This might be because libdl is not part of Slackware's default setup or 
because libc5 includes that code in the C library.  Try doing
"make UNIX_CAN_BUILD_STATIC=0" and it will just skip the static link.
> 2.  The dynamic binary, if the fonts and all are set up right, creates a 
> window then segfaults before anything can be put into it.
This is a problem with all libc5 machine's I've tried.  My machine at home
does the same thing.  It's a problem with the libpng sources, and it happens
to me in Gimp, xv, AbiWord, etc.  We've got a few people trying to track 
it down.
Until then you can always do "AbiWord -nosplash".
-- Shaw Terwilliger