Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 130, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 May 1916 — GREAT THRONG PAYS TRIBUTE TO SOLDIERS [ARTICLE]

GREAT THRONG PAYS TRIBUTE TO SOLDIERS

Ideal Day For Service Inspired Spirit of Patriotism—Fine Program and Able Address. One of the largest crowds that ever assembled in Rensselaer on Memorial Day to pay respect to the civil war veterans living and dead gathered at the cemetery Tuesday afternoon and the occasion was in every respect a tribute of affectionate appreciation of the sacrifices made by the soldiers of ’6l to ’65. As has been customary for many years the parade was formed at the oourt house and was led by the band to the cemetery. Twenty-five old soldiers marched to the graveyard hut some fifteen others went there in conveyances. Eight members of the Sons .of Veterans were all who reported' and the only lodge that marched was the Knights of Pythias. A number of children, the fire department :md a large num-, her of citizens completed the parade. Many automobiles and horse-drawn vehicles accompanied the marchers and many had gone on before and the assembled throng at the cemetery presented a very conclusive proof that there has been no wavering in the public regard for the work our soldiers accomplished a half century ago.

Marching with surprisingly light step the veterans under command of D. H. Yeoman were happy in the. part they were taking in the occasion. Among the marchers was Lewis L. Daugherty, now of Hamariond, but for many years a resident of Jasper county and a former sheriff of this county.

A platform at the cemetery was arranged for the singers and speakers. Comrade Yeoman, commander of the Post, presided. Prayer was offered ,by D. Paul C. Cumick, pastor of Trinity M. E. church, and a double quartette composed of Mrs. E. C. English, Mrs. Loren Sage, Miss Ruch Wood, Miss Katharine Watson, Dr. H. L. Brown, Dr. W. L. Myer, Loren Sage and Oarl Duvall sang “The Boys of the Old Brigade” in a manner that inspired a feeling of patriotic devotion. Henry Wood, post adjutant, read the orders from headquarters for the Memorial occasion and then Rev. F. H. Beard delivered the address. This will be found In full in The Republican. It was well received and was given the most respectful attention. Paul Beam then recited the speech of President Lincoln on the Gettysburg battlefield and five little girls sang two or three patriotic songs so sweetly that they were applauded with much vigor. The service closed with a benediction by Rev. Asa McDaniel. Rev. Beard's address follows:

Members of the G. A. R., Sons of Veterans, friends and fellow citizens: It is with the deepest and most profound appreciation of the honor conferred upon me, for I deem it an honor to any man, when the defenders of our flag choose him to deliver an address upon an occasion like thi3, though I come before you, persuaded that no one could better portray the real meaning of the conflict through which you passed, than one of your own number. I can, but in a very inadequate way, add my voice to -the vast multitude throughout the land, who at this hour are doing homage to the fallen heroes of our country. Someone has said: “Let these forthcoming Memorial Days, north and south, in all the states, kindle anew the spirit of patriotism, respectful deference for old age, sincere reverence for American institutions, a wholesome respect for law and order, a courageous desire for justice and* an undying love of truth. If we dq this we shall accomplish more ’or the future of our children, the safety of our nation and the peace of the world than all the wars.

This, I think, a true and worthy ideal for our guidance and attainment on subsequent Memorial 1 Days. Truly, hap it been said: “We may adorn with loving tributes the resting places of our 'beloved dead; the flowers which are strewn may symibolize the living fragrance of their memory, but we shall honor them the most by having their example teach us to love our country more, to value its dearly purchased institutions more, to pr.ze its manifold blessings more and to advance its greatness and true glory more.” Indeed, “It was for the union of states in one great nation that the men in blue fought fifty years ago.” The union forever was the compelling and inspiring battle cry of the federal armies. To declare that you fought primarily for a flag is but to say the same thing in other words; for the flag is blit the emblem of the union and was and is everything to the veterans of that war. The stars and

stripes have never lost and will never lose thaii real and truest meaning to he who is imbued with the true spirit of pauioiLm. Though 4,000,000 of slaves were freed from bondage as the result of this four years of fearful conflict between kindred of the same race, yet the freeing of the black man-was not the primary purpose actuating the war of ’6l to '65. It was the higher and nobler purpose, that of the preservation of the union, that made the boys in blue dare and even die in this awful carnage of human life.

True, we all recognize the humanitarian principle actuating and to a large degree controling the great heart and mind of the noble martyred statesman and president, Abraham Lincoln. Yet we are persuaded that however intensely he hated slavery, it was absolutely against his principle of procedure to destroy it by armed force except to save the union.” It would ibe regarded an unforgivable offense to declare that splendid valor and sacrifice of the men whose memory we honor this day was in vain. If the cause for which they fought and bled had not prevailed we can but think of the fate of a house built on the sand, for we know the usual fate of such houses. But what after all is the real worth of that for which men made such a great sacrifice? We answer that the preservation of the Union gave to us industrial development such as would have been impossible if a number of small independent states had existed. Likewise it gave to us political power of sufficient worth to demand the attention of the whole world. It made the U. S. A. a world power. It gave to us a nobler standard of ethics and greater moral worth. Since the days of ’6l to ’65 we have come to realize more and more the benign influence and moral worth of Abraham Lincoln. Loving righteousness as he did and hating wrong, especially the wrong of slavery, and having a heart tender with love of men he could not have sanct’oned a conflict if he had not a clear vision of the moral worth of that which he. sought to save. Subsequent history has proven the wisdom and the breadth of his vision, for today higher moral worth is attributed to our nation than to any other on the globe. , Then all honor to the noble patriots who ing followed their illustrious leader that such blessing should be ours. May we sing with true hearts with the poet who says: ■

“A day of tender A day of sacred hours, Of little bands of marching men, Of drums and flags arid flowers. A day when a great nation halts Its mighty throbbing pace And pays its meed of gratitude And love with willing grace. A day when battles are retold And eulogies are said, When dirges sound and chaplains Read the office for the dead. A day when fairest, sweetest blooms Are laid upon each grave And wreaths are hung on monuments And banners half mast, wave. A day to keep from year to year In memory of the dead; Let music sound and flowers be laid Upon each resting bed.”

Yes, friends, Memorial Day is what its name implies, a day of commemoration. In the graves on whose mounds shall be planted flags and Scattered flowers sleep the remains of men whose deeds of courage and daring are worthy to be perpetuated. We can never fully pay the debt we owe the noble lives that were sacrificed to preserve our nation. AH honor to the heroic dead. On the other hand it is equally impossible to pay the debt we owe to you who fought at Bull Run, jvere with Grant at Vicksburg and suffered hardships in the fearful carnage at Gettysburg, yea, who through weal or woe, courageously followed the stars and stripes throughout the war and live to repeat the story to great, great grandchildren. Boys and girls, men and women, let us ever honor arid respect the Grand Old Boys in Blue.

“We cheer them as they march along * All life worn, old and gray; Their presence is a stirring song Of fierce, by-gone affray; It rises o’er the city’s din With chorus clear and true, An army with no fame to win, The Grand Old Boys in Blue. Yes, you fought, suffered and many even died for a victorious cause, a cause of righteousness, but f™>nds, how about the Old Boys m GrayShall we not honor and revere them for the sincere, whole-hearted faith that impelled them to fight, to bleed and even to die in supporting a cause inherently wrong and consequently a forlorn hope? Did they not in the period of reconstruction, the darx days in which the South returned to devastated homes, untilled lands, di»I organized governments and the added pest of exploitation by carpetbaggers nobly apply themselves to the almost •

superhuman task of building a new South—the South of a United Country? In this great undertaking the Boys in Blue and the Boys in Gray marched shoulder to shoulder with hearts throbbing and pulsating with like ambitions and kindred desires. All were and are equally patriotic and deserving of honor when we view in retrospect this great land of ours and realize that there is no longer a North or a South, but one great commonwealth, a land of peace, a land of industry, a land of churches, a land of schools, a land of homes—a nation of wealth, of power, of influence all because not simply that the North won the victory over the South—that was mportant —but because of the patriotic way in which the South, the Boys in Gray, fell into step with the North, the Boys in Blue, to ever fight common foes and to ever work together in forming a strong, an abiding and an everlasting Union upon the fundemental principles of peace and'righteousness. This we know to be true, for our very national existence is ever present testimony to us. Then let us, the heirs of such a heritage proudly acclaim the virtues of those wno wrought so well that in spite of the calamities of war they gave us Jand, home, peace and prosperity. All nonor to the men who, in defense of the Union, went forth to battle for the right, to battle for the preservation of the Union and the rights of men. All honor to the men of the nation who united in one vast army of patriots, one acknowledge'! brotherhood, thinking no longer of the North or South but of a Nation, the United Country, lovers of the same country, the same flag, decking with flowers the fallen heroes of the entire land.

Today while thus paying tribute to our heroes, surrounded by every evidence of peace, happiness and prosperity we are made *o shudder when wie think of the awful cataclysm that is taking place across the seas. Our marts go out in sympathy, born of the peace which is ours, -o millions of our fellowmen who today are in the verty jaws of death. Think not only of the bleeding and broken bodies tmt of the broken and bleeding hearts of mothers, sisters, wives, sweetnearts and children. All suffering jecause of war. You Boys in Blue no doubt can see anew in your imagination the same heart rending pictures as when you were called from home and loved ones to shoulder the musket in order to save the Union. Yes, all honor to the mothers, wives, sisters and sweethearts of '6l to ’6,>. Their patriotism was equal to that if the loved ones on the firing line. They not only struggled to keep the home intact, but in the midst of all prayed that peace might speedily come, just as we are told the mother?', wives, sisters and sweethearts of Europe are doing today. Can we not rejoice all the more when we think of how God heard and answered those earnest petitions of fifty years ago. Yes, should not we, the children and the children of such parentage, revere all the more such memory when we see how since those days when the clouds hung low the same God has continued to bless our nation with an abiding and growing peace. Oh! Yes, friends, today is for peace, universal peace among all mankind. We enjoy our liberty, our blessings and our national prosperity all because God has watched over and cared for us.

Is it not well then f° r us to emphasize on this Memorial Day the great truth that our preservation has been of God: When through the gloom and stress and storm the ark of liberty was carried, If with shattered timbers, yet undestroyed, to where the haven lay in peaceful calm, how acute was our feeling that on the helm had been the hand of Him who controls the winds and bids the sea be calm. May God in the midst of the eminent perils, the God of our Fathers who has made us what we aie, sti.l preserve us as a nation. A nation o. truth and righteousness, a nation the nature of which, “E pluribus unum, shall blazon the way for wor d wide peace. A nation strong and true because her bulwarks are not primarily forbs, navies and marching armies in war array, but are the coveted fore esses of truth, of righteousness, brotherly love and of united endeavor to be an example of peace for all the nations of the globe, a woikman that needeth not to be ashamed. Such it is becoming more and more I because of the way blazoned in blood for us by you .whom we honor today. God through you have given us a flag, a people, a country, all second to none in the realm of nations. In order therefore to perpetuate the high ideals and noble achievements of the past it is highly essential that the citizenship of such a favored nation as outs should m the»e days, with the eyes of the world upbn us, hold inviolate the fundamental principels of our growth—freedom and peace. If incumbent upon us as a land of peace to ever recognize that our God is a God of peace and not erf

war. It is, it seems to me, the unquestioned duty of the patronage of our country to see to it that the greater patriotism of peace should be instilled into the hearts, minds and souls of our children through home, school and church. I am sure that you, the soldier citizens who have experienced both the terrors of war and the blessings of peace will agree with me that as great as is the patriotism evidenced in war, greater still is the patriotism that protects the home, cleanses politics, exposes commercial fallacies, exalts righteousness and upholds the Integrity of our government in time of peace. The Bible tells that “righteousness exaltcth a nation.” This being true, can we not say with the Psalmist of old, “He (the Lord) has not dealt so with any nation”? Ye 3, no nation has ever been favored as has ours, no nation has ever possessed a braver soldiery than those who were the defenders of our flag in '6l to '65. No nation ever witnessed a greater patriotism than that witnessed in the present day in the unity of the North and the South. Then, in our prosperity, in our eager conquest for greater good, in the promulgation of the great doctrine of peace, even in the heated advocacy on the part of many for preparedness, in the trying hours of our national life, let us be true to the principles that gave birth to our nation and through the conflict of civil war preserved us one people, a country of such high ideals as to become a bright and shining light,' pointing the whole of wamng Europe to the God of peace, liberty and prosperity, who through His mercy and love has made us to become a God-fe3ring and God-loving people. As such shall we in retrospect and review die marching hosts of the G. A. R. Sec how, through the years of our youth their ranks have become depleted year after year by the grim reaper, Death, until today throughout the land the many companies have become bat small bands of tottering, gray-haired soldiers, reminding us of sacrifice, hardships, suffering, that we, their posterity, might have life and have., it more abundantly. May we then pay tribute to them in these words:

“Yes, the ranks are growing smaller With the coming of each day, And the (beards and locks once raven Now are mingled thick with gray. Soon the hands that strew the flowers Will be folded still and cold, And our story of devotion Will forever have been told. Yes, the ranks are growing smaller And though decked in blue or gray. Soon both armiQS will be sleeping In their shelter tents of clay, But the loud reverberation Of the last salute shall be Oft re-echoed through the ages As the tocsin of the free. , For both but did their duty In the Great Jehova’s plan, And the world has learned a lesson That- all may read who can; And when gathered for the muster On the last and dreadful day, - May the Lord extend his mercy , . Sweet, alike to Blue and Gray.”