The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1875-06-09
DECORATION DAY.


Immsnse Outp0uring Of the People
Of Putnam County.
Address Of Hon. O. p. Morton, at
Greencastle, Indiana.
FELLow-CITIzENs: I despair of
making myself heard by all this vast
assembly. / have not time to ray,
nor you the time to hear, all that is
rising up in my memory and demand
ing utterance. This is to me a SOL
emu and sweet occasion. 1t IS full OF
thrilling memories, some OF which are
exceedingly precious and many OF
them are sad 1t is beautiful and
praiseworthy custom to come together
once every year to decorate the graves
of our heroes and martyrs. 1t must
be interesting aud most profitable to
the surviving soldiers to come together
once year around the ashes of their
dead comrades. there to brighten the
chain of friendship that was first
linked together on many a hardfought
field and toiisome march, and many a
sad biveuc, where they had no shelter
but the skies, and no thought to cheer
them but the hope of returning home
and of a country preserved. Ut the
dead whose memories to-day we cele-
brate, their bodies have mingled with
the dust, and their immortal spirits
are. alike beyond the reach of our
praise or censure. We can do moth
ing that can possibly affect them.
Why, then, do we come together upon
this occasion to decorate the graves
of our dead soldiers? First, because
of its effect upon ourselves, for while
it is sad yet il conveys to us solemn
pleasure. 1t is good for us to be here
and to revive within our hearts those
memories of the cause forwhich these
men died, and their suffering and sac
rifice. We do it for its influence up
on our children, upon those who are
to come after us. There are many
little children here to day who will
long remember the solemnities OF this
occasion, and they will be instructed
that in the language of the old Roman
poet, 'It is sweet and honorable to
die for ones country" They will be
instructed by it in those duties of pa
triotism that will soon devolve upon
them, when they shall take our places.
It will be to them a pleasant and
sad recollection in the years yet to
come We decorate these graves not
merely to commemorate the courage
of the men who lie buried here.
Courage is always beautiful. There
can be no true soldier without cour-
age. The world has ever admired it,
and it ever will. But courage is COM
mon to the mass of mankind; COM
mon alike to the American, the Ger
man, the English, the French and the
Prussian soldier. It belongs to most
races.
s7 WHY WE CELEBRATE.
We intend by this to commemorate
chiefly the great cause for which these
men died. the principles for which
they fought and laid down their lives.
We look beyond their deaths to the
cause for which they suffered. While
we extend our sympathies to their
families, those who died upon the
field of battle in the, actual shock Of
war were never. perhaps. very much
the field of battle amid the clash Of
contending armies, fighting for a just
cause. is glorious. But when death
lation of the hospital, where the sol
with wounds, and with disease, with
no mother, wife or sister present to
minister as love only can minister,
and with none but the rough hand of
a comrade to wipe the clammy perspi,
ration from the brow, then death is
terrible indeed. 1t is great cause
which we to-day honor in honoring
the ashes of these heroes. That cause
l trust will ever be fresh and green.in
our hearts. We are told that we
should bury the animosities of the
war. say SO. l would they were in
the deep bosom Of the ocean buried,
but not the principles for which they
fought-not the character of the cause
for which they died. We should
never forget that. The heroes Of the
Revolution have all passed away, and
the animosities of that war are buried
in the grave with them; but the Dec
laration of Independence is more pop
ular to-day than ever before, and the
nation is preparing to celebrate it
next year. to celebrate in a grand and
impressive manner the great Centen-
NAL event of our independence. The
principles upon which that war was
fought trust are more broadly cher
ished to. day than ever before, better
understood, certainly more generally
applied; and so l trust it will be with
the principles for which these men
died, and for which you, soldiers,
fought in the last war. We can never
appreciate the sacrifice which these
men made. We cannot appreciate the
services randerod by the living col
diers now before us, men who left
their families, their homes and all the
comforts and pleasures of life, who
went to the field, we'll understanding
that many Of them, perhaps the ma
jority of them, would never return;
who risked everything, endured every,
thing that their country might live.
I say we never have, and we never can
appreciate the services and the sacri-
fees which these men have made
The Confederate army displayed valor
The majority of the people Of the
South, perhaps through vicious ed
ucation in regard to slavary and the
nature and origin of our government,
were sincere. But after all. the great
fact remains that they fought on the
wrong side. against their country,
against liberty and humanity, and We
can never put them on the same level
with the. Union soldier in regard to
pensions. or in regard to honors,
without dishenoring, the principles
for which these men fought. If there
is such thing as right. as distin-
guished from wrong; if there is such
a thing as good cause, as distin-
guished from a bad one, then these