The Portland daily press., 1871-05-30
DAILY PRESS.
PORTLAND
TUESDAY, MAY 80, 1871.


NhtmOHhdA my
When Gen. Logan, as the, official head OF
the Grand Army of the Republic, in 1868
s sued his circular to the hundreds of local
organizations, setting apart the thirtieth day
sd May for the decoration of the graves OF
! ieir comrades who sleep in every one OF the
{ ,meteries of the country, he little thought
hat its fourth anniversary would be more
, enerally observed throughout the country
ihan any day signalized by great historic
Ayent or the decree of the most potent OF
rulers. From every direction the tidinss
rome that the soldiers graves are to be deco
rated. To-day, the city, with the impressive
solemnity of civic and military pomp; the
escort, and its procession of citizens and
schools, bearing their choicest floral offerings ;:
the rural neighborhood, with its modest
tribute and its unspoken eulogy, except that
tear suiiused eyes are eloquent-all unite
10 do homage to the memory of men who are
at ohce Nations saviors and martyrs.
Thousands to-day will be unable to offer
their homage to their own kindred; for the
idol of their firesdes may be quietly sleeping
on the banks of the Potomac-quiet to day
because lie rests there or on the consec rated
RIDGES of Gettysburg, or beneath the emera d
slopes of Fredericksburg, or lost in the
iuneles of the Wilderness, or the pines aud
winds whisper his requiem on the lonely
plain. Others, at other times strangers, will
tendery deck his resting place with garlands.
or, il unknown to human being, God, who
clothes the fields with flowers, will not forge,
him. On the grave about which stand the
parent stricken with years and desolation. or
the widow who would cherish as holy grief
t1e memory of the hero she sent to battle. or
with the orphaned group now the nations
wards, we can place our floral tribute and
mingle our tears withtheirs.
To-day we forget rank and position. The
men whose heroic Sc II devotion we would
commemorate have been transferred to that
exalted army of noble martyrs that have
given their lives to advance the cause of hu.
man rights. 10 which the stars of the general
the chevron of the sergeant aid the simple
corps badge of The private are equally honor.
able. The man we would honor may have
fallen out by the way before he was permitted
to stand upon the fiery edge of battle, or he
may have been sacrificed to incompetency
but their lives, viewed from our standpoint
have not been thrown away. Great achieve
ments are measured by their cost, so that no
life, however humble, no act of self denial for
great principle has been lost. To human
view there is much seeming waste, but let us
baeve that God nOies it all as the price oil
success, and its price makes it sacred.
Whenever we think of our heroic dead
those whose high cOmpanionship we have en-
joyed, we remember them as soldiers, clad in
blue. Soldiers they will ever be,-no general
order can discharge them. As we speak their
names, their manly voices do not respond
here, but our hearts to-day and always, will
be their muster.
Let us not to-day do them the Injustice to
regard them as men who have merely been
brave in the hour of danger, but rather as
men who have been heroic and self Sacrificing
for great principle. Those who have caused
this terrible sacrifice were doubtless brave
men and devoted; yet when we remember
that they were the champions of wrong, and
although over the graves of our brothers, we
would offer them the hand of forgiveness, we
have no floral tribute for them.
If our recollections of to.day's ceremonies
fade with the garlands that we place upon the
graves, the highest good we could derive from
the memorial services is lost. If we fail to
revive the spirit of patriotism that inspired
these men, if we 90 away to forget at what a
priceless sacrifice these Institutions were pre-
served to us, if we forget the manned and
helpless comrades Of the men we honor, leav-
ing them to cruel neglect, to beggary and
want, if we forget their orphans, our sacred
wards, il we so away to be other than good
citizens in the highest Specification of the
term, then memorial day is little better than
idle mockery.