The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1879-06-01
DECORATION DAY.
Speech of Mr.. John H. Oberly
AT THE MOUND CITY NATIONAL
CEMETERY, MAY 18TH, 1870.

was organized at the monument. and Mr.,
Oberly, having been introduced by the
president Of the day, spoke as follows:
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Yesterday afternoon was informed that
an emergency existed requiring from me an
address on this occasion. The gentlemen
invited to render here to-day the usual YER
bal Tributes to the memory of the brave men
VINO sleep their last sleep in this National
cemetery, were, I was assured, unable
to &c present. "We hope, therefore"
was the language of persuasion used
to me, you will rise TO the emergency and
make ready to give US a speech tomorrow. .
In response to this urging-bcing unable
10 employ a wise refusal of a com
PEELED request shall, with | fear
undue consideration born OF haste,
link together, in uncouth sentences, few
thoughts not, hope, inappropriate to this
presence
In his admirable proclamation, calling
upon the people of the State to unite in
this celebration,
COY. CULLOM SAYS
that IN no more fitting way can the spirit
of patriotism be strengthened-thc mem
DRY of the soldiers of the Union be kept
green in our hearts-than by thus meeting
at the graves Of our dead heroes, and while
decorating with flowers the mounds that
swell above their patriotic dust, dedicating
ourselves anew to the cause OF liberty and
nationality for which they bravcly fought
and nobly died.
This is true. But how can this renewed
dedication of ourselves to the cause spoken
of be consummatcd without a clear cxposi-
ton of what is meant by
LIBERTY AND NATIONALLY :!
And, since your doxy is not always my
doxy, how are we to indulge in such discus
sions without making this heroic res ~
place OF fiery vaor, Wondering cold a1d
Iowa forum for wrangling politicians?
Forbid the thought, But, notwithstanding
the high considerations OF forbearance that
invoke us to put from off our feet the shoes
OF partisanS, reminding us, with this invo-
cation, that the place wherein we tread is
holy ground, we would do injustice to the
dust of the Union dead IL, out of
respect for the scrSltivencss N, the bfave
men who championed the Lost Cause, we
should preserve silence on occasions of this
kind and refuse to justify the triumphant
and good cause in which these soldiers died,
and express our determination that the fruits
of their victory shall not be dissipated by
reaction or be lost by revolution however in
sidiously inaugurated and carried on with
whatever skill of Discrimination by hypo-
critical partisans.
Let us, therefore, with hasty glance re-
view some chapters of the history of the
Republic to ascertain, if we can, the car -es
that led to the struggle in which died the
men whose dust rests beneath our feet-to
ascertain, if possible the results of .He
struggle and speculate concerning the
probable effects Of those results upon the
future of our government.
In the
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENC g
the seed OF the War for Free Soil-the war
of lS6l-j-was sown; but it was long in
bearing fruit-nearly century. That
seed was the assertion Of an old truth that
all men are created equal, 1t was asserted
in the face Of the fact of the existence of
human slavery which contradicted
it and branded it as gilt
tering generality. And after the ,.c'ory
Of the first war with Frglerd-atter we
had taken place among the nations of the
earth-the truth Of human equality seemed
w Dc IOsl out VI Jul Iolc VI pOIlliCul ClllCS
and the doctrine of human incquali,, be.
came dominant. 1t grew to fruition in the
the cotton fields of the South;
and at last, the men who advocated il yer.
bally and by the cracking of the slave
masters whip, sought to hide it in safety |
behind thick veil of non agitation. They |
declared discussion of human slaveiy by
its opponents to be treason against the gov
eminent, and invoked mob law and mis-.
chicvous political doctrines to their support |
But they thus invoked into life monsters
that At last consumed them with relentless |
fury, In vain they labored to induce the
public mind to be calm Gusts of passion |
stirred 1t constantly, and finally a storm
dashed it into fury. They called to their aid |
the doctrines of notification and secession;
but in vain. Jackson killed the former
with a threat; and when secession
raised its audacious arm and struck at tho
government, the men whose memories we
honor to-day, with thousands of others, re.
sponded the call of thp Government and in |