Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1882-06-07
Our Flag Extract From Col
Ingersoll's Decoration Day
dArnsinn

The flag for which the heroes fought
for which they died, is the symbol OF
all we hope to be- 1t is the symbol OF
equal rights 1t means free hands, free
lips, self government, aud the sover-
eighty of the people. Applause. 1t
means that this continent has been dedi-
Gated to freedom Ii means universal
education, light for every mind, knowl-
edge for every child. 1t means that
the school house is the fortress of liber-
ty. 1t means that Governments de-
rive their just powers from the consent
of the governed; > that each man is ac-
countable to and for the Government,
in that responsibility goes hand in hand
with liberty. applause. 1t means
that it is the duty of every citizen to
bear his share of the public burden, to
take part in the affairs of his town, his
county, his State and mis- country. 1t
means tha: the ballot-box is the ark of
the covenant; that the source OF
authority must not be poisoned.
Cheers. 1t means the perpetual
right of peaceful revelation. 1t means
that every citizen of the Republic
native or naturalized, must be protect,
ed, at home, in every State, abroad, in
every land, on every sea. 1t means
that all distinctions based Oh birth or
blood have persisted from our laws;
that our Government shall stand be-
tween labor and capital, between the
weak and the strong, between the in
dividual and the corporation, between
want and wealth, and give and guaran-
the simple justice to each and ALL !
Applause. 1t means that there shall
be legal remedy for every wrong 1t
means National hospitality, that we
must welcome to our shores the exiles |
of the world and that we may not |
drive them back. Some may be de-
formed by labor, dwarfed by hunger,
broken in spirit, victims oftyranny and
caste, in whose sad faces may be read
the touching record of weary life,
and yet their children, born of liberty
and love, will be symmetrical and fair,
intelligent and free. Applause
That flag IS the emblem of supreme
will, of nations power Beneath its
folds the weakest must be protected
and the strongest must obey Cheers
1t shields and caGopics alike the
loftest mansion and the rudest hut
That flag was given to the air ia the
darkest days 1t repre-
sents the sufferngs of the past, the
glorious yet to be, and, like the bow
of Heaven, it is the child of storm and
sun
This day is sacred to the great
heroic host who kept his flag over our
heads, sacred to the living and the
dead, sacred 70 the Scared and maim-
ed, sacred to the wives who gave their
husbands, to the mothers who gave
tEeir sons. Applause. Here in
this beautiful land of ours, here where
the sun shines, where flowers grow,
were children play, millions of arm
ed men battled for the right, and
breasted on a thousand fields the iron
storms of war. These brave, these in
comparable men founded the first Re-
public They fulfilled the prophecies
they brought to pass tho dreams, they
realized the hopes that all the great
and good and wise and just have
made and had, since man was man.
But what of those who fell They
fought, they died, and for the first
events the heavens bent above and
domed land without serf, servant,
or slave Long continued applause.