The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-06-01

fail to follow right course of action, the pat.
riotc people of this country should. by every
form which public opinion can assume, mani
fest their sovereign displeasure towards all enc
mics of the public peace, whether organizing
for incendlarism and all the wild work of
mobs. or craftily seeking to stir up revolution,
subvert the government or unseat the lawful
President. Whatever danger may threaten, it
| is comforting to remember how firmly and Clio.
riously the loyal people of this land have stood
together for constitutional liberty and law, and
to feel that whenever the hour of supreme need
may come the roll of war.drums will once more
assemble the strength of the nation under the
banners of order and rightful government.
Yarmouth.
Memorial Day was observed by public exer.
cises and such ceremonies at the several ceme-
teries as were appropriate to the OCCASION
Comrades formed in line at the chapel of the
First Church at o'clock A. NJ, and marched
to the lower cemeteries headed by the Var
mouth brass band. After decorating the graves
of comrades they returned to Masonic Hall at
| u clock, where collation. was served to all
comrades of this and adjoining towns.
AT o'clock P. M. a procession of veterans of
the army and navy, and citizens, proceeded to
the upper cemetery and decorated the graves
there. The decoration of the Soldiers Monu-
ment took place at the Academy Grounds at
3 o'clock, followed by an Grafton by Clarence
Hale Esq, of Portland, and poem entitled
the "Uoion Volunteer" written by comrade
Samuel d. Seabury, and read by Rev. Chas. G.
| Holyoke The delivery of the address occupied
| nearly two hours, and for that length of time
| the undivided attention of the people was held.
| The following is an abstract of tie address:
| We come here to-day to make sacred me-
mortal, to lay cur yearly tribute of flowers
upon the graves of the men who died to save
are still full of love and honor and gratitude
for what the soldier did for his land. The
CLEAN of battle is seen only through the mists
of the past; there are strong, mature men and
women bending over these graves to-day who
cannot remember when the first shot was fired
of the great war, or scarcely when Lee sur
rendered: but Memorial Day is still growing
IN significance and beauty, because it has be-
come wrought into the life and thought of the
people. 1t is not day for sounding phrase
and fulsome words of panegyric for the brave
men whose memory we honor and whose graves
we have just covered with flowers; the Day
itself is their praise; the tear that starts from
the eyes Of every good man and woman in the
applause and eulogy enough. Ii language
were all we had for them it would be vain with
weak words and
s'With the breeze of song,
To stir little dust OF praise"
But words and flowers and song are not all our
offering; we come to gain lesson from the
soldier death to make our lives better and our
love purer and stronger for the country Whlcn
their blood hallowed.
Let us not be ashamed to call Memorial Day
day of sentiment. Sentiment is the highest
use of the rational powers with the moral feel
ings Such sentiment has been the support OF
every nation that has ever been worth name.
1t is essential to the State as it is to the fam
lily. The king lives in the hearts OF his peo-
pie; the nation is the united heart of all its
people. No national life ever has been, or ever
can be, preserved without the reverence and
love of the men and women who compose it.
The warm sentiment of patriotism is to the
nation what gravitation is to the earth. 1t is
just as sure as the forces of nature, that when
State loses the respectful love of its people it
falls While the old nations of the earth kept
that high sentiment they endured, when they
began to lose it they began to crumble, and
their splendid legions could not save them;
they might keep for brief time the show of
national life, but they looked in vain for their
old-time greatness; they prayed in vain
'sOf the three hundred give us three
To make new Thermopyle."
England was only an array of feudal lords
and divided houses and hostile clans, until she
taught the people who worked 10 her shops and
titled her soil to love and revere her as their
mother and protector, and then she became the
great nation she is Germany grew to be the
nation of warriors by Systematically Installing
this high sentiment into her scholars. Ernest
Renan said: SIT was the German universities
that triumphed at Sadowa;" they could not
have triumphed if they had not taught and
enforced an enlightened respect and love for
Fatherland.
The sentiment which the soldiers death in
spires and quickens ought to be higher aud bet
ter in America than that taught by the dead
heroes who fought simply to give kings ore
power. These men whose graves We love and
honor fought not for kingly conquest, but for
tue life of country which they themselves
governed. The old Celts used to have policy
of compelling their common people to change
their locality in the province every few years
that they might not become too much attached
to their fields and untitled to go to war. If such
had been the price for our soldiers we never
could give them the heartfelt service of day
like this. No; the men that went out to crush
rebellion fought for these fair fields, because
they owned them and loved them, and gov
erned them, and because they knew that prayers
were going up from these fields and homes for
the success Of their cause. President Lincoln is
said to have told near friend after the most
disastrous of our battles that the thought OF
these brave boys pouring out their blood in
such torrents would oVerpower aud craze him
if he did not know they were dying for some
thing. He knew their sacrifice was not in
vain. 1t elevates manhood to know that there
Is something worth uyluS IOF III Illus tneu Uut VI
commonplace to feel that their life labor is in
land that good men have died for. Surely the
country that was worth dying for is worth living
for, and here, as 1t seems to me, is the hIg best
and best lesson of Memorial Day. Surely it
would be the Ecrime of crimes if we should be
untrue in cur love and sacrifice for country
which their blood sauctifed. That blood was
shed for the whole broad land and not for any
section of it. Oar allegiance is to the whole;
we cannot afford to cherish any resentment to
- hE,e n 6AAC raNff nna oh
thing but perfect forgiveness for the men who
so gravely erred in trying to break down our
institutions. 1 believe the best heart of the
South realizes their wrong now. L have heard
Confederate generals say within few weeks
that they thanked God they did not succeed
We cannot give them the tender memory and
the fearful tribute we give our own brave
boys, any more than we could greet the gladia-
tor who died 10 the arena with the same heart
felt applause which we bestow upon the mar
tyr who falls in battle to save his land; but we
can forgive and forget, and that is all they ask.
Let us be as true to the nation in peace as
these brave soldiers whose graves we honor
were true to it in war; Let us learn to take as
careful, devout interest ia the affairs of the
country as we should if great national enemy
were threatening US. Great dangers do threaten
every people that is not watchful OF its public
affairs; the demagogue, the time server, the
unwlse statesman, the corrupt politician; all
these and many other dangers assail every rep
resentative government. We have no right to
complain of bad administration and of corrup-
ton in politics if we rest quiet and do nothing
to remedy or prevent these evils by trying to
keep good men at the head of affairs. Ii the
soldiers life and death teach US to take jealous
care of the country he saved for us it will be
his highest triumph.
b Saccarappa.
Memorial Day services were held here in the
morning at the Methodist church These were
conducted by Rev. 1. Luce and Rev. 81. B.
Mead and consisted of Scripture reading and
prayer by the latter and an address by the
former, singing by quartette and music by
the Westbrook Cornet Band. The address was
one of the finest of the kind ever delivered
here upon similar occasion. At the conclu-
sion of these exercises procession of citizens
and school children, lead by the band, marched
to the cemetery, where the ceremony of decor
ating the graves was performed.
At game of base ball in the afternoon the
Lone Stars of Portland defeated the Actives of
this village by score of 8 to8