St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1870-06-17

and grateful people will ever keer
green the memory of that noble band,
Jour h"mlred HouSatd ST. oag, whose bod
les now lie on many a hard fought field,
or are gathered around those prison hells
whose horrors Dante might mtalane but a
chTuir0uS shareholder alone carry into
execution; and as long as onr flag is an
emblem Of freedom and liberty, SO long
will the memories of our Union martyrs.
at whose head stands that name so dear
I" ioyd mcn-LISCoLN-be honored and
chaFshH while their traitor murderers
will
In dccpc-t pits of darkest hell
Gnash their teeth and groan and veil"
From time immcmorial every Nation
has delighted 10 honor its defenders.
The memory Of the Spartan who was
brought back upon his shield was dear to
every countryman; Rome and Athens,
those centres of learning and improve
mcnt erected their noblc>t monuments to
the memory OF those who died fighting
for their liberty; and shall IRE allow
those nations to point the finger Of scorn
at US and sly, "frecdom may erah
nation but mg,utitade Is reproach TO
any pc2pb;" shall our country, the boast
cl "6md n tie free and home of the Jrare,'
the iryH, Le,,coo star of freedom to
which the lovers of liberty in all lands
point with pride and lock to for light
and guidaicr. and tine oppressed for free
dom, shah we be- accused of insratitude
10 tl,,e
-Four hundred thou. lnd
The brave. the good, the true.
In tangled wood. mountain glen,
un ha'tr plain, in prison pen
Ii, dcid Tor IA and YOU:
Fo:s Iudrcd tIru-' d Of the brave
Have mod, our I,n-ornri -oil tl..r grave
For ne and you sind friend,
For me and YOU
can answer Tor every Union man.
40. we accept the mcmcry Of our
-ia.n a. atc,W trtrt which shall Hcrr
br betrayed"
We arr a>'.cd. ''Wlat good can it lo
to erect these monuments, ," We should
not inquire what good will t do. it i
an act of I,l>hce and we should fail in do
in@ our lu'y il we did not erect them
but | Will answer this question OF our
cavi!n. critic. vino traitorous spirit is
made only too evident hy his Questions
1t viii show the world that we rraliz.
how much We lave gained 10y the terri
blc c"utr-t: and now that peace has re-
Turned to IL, we shall repuditte none
of tie debts We owe to those by whom
that pear" WAS obtained
We have freed four millions of human
beings lro'u Il bordagc, whose horrors
Pharaoh never imagined; and can now
~cocn the accusation that our laws give
the lie To the Declaration of Indcpcn-
dcncc, for now we stand before the world
without rciroacl, AMI from the length and
breadth of our land rings out in chorus
loud and clear that .yIoiloHS God inspired
doctrine, that ''oH mca are created free
and equal and endowed with certain in
alicnablc rights such as life. E,Jcrty and
the pursuit OF happiness :" but it is in
vain To enumcratC, words cannot express
the benefits our county and the world
at lar4e have derived, as the direct re-
suits of our late war, and our reward, to
those who accomplished this great and
noble work, should be commensurate to
their merits. Sound policy demands
that we should do this,-I am not much
OF an advocate for policy when unsup-
ported by justice but when right, justice,
duty and poLcy are hand in hand then |
say be pohtic; some may say what has
policy TO do with this! A great deal,
in the future if (may Heaven forbid it)
the black, devastating cloud of wa'
should he over us and we call for ''thrce
hundred thousand more" the people will
not respond with such a hearty good
Will, As they did of old, when they see
that we only intend to use them during
the storm and then throw them over
board. 1t may be sweet to die for ones
cuuntry but when we know that our
memories will he scorned for tear of Civ
ing CtclSe to the traitors who snail slay
us we shall be y -ry apt to say, eTc4Se me
am not fond Of sweet things. Another
strong reason lies in the fact that these
monuments are so many silent but
Ciirol.Te voices, speaking against treason
and showing those who are ambitious TO
place their names besides those of Judas
Iscariot. benedict Arnold. Robert Lee
and Jefferson Davis, that the nation will
pour out its best blood, rather than that
traitors should succeed
Why is it that the writer Of the OK
tract Is 50 opposed to soldiers monu-
ments For fear of firing the hearts of
our e7iag brothers with resentment and
decorating the feelings of the desolated
south, ''onIy this and nothing more"
What more bitter resentment could be
shown than that displayed at Fort Pill
low, Andersonville, Belle Island, Dan
vile, Florence and Libby, and talk of