Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1875-10-08
President Grant at Des MOines.

AT the recent meeting at Des Moines
Iowa, of the Society of the Army of the
Tennessee, loud calls were made for Presi
dent Grant. After a few humorous re
marks in reference to the calls for himself
and Gen. Sherman, in which he said il
had been customary at the reunions OF
the army to call upon him just because
he always made the shortest speech, the
President said he had concluded to disap-
point them this time, and he had, there
fore jntted- down what he wisbnd IN sny.
when he read as follows:
CoMRADEs-It always affords me
much qualification to meet my comrades
in arms of ten and fourteen years ago, to
tell over again the trials and hardships OF
those days-hardships imposed for the
preservation and perpetuation of our free
institutions. We believed then, and we
believe now, that we have Government
worth fighting for and, if need be- dying
for. How many of our comrades
paid the latter price for our pre-
served Union! Let their heroism
| and sacrifice be ever green in our
memory; let not the results of their sac
rifice be destroyed. The Union and the
free institutions for which they fell should
be held more dear for their sacrifices. We
will not deny to any of those who fought
against us any privilege under the Gov.
ernment which we claim for ourselves
On the contrary, we welcome all such who
come forward in good faith to help build
up the waste places and TO perpetuate our
institutions against all enemies as broth
ers in full interest with us in a common
heritage; but we are not prepared 10 apol
ogize for the part VIC took in the war. II
is TO be hoped that the like trials will
never again befall our couptyy. In their
settlement no class of people can more
| heartily join than the soldier who sub.
mitted to the dangers, trials and hardships
of the camp and the battlefield, on which
ever side he may have fought. No class
of people are more interested in guarding
against a recurrence of those days. Let
us, then, begin by guarding against every
enemy to the prosperity of free republican
| institutions.
81 do not bring into this assemblagc
politics, certainly not partisan politics,
but it is fair subject for the soldiers in
their deliberations to consider what may
be necessary to secure the prize for which
they battled. In a Republic like ours,
where the citizen is the sovereign and the
official the servant, where no power is ex.
ercised except by the will of the people, il
is important that the sovereign people
| should foster education and promote that
| intelligence which is to preserve us as
| free nation. If we are TO have another
! contest in the near future of our national
existence | predict that the dividing line
will not be Mason and DiXon's, but be.
tween patriotism and intelligence on the
one side and superstition, ambition and
! ignorance on the other.
Now, the centennial year of our ma
! tiOnal existence, believe is. good time
to begin the work of strengthening the
foundations of the structure commenced
by our patriotic forefathers 100 years
ago at Lexington. Let us all labor
to add all needful guarantees for the
greater security Of free thought, free
speech, a free press, pure morals, unfet
| tered religious sentiments, and Of equal
rights and privileges to all men, irrespect
| i've of nationality, color or religion; en-
courage free schools and resolve that mo-
one dollar of money appropriated 10 theil
support shall be appropriated TO the sup
port of any sectarian school; resolve that
neither the State nor the nation, nor botl
combined, shall support institutions o
| learning other than those sufficient TO af
ford to every child growing up in the land
the opportunity of good common. .schoo
education, unmixed with sectarian, pagan
or atheistical, Leave the matter of religion
TO the family altar, the church and thI
private school supported entirely by pri
vate contributions, and keep the churcl
and the State forever separate. With thesI
safeguards believe the battles which ere
ated the Army of the Tennessee will no
| have been fought in yainn