Although Lincoln favored and aided in every way the plan for internal
improvements, his real work was in securing the removal of the capital
to Springfield. The task was by no means an easy one to direct; for
outside of the "Long Nine" there was, of course, nobody particularly
interested in Springfield, and there were delegations from a dozen
other counties hot to secure the capital for their own constituencies.
It took patient and clever manipulation to put the bill through.
Certain votes Lincoln, no doubt, gained for his cause by force of
his personal qualities. Thus Jesse K. Dubois says that he and his
colleagues voted for the bill because they liked Lincoln, and
wanted to oblige him. But probably the majority were won by skilful
log-rolling. Not that Lincoln ever sanctioned "trading" to the
sacrifice of his own convictions. General T.H. Henderson, of Illinois,
says in some interesting reminiscences of Lincoln, prepared for this
Life and hitherto unpublished: "Before I had ever seen Abraham Lincoln
I heard my father, who served with him in the legislature of 1838-39
and of 1840-41, relate an incident in Mr. Lincoln's life which
illustrates his character for integrity and his firmness in
maintaining what he regarded as right in his public acts, in a marked
manner.
"I do not remember whether this incident occurred during the session
of the legislature in 1836-37 or 1838-39. But I think it was in
that of 1836-37, when it was said that there was a great deal of
log-rolling going on among the members. But, however that may be,
according to the story related by my father, an effort was made to
unite the friends of capital removal with the friends of some measure
which Mr. Lincoln, for some reason, did not approve. What that measure
was to which he objected, I am not now able to recall. But those who
desired the removal of the capital to Springfield were very anxious to
effect the proposed combination, and a meeting was held to see if it
could be accomplished. The meeting continued in session nearly all
night, when it adjourned without accomplishing anything, Mr. Lincoln
refusing to yield his objections and to support the obnoxious measure."
[Illustration: OFFICE CHAIR FROM STUART AND LINCOLN'S LAW OFFICE.