The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1875-05-31

| country. Or let your patriot have never known
reverence. He has no sense of the grand pow
| is he going to reverence his fellows or respec
| human power. Or suppose he really does mo-
| love God. Suppose he neither loves Christ mol
| those who are like him. Find a man if yot
can who really has no love, but hatred for God
and how can you dream that such man car
| have love for his fellows? How can he figh
| for his brothers if he would not fight for hi
| heavenly Father How can he strive for hi
| nations honor or what does honor mean to hin
| who does not love the mighty fountain of hon
or? You see these things are inseperably
bound up together Be Christian, and you
must needs be patriot Be genuine patriot
| and you are Christian. You cannot escape
the logic,of our reasoning Here yop are brave
men and brave women patriots. You are proud
of your. patriotism. | say you are either Chris
tians, or else just as far as you fail of your du
| ty TO God, just so far you fail of that only rea
patriotism that wilt die, that will suffer, thai
| will be silently patient
have wanted to draw practical conclusion
| from our study. 1t is easy to see what are the
| duties of patriotism in war times. The imagi
| nation takes hold of them. They are outward
You can see them. 1t tlpgles the blood to heal
the drum and the martial band 1t rouses the
| soul as you see the disciplined march of regi
meDts In the 'front.' The land is full of stirring
stories of danger and heroisni. The newspapers
thrill you with their telegrams OF great battles.
Sunday congregations turn from worship to
scrape lint and prepare hospital stores. Chill
dren's fingers and aged hands are busy with lit.
tie minstrations of love for distant soldiers, IL
| is easy to see what patriotism means. 1t is
hard for while not to be brave when all are
brave. 1t easy to die, easy to give easy to SUI
fer when all suffer together.
By and by there comes reaction. Peace re-
turns Sympathy declines. The old memories
fade. Men resume their wonted habits. They
half forget the empty sleeves and the scars ana
the graves. The battle cry every man for the
land" dies away before the the old cry every
man for HIMSELF Any enc can be,a patriot
for an hour IF excitement. Thousands can be
patriots while war lasts. They are true patrl-
OTIS who know how to be patriots now. L mean
it is peace that tests patriotism.
We stand now, ten years from the time or
the war. But the old strife is The same. Two
sides still are ranged for BATTLE the side of JUS
tice and the side of injustice, the side OF Tree
dom, and the side of slavery, lust of gain on
one side, and truth on the other, selfishness and
unselfshness, cowardice and courage. Inc
sides are the same. Patriotism is the same de-
mands the same virtues You men of business
be just. be honest be liberal and you fight for
the nation. You mechanics, aud artisans, and
employees be straightforward and diligent and
faithful and you work for the nation, You
manufacturers and builders and employers, De
fair and generous, and you spend for the nation
You LAWYERS and doctors, and ministers, be
truthful and wise, and large hearted, and you
live for the nation. You women learn patience
and love, you children be brave to do right and
you help save nation.
It is the same old vices that threatened the
nation. 1t is ignorance, injustice, pride and
sin of whatever kind. 1t is none the less true
that they do not march in the open field. No
merchant makes fraudulent entries, DO me-
chanic does piece of false work, no contractor
overreaches his men, no lawyer makes the worse
appear the better reason, no physician is grasp
ing with the poor, no minister dares preach " nat
he doesn't believe or withhold word of God's
truth, no wives and daughters run up debts for
dress and show, who do not as truly ain blow
at this nation as though they fired hostile
gun. You cannot do single wrong. nay, even
to Yourself, and not do irreparable loss to this
very country for which many of you for time
were willing to die.
1t is rea, and active danger, too, that threat
ems 1t is not outward danger that most hurts
a man or a people. 1t is not what foreign en-
emies threaten. 1t is the harm that comes
from within. 1t is negligence of public and
private duty. 1t is insdious, creeping corrup-
ton. 1t is waste and extravaganza. It is let
ting down the standard of right. lG is igno-
rance. 1t is dishonest politics, Ii IS bad men
in office and careless people who put and kept
them there. These are the things which ruin
a people. War about them meyer ruined a
people.
A patriots present duties are hard too. 1t is
easy to enlist. 1t was harder for many man
but it is not easy to deny SELF 1t is not easy to
keep informed about politics: 1t is not easy to
insist on faithful officials 1t is not easy to pu-
rify parties. 1t is hard not to shrk responslblil-
ties when designing men are eager to grasp IL
1t is hard in small ways every day to Denave
like Christian at home, in the street, at Inc
store, in the shop.
We hear good deal said of the salvation of
the country. The country is going to be saved,
my friends, only as we are saved L mean no
technical sense. mean nothing mystical,
nothing unintellgible l mean by soved, made
good and pure. mean by saved, made Chris
tan. 1 mean by Christian, made like Christ.
1t is grand call that Christ makes to our
nation. Patriotism takes higher shape: 1t
is no longer to be free and strong for ourselves.
Patriotism has 0utgrown the old thought Oh
country alone. 1t is thing for the nations.
1t is freedom and strength for the world. NO
national bounds hem iG in. No barriers re-
strain Gods own spirit as it wings its peacefnl
way over the seas and the lands. Wherever
ignorance is, at home or abroad, patriotism
strikes Wherever intemperance Expresses,
wherever vice corrupts, wherever sin ruins,
there patriotism finds its foe. 1t is no longer
for ourselves that God has taught us to live as
a nation; but the great Christian law born In
glory at Bethlehem of peace on earth, gooo
Will to men, the golden rule of Christ. Blessed
is the nation, say, where God is the Lord
and the people which He hath chosen for his
own inheritance.
DECORATION DAY WITH THE p A. & N. U.
A committee from the Army & Navy Union
decorated the graves of its deceased members
buried in the Eastern, Forest City and Calvary
Cemeteries, yesterday morning. AT noon
detachment took special car for Evergreen
Cemetery. On arriving there they were es-
corted to different graves by the children of the
members. Arriving at the graves circle was
formed and short prayer was made by the
chaplain, Mr.. W. S. Hatch, after which me-
mortal hymn was sung by quartette under
the direction of Dr. s. G. Fernald. During the
singing the floral offerings were placed on the
graves by the children. The ceremony was
very impressive and was witnessed by large
number of people.
The committee on decoration of the Army &
NAVY Union would return their thanks to DR.
Gilman aud others for donations of money and
flowers for decorations.
SECOND PARISH CHURCH.
Rev, Mr. Buck occupied Rev. DIR. Hills pull
nit. preaching a sermon from the text: ''There
were giants in those days" The discourse was
very able one and was designed to show that
the present when all the people are recognized
and when no giants monopolize the power and
the great deeds, is-better than those days when
the few were the chief actors and controlled
the masses.
PINE STREET CHURCH.
Rev. Mr.. Jones, pastor of the Pine street
church, delivered very eloquent sermon relat-
ing to Memorial cay. We regret that we are
not able to give an abstract.
MECHANIC BLUES
A detachment of the Mechanic Blues deco
rated the graves of the members of that organ
ization in Evergreen Cemetery yesterday aft
ernoon.
PROGRAMME TODAY.
Members of Bosworth Post will meet at their
Headquarters at a. m. to decorate graves In
all cemeteries except Evergreen. At 1.3O p
m. the line will be formed in front of the Post
headquarters, Mechanics Building, Congress
street, and march over the route heretofore
published to the Portland & Rochester depot,
from whence the membess of the Post will
proceed to Evergreen Cemetery on special
train. Public exercises will take place in the