The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1877-06-01


who mas not promptly returned his fee to tn
funds OF the Post to be used in support OF tn
poor and needy connected Herewith, and TIL
year can assure you will be no exception t
the rule. Since Bosworth Post was ORGANIZED
| 1T has spent more than eight thousand dollar
In support of uuprovided poor of those VIII
fell upon the battlefield fighting in thei
| country's defense. We have hunted the by
ways and cross streets of your city and have +
| the extent of our means provided and assisted
the needy, and here, gentlemen permit ms t
say that for every dollar appropriated to thi
fost by the city we have returned it more thai
ten fold, and the eight thousand dollars whcl
we have spent has saved to this city more thai
eighty thousand. You remember, he contin
ued, when in those dark days of the rebellion
for assistance, when the fate of the nation hun!
trembling in the balance, when despair was up
on the countenance of loyal men, you said t
your citizens go forth, leave your wives ant
little ones, they are our wards, we will be thei
guardians and supports, Have you forgotten
gentlemen, those days? Let this memoria
day recall them aud let every citizen unite il
the consummation of pledges thus made ant
which demand to be sacredly kept. Comrades
and fellow citizens, he concluded. those wht
fell and those who survive that great struggle
have laid deep foundation upon which to builC
to the memory of the dead, a monument which
shall outlive marble. 1t is our privilege and
duty to rear upon that foundation a govern
ment founded upon patriotism and devotion tG
principle and truth-a government to which we
may point the nations of earth as the best and
noblest yet devised. Mr. Winship closed his
remarks by an eloquent appeal to his comrades
to observe each recurring Memorial Day as
fittingly as they had the present.
At the close of the Grafton the audience sang
"America" and Rev. Gibbs pronounced the
benediction.
WcsibrOok.
The citizens of West5rook united in Me-
mortal service at the Congregational church at
Ssccarappa at o'clock, a. m. Devotional ex-
ercises were conducted by Rev. l. Lacs and II
3. Mead of Saccarapps, and A. Blanchard of
Cumberland Mills An address was delivered
by Rev. NJ. Fry of Ohio, himself gallant SOL
dier in the late war. The exercises were inter-
spersed with some fine singing by a male quar-
tette. After the services in the church large
procession was formed with Lieut.. II. b.
Sprowl as Marshall Healed BY the West
brook Cornet Baud it N lrched to the cemetery,
where the graves of the fallen soldiers (13 in
number) were appropriately decorated by their
surviving comrades in arms.
yarmouth.
The procession formed in trout of the hall,
and headed by the full Yarmouth Band, march
ed to the Cemetery. There the graves of the
fallen comrades were decorated with simple
and appropriate ceremonies. The proce ssion
then reformed and marched back to the hall,
where COL Cobb delivered very eloquent ora
ton.
Gorham.
Memorial Day, for the first time in several
years, was observed at Gorbam with appropr-
ate ceremonies. During the afternoon the
graves of all who participated in the late war
were decorated by committee of ladies. The
soldiers monument was also decked with flags
and flowers. Within the fence around the
monument were very elegant floral designs.
tributes to the memory of Chaplain John R.
Adams and Surgeon William Wescott.
At $50 p M: large number of the citizens
gathered around the monument where fitting
tributes were paid to the memory of the hor-
ored dead by Hon. Frederick Robbie, Hon. John
A. Waterman and Jos. Estes, ESQ. Prayer
was offered by Rev. E. s. Huntingdoo, and q
poem read by Mr.. Weeks In response to an
invitation from the committee of arrange
ments, the Gorham Cornet Band was present,
aud by their excellent rendering of suitable
music, contributed much to the interest of the
occasion.
Biddeford.
The weather was beautiful and the day gen.
orally observed. AT two o'clock the procession
formed at city hall, aud moved to Greenwood
cemetery in the following order: Platoon of
police Marshal, aids, Institute Band, Sheridan
Post, G. A. R. soldiers and sailors Biddeford
Band, Biddeford Light Infantry, Patriotic
Order, S. of A. Artillery, Johuson's Band,
City Government, school children, citizens
generally. At Greenwood cemetery a large
number OF graves were strewn with flowers,
and the usual exercises took place. A detach-
ment then visited st. Mary's, St. Joseph's and
the Biddeford cemeteries In the evening q.
81. Weber, editor of the Salem Post, deliv-
cred the Grafton at City Hall, which was
packed Business was generally Suspended
and great crowds were in the city. No acct
dents are reported.
The usual ceremonies of Decoration Day
were observed by the G. A. R. and an i'm
mense conconrse of people witnessed the i'm.
pressive exercises at Laurel Hill Cemetery.
Lewiston.
Decoration Day was observed by process
sion, including Lewiston and Auburn posts
G. A. r., military aud firemen, which moved
to the cemetery, whers the graves were decor
ated and appropriate services held. In the
forenoon the Bates College niue defeated the
Dirigos Of Portland-S to 8. In the target con-
test Of the Auburn Light Infantry, G. E. Xii.
bourn won the gold medal
Bath.
The commemorative exercises in this city
we're more extensive and elaborate than usual.
The military and fire companies headed the
procession in the afternoon to the cemeteries,
where the soldiers graves were appropriately
decorated. Ala o'clock city hall was filed
Mayor Reed was president of the meeting;
prayer was offered by Rev. VIM. Hart of the
Central church; patriotic songs were sung by
the choir and appropriate music was given by
the band.
Clarence Hale, Esq, of Portland, gave the
address, of which the following is an abstract:
This is the tenth memorial anniversary. For
the tenth time we are called upon as thought
full citizens 10 lay our annual tribute of flowers
upon the graves OF the nations dead. To-day
we are all Joined, comrades, friends, brothers,
sisters, wives, mothers in making great COM
mon offering. 1t is not celebration day; it is
q day of commemoration and of sacrifice.
When the war had just closed, when the SOL
diers graves were newly made and yearly in.
creasing in number by the sacred dust of those
who years before had been left on Southern
battle fields, the order was given that on the
thiItieth of May those graves in every city,
town and hamlet churchyard in the land, should
be strewn with flowers Nobody then knew or
thought that this woad grow into great ma
tional anniversary; but it has grown into such
: an anniversary because the nation needed it,
because the custom in its simple beauty and its
noble suggestion wentssiraight to the heart of
every coed man aud womsu IN the land. The
nation NEEDED such day just az much as the
Hebrew people needed to sustain its piety and
quicken its conscience by commemorative its
deliverance from the red sea, ard by singing
over and over again the song of Moses. Moth
ing can take the place of day like this. We
raise monuments and memorial tablets to the
nations dead, We build mausoleums to tell the
careless coming ages the debt we owe these
men; but all this will not take the place of a
simple act like this, and when the fresh sum.
mer time has come, and buds burst into beauty
and the grass begins to spring over the 70 =
moss grown grave, we shall not be satisfied un.
til we come out under the summer skies and
render this homage, more tender and beautiful
than can be paid by marble or brass These
flowers will fade tomorrow, but they will kave
the fragrance OF our love and reverence FOL
those who died to save the patton. We cannot
pay the debt we owe them: we cannot hope to