Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-06-05

made sacred in the calendar of life by the
memories they invoke, and the rites they
practice.
See them as they move IN solemn process
sion through our streets, keeping slow and
feeble step to the music that once made heart
and limb bound with manly strength and
warlike zeal gaze upon them, the sole sur
vivors of battle and wreck, some MANNED in
! open fight,
| For Southern prisons will sometimes yawn
And yield their dead unto life again.
Some lame, some blind, all suffering from
| the trials and dangers of tented field and
stormy wave-all speaking, with the mute
| eloquence of their stored garments OF blue,
of the heroic deeds of our brave defenders,
and doff thy hat and stand uncovered, for
| they are holier than we. Realize from the
scene, as l do, that such men are the
masters OF the day, the hosts of the land,
the chosen of the people, the glory OF the
nation, whom to know is an honor, and to
be their guests a most precious boon. Their
claims, if any they make, should be needed
| their wishes gratifed. their present wants
| supplied, their future assured, and the world
and they taught thai the gratitude of Amer
/ lea, made secure in her freedom by their de-
voted toll, is bounded only by the ability of
her citizens, to whom the sin of ingratituCe
as individuals or nation shall never be sp-
| piled.
| But while we have thus in the past, are now
| in the present, and will continue in the future,
! to pay tribute to these gallant defenders of
| the rights of all while we will keep Decora-
ton Day forever as green oasis of rest In
| the great labor desert of life while we will
build up IN the hearts of all true Americans
! the S0th of May with its mournful but re-
| splendent memories, az second only III their
! love and veneration to that other national
hAl, .aar ~ Nv 70 hut n, Iowa
of human advancement everywhere, which
commentaries the birth of our nation, as
this day commentaries the services OF those
that saved Our nation from ruin and disgrace,
we must not content ourselves with this,
which is but the expression of our gratitude
towards those most grandly deserving it We
must be mindful of our obligation to them,
to ourselves, to our country and our God, TO
exemplity by actions that We are worthy
of the sacred blood SO freely poured for us
that we have gathered instruction from the
speech and life and death of those who gave
that blood that we can perform as freemen
should the duties made incumbent upon us by
their success, and that by the blessing of
Him who rules the Universe, we will carry
into practical and permanent effect the teach
ings and result of the war which preserved
the Union of the United States of America.
From the lessons OF the past, carved, as they
are, in letters of blood upor the turf and
granite of America from the sad yet sweet
memories of the dead that fill our minds
and hearts, and from the impressive presence
of the living sailors and soldiers of our great
war, we can, yes, we must, extract wise coun-
sells for the present and unerring guides Tor
the future.
AS | said three years ago: ave all well
come the mild dominion of white-robed
Peace as she showers broadcast DER the land
the sweet waters of reconciliation we all
rejoice that those late foremost in rebellion
for the supposed good of section now claim to
be foremost in labor for the whole country |
we all are exceeding glad that the armed ship
of the nation is met with huzzas and festivi
ties as she sails up the mighty Mississippi |
we all hail with pleasure the subsection of
the military to the civil arm of the United
States we all welcome the prodigals to til Q
home of their fathers with loud acclaim.
Still all cannot read or accept the signs of the
times alike" And with three years added
experience l can but sorrowfully say that the
signs of the times do not, in my Judgment,
warrant now as much as then their reading
or acceptance as though the waters OF chart,
table forgiveness, so freely given by the loyal
people, had washed away the stains of fratri
cidsl strife and unnecessary revolt, or &C.
mented in closer reunion to the stars and
stripes those who sought to destroy their
brightness and power. Others may cast
different horoscope from the skies than l. and
for them | have wondering admiration.
! Sentimentality smoothes the pathway of
| the common courtesies of life and leads to
sympathy for the sufferer, whether rightfully
or wrongfully undergoing pain and punish
ment. But in great national epochs and
upon great national topics too much of either
blinds the eye of the citizen and renders the
call of justice too often unheeded. Promises
are sometimes like pie-crust-inade to be
broken-and when unaccompanied by result
ant acts, made necessary by the promise,
may appeal with eloquent phrase or smooth
rhetoric to the senses, but should not be per-
mitted to enthrall the intellect stay the
arm of righteous justice.
Those of you, gallant remnants of the no.
Bile army and navy that volunteered the ma
| tons life to save. who interpret the omens of
the day and the beacons of the past different
ly from myself, may well be pardoned for be-
lieving in the pledges and fealty to the Union
as it is of those that brayely met you in war.
You know them only as :" foemen worth of
your Steel" who by their courage and con-
stancy on hundred hard-fought fields re-
deemed their cause from disgrace but not
defeat. We of the closet who knew the men
who met you in hostile lines only as perjured
traitors who basely plotted rebellion against
| the kind Government that protected them as
u.s. we also may well be pardoned if we are
slower to rely upon the vows Of those who
| broke so many solemn oaths in precipltating
an uncalled for fratricidal strife upon our dear
| land, and whose actions certainly do not keep
pace with their pledges made since the era of
reconciliation dawned upon our country. We
can but nope and wait and watch and pray
! for the best, meeting our late adversaries
| fairly and squarely friends, and as equal
citizens of the Union, while relying upon
your arms for support in case of need, and
upon the teachings of your actions to educate
the whole people to their duty.
We all as Americans owe q duty to our
country, and while we shout
Hosannas for a land redeemed,
The bayonet shcathed, the cannon dumb
Again banner floats abroad,
Gone the one stain that on it fell
We must manfully strive that duty to per-
| form. One part of that duty we owe to the
private soldier and common seaman of the
war. They were the real heroes 1t requires
no great effort to appear or to be heroic when
you are the center of the field, when the eyes
of friend and foe alike are upon you and the
sure certainty of enduring fame awaits your
action; even a craven feels aroused at such
times, and men known for years as weak and
commonplace have under such surroundings
risen to the nights of daring and renown.
We have perhaps been too often told of
Foote, Porter and Farragut upon the sea- and
of Sherman, Sheridan and Grant upon the
land While they deserve the praise awarded
the honors they have received. and none
would in any manner detract from their we'll
earned laurels or rewards rather would |
enlarge them)-let us render honor and praise
tonight and always to the unnamed dead
that swell the roll of those that sleep beneath
the salt sea waves or fill the mounds in the
! national cemeteries. Letus remember the COM
mon seaman that went down with the Cum
berland and the Iroquois that manned the
wooden Hartford and the iron Monitor, and
gave his courage and his life to add to the
glorious record of the American Navy and
the perpetuity of the American Union with
out thought Of anything save doing his duty.
Let us remember forever and for aye the
private soldier that uncomplainingly bore the
storms of winter and the heat of summer;
that bravely barred his bosom to the leaden
hail or the cleaning steal; that laid his life