Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1872-12-12

Memorial Sermon on the DeatL Of
Horace Greeley, Preached at the
Town Hall, Rutland, December
4th, 1872. by Rev. w. r. Aiken.
We give herewith an abstract of the
sermon of Rev. William P. Aiken, at
the memorial services, Wednesday, re-
ported expressly for THE HERALD
The mournful event which brings us
together has filled our hearts with genu-
inc sorrow; the death of Horace Greeley,
whose name and whose fame haye long
been. national possession, joins pub
lie calamity to private bereavement.
When rumors of his illness began
to be circulated, it was plain to see
in the anxious inquiries that were
made, in the subdued and compass
sionate tones in which men spoke, and
in the generous recognition of his per-
sonal worth and eminent services-that
he still retained his old strong hold upon
the hearts of the people, while the sad
spectacle that was disclosed when the
curtain was lifted, caused all to feel that
the circumstances of his death were
scarcely less sorrowful than the death
itself.
1t is not the loss of a sagaeious leader
in the politics of the country that we de-
plore-when such man dies, party may
suffer ; but the country has never been
known to suffer, nor is it the loss of a
gifted and accomplished editor of the
most widely read and influential journal
the world has ever known, and who did
much to elevate journalism in this coun-
try to the dignity of science-but we
deplore the loss of an efficient worker in
the cause of human progress, whose in
f1uence was not limited to the field of
political thought nor confined to the
channels of political action, but who
sought in either field of letters as well as
the field of politics, by spoken as well as
by written eloquence, to do good to his
fellOwmen; who was oftener heard in the
lyceum than in the caucus, Oftner at ag-
ricultural meetings than political con-
ventions whose principles were not eX-
pedients devised to swell the ranks or
secure the triumphs of party. but were
derived from the study of political econ
omy, of the duties and obligations of
civil government; man of kindly ma
ture, of overtlowing charity and chari-
ties, and whose voice has ever been ap-
piled in the behalf of temperance, truth,
justice and humanity. Such was the
man whose death we deplOre. The
preacher then gave sketch of his life
which. as all are familiar with it, is
omitted. He then proceeded to say that
Mr. Greeley first made himself felt as a
power in the politics of the country in
the election of 1S40 During the six
months preceding that election, he con-
Quoted what was popularly known as
campaign paper and which contributed
largely to the success of the Whig party.
In some respects no position we can i'm
agine could he worse for a young man,
if he was willing to do party work in the
usual dirty way of party. In other re-
spects it was All admirable school of
training for the work he was afterward
to undertake. The issue was to be
made within given time and men
pressed to an immediate decision. Hence
he had to study the art of putting things
in the most effective way, to write
terse. vigorous, pointed articles, sharp,
strong. direct argument, to condense
into few lines the substance of long
essay, and yet omit nothing important
to be said-to carry the minds of men, as
it were, by storm. This was an excel
lent training for the columns of the Iri-
bune. which he established in 1S41. To
talk of Mr.. Greeley here is to talk of poll
tics, parties, tariffs, slavery, temperance,
education, farming, in short of every sub
ject connected with the interests of hui
manity. One needs to know better than
the preacher did the history of the coun-
try, the state of parties, opinions, meas
bo moral condition anl ont
of the people, the tone of the press, be-
fore he could duly appreciate the work
of Mr. Greeley and its value to the coun-
try. Still he knew the state of the
country was very different from what
it is now. Parties were different, meas
ures different. OF the living issues of |
that day, not one, if we except the tariff,
has survived to our time. Some have |
been settled. some the country has will |
lingly let die one that had not even
then assumed its frghtful proportions
has been settled at great cost of money |
and precious life. The South ruled the |
country, it filled all the high offices of |
government, it controlled all offices in
the army and in the navy, all offices |
from foreign ministers down to the |
humblest post Office in the land. 1t con-
trolled missionary societies and tract So
cieties, the press and the pulpit. The
political press taught human equality
and slavery the religious, human broth
erhood and slavery. Probably the most
widely read political journal was the
New York Herald. 1t had been the
first to make daily reports of the stock
market Its editor had displayed won
derful energy in securing the collection
and transmission of news from distant
places these were the only really decent
things about the paper 1t had no fixed
opinions, no principles, no conscience.
1t pandered to vulgar tastes and low ap-
petites. Still upon the question of slav-
cry the Herald was certainly no worse
than other papers, even the religious.
Slavery was humane institution, it
was divine institution, it was a chris
tianizing institution-only the mission
ary, instead of going abroad to the hea-
then, bred the heathen upon his owns soil,
and, instead of being scourged for
preaching christianity, he scourged his
With these trifling differences,
he was no unworthy successor of Paul
himself Mr.. Calhoun was the only
political seer in the country, at least the
only one who was willing to see. He
saw the lrrepresslDle cOnfllct long before
Mr.. Seward formulated that famous
phrase. He saw that the fertile lands
IF the North and West were destined to
be settled and to be Free Immigrants
from the peasantry of Ireland, Norway
md Sweden, from the artiZan and labor
ng classes of Germany, were to come
for land and with an unborn
1ate of tyranny and oppression. He
sought the annexation of Texas and ac-
it-a slice of Mexico and got
t. But what he did not see was, that
n the mountains and in the river-beds of
California there was gold, and gold
made California free State.
Into this conflict Horace Greeley
hrew himself with all the ardor of his
passionate nature. He had been nour-
shed among the mountains and in the
rec air of Nermont-a State whose boast
t is that no slave was ever owned with