we are only a single champion. There is one choice we cannot make, we are incapable of making; we will not choose the path of submission and suffer the most sacred rights of our nation and of our people to be ignored or violated.

"With a profound sense of the solemn-tragical step I am taking in obedience to what I deem my constitutional duty:

"I advise that the Congress declare that the recent course of the imperial German government to be nothing less than war against the government and people of the United States! And that it take immediate steps and employ all its resources to bring the government of Germany to terms and end the war!

"Our object is to vindicate the principle of peace. and justice in the life of the world as against the selfish and autocratic powers and set up amongst the really free and self-governed people of the world such a concert of purpose and of action as will henceforth insure the observance of those principles.

"Self-governed nations do not fill their neighbor states with spies.

"A steadfast concert for peace can never be maintained except by a partnership of democratic nations.

"No autocratic government could be trusted to keep faith within it or observe its convenants.