The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1881-09-29
sENAToRPLUMB's ADDRESS
At the soldIsr.' Reunion. Topeka.

graphic acrount 81 Senator P1umDs adj .
dress before the late soldiers reunion at
Topeka. 1t was full of errors, and con- {
we give our readers the cor
rected report of it below.
GOoernOr ST. John: /,
On behalf of this great multitude of
ex soldiers and sailors, return thanks
foF'the very cordial and timely words of
welcome which you have uttered Conn
ing, as they do, from the honored Exec
uIive of this great State, himself an ex-
soldier OF tried reputation, we know
they are not mere form. We realize
the heartiness of this welcome still
further in the hospitality which has al
Topeka, the evidences of which are TO
be seen on every hand. Topeka is one
of the landmarks of the struggle for
freedom in Kansas, and her citizens,
catching the spirit OF that struggle in q
manner worthy of themselves and the
State, have opened their purses, their
houses and their hearts for this occasion, |
which will remain precious memory to /
those here assembled for all time TO |
come. 1t has been suggested in fact, |
that Topeka has undertaken more than |
she can accomplish. Possibly this may
be so, bat IL it be 30, IL Is solely on nc |
count of Q miscalculatiOn as 10 the num- |
Der Of people who would avail them |
selves of the generous invitation extend |
ed, and not on account of a lack either |
of intention or Of means. If fifty thous-
and have come where but forty
thousand were expected, why that
is q mistake which has oflen beeh>
made. There are more people in
Kansas than we can readily appre-
ciate. 1t had . million last year, and
has hundred thousand more this year
and they are people whose hearts are
readily moved by the prospects e a
Veteran Soldiers Reunion. But il the
| rations should give out beg TO remind
the good people of this city that while
q soldier knows how TO forage, he never
forages of his friends, and therefore the
| ferocious sheep will remain untouched
IN his lair; and though some may have
to sleep out Of doors tonight not even
| the 'top rail" will be taken of the fences.
Let Il be understood, however, that this
| last is e concession, for If there is any
thing an old soldier enjoys il is warming
| his shins at q fire made OF somebody
else's fence rails. AS an addenda to this
I ought to say that Union soldiers were
not plunderers; they did not take what
| they did not want, nor what they couldn't
carry off, And better still, be IL said,
they only took that the taking OF which
4 =
personal profit to the takeT. Possibly
| ought to make an exception in favor ofthe
Seventh Kansas, bearing in mind story
of that gallant and efficient regiment
| which is 20 the effect that brigade of
Union troops having camped upon an
| Alabama plantation, and proceeded as
usual to appropriate the chickens, pigs.
etc., the proprietor made loud CON-
plant to the commanding general, who
/ very promptly responded that he would
punish the perpetrators If they were
/ pointed out. The planter, however, said
/ he could not do that, as they were all
| alike, and the commander said he was
| powerless unless the culprit was point
ed out. Realizing that his property was
hOpelessly gone, the citizen said with a
/ sigh, "Well, there's one thing they can't
| take away from me-" whats that 90
my hope of salvation" was the reply.
"Well, now, old man" said the general,
81 don't know what that may be, but if
you value it very highly you had better
hide it thoroughly, for the Seventh
Kansas will be along here presently, and
| they will take 1t, sure"
The day is auspiciousl Evefybol v
is good-natured; everything has been
done that can be to meet the comfort
and convenience of the vast crowd as
sembled There will be no friction, and
all will disperse as they came-thankful
and happy, wishing Topeka that "peace
may be within her walls and prosperity
within her palaces"
Those by whom we are surrounded,
and for whom / am priviledged to
speak on this occasion, represent every
great battle field of the war for the
| Union. They shared in the defeat of
Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellors-
Vile, Ockmulgee, and Shreveport,
| without disheartenment, and felt the
thrill of victory at Wilson's Creek
| Prairie Grove, Stone River, VIcksburg-
/ Lookout Mountain, Nashville, Ante
tam, Gettysburg, The Wilderness, and
Appomattox, without undue citation.
After every defeat they closed up the
ranks, took another reef in the belt, set
their teeth together, and resolved that
the next time should show better re-
suit. Alter victory they said
there's more TO be wOn," and
saved their rejoicing until the
final result came. They not only fought
the rebellion down but they gave to the
government the benefit of their example
as citizens during that service. They,
never ceased TO remember that they were
serving to maintain the supremacy of
the law and the principles of representa-
tive government, and their example.
they put the rebellion down m the field.
And when, after the last battle had been
fought and won, and the armies of the
West Joined the army of the Potomac in
the shadow of the Nations Capital and
marched down Pennsylvania Avenue
three hundred thousand strong, all sa-
lutcd the Chief Magistrate of the Repub
lie as the representative of the civil
! power of the nation. 1t had been said
i -. 81.
country was saved or lost the Republic
would be a thing of the past, as result
J of the war; that some popular general,
backed by the army, would seize upon
the reins of power, establish himself in
the chair of Washington and rule by
the power of the army which had been
! raised to defend the Republic against
treason. But not only did this prophecy
prove false-the men who had by their
courage, suffering and sacrifices saved
the country at the first moment when
the occasion for that service was over,
, saluting the old flag which they had
followed SO long, and to which they had
given new glory, dropped musket and
sabre, cartridge-box and knapsack, and
hurried home to father, mother, wife,
child and sweetheart, and forever dis
solved into the ranks from which they
came. So swiftly did the Uuion army
. dissolve, so complete was the disappear
ance of its victorious legions that, like
the clansmen of Roderick Dhu, who van
ished beneath the bracken on Benledi's
side Mt the wave of their chieftain's
hand,
It seemed as IL their mother earth
Had swallowed up her warlike birth.
They asked nothing for themselves,
neither bounty, Office or immunity, but
only that they might go back to their
homes TO commence anew the battle of
: life and endeavor to make good the
losses incurred by reason of their serv-
ice. And so they went back, but not
always, nor most often, to find things as
: they had left them. They came home
: to find the farm wasted, and frequently
, encountered by reason of expenses that
Outran the soldiers modest Income.
Business had taken unto itself wings; q
new hand on the bench, at the forge, in
the shop, behind the counter, in the of
, fee, and literally in thousands of cases
that "the places which once knew them
now knew them no more, forever" It
seems the very irony of fate, but it
: is true, nevertheless, that the service
. which made the country united, pow
erfal and prosperous, diminished
those who, under Providence, had
: wrought it all. But they did not com
{ plain, nor do they now. The country
they saved they have not reproached.
The Union soldier did not fight for
pay nor for reward, and no one ever
D heard him declaim against his country.
His reward is not in houses or land il
is in the priceless treasures of memory
in the proud consciousness of duty
done even at the peril of life. He
: does not own 50 much that he can
specifically call his own and reduce TO