The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-05-31
MONUMENTAL MEMORY
How Decoration Day was
Observed Yesterday.
Addresses made by Several
Prominent Citizens.
Ex-senator Doolittle, Of Wis
consin, and His Remarks.
MONUMENTAL MEMORY

consin, and His Remarks.
Yesterday was appropriately observed
in Rock Island as Decoration Day. The
public offices, such as the post office, city
clerks office, county and circuit clerks
offices, and the banks were closed, while
general suspension of business was ap-
parent throughout the business portion OF
the city during the afternoon.
A large number of visitors were attract
ed by the announcement that services
would be held at court house square, which
included large excursion from Peoria
The excursionists come over on the O., b
& O.. and departed for their homes at 6
late hour last evening.
THE EXERCISES
at the soldiers monument commenced al
8 o'clock, and were prefaced by process
sion of the Rodman Rifles and veterans,
who marched from the armory on Fifteenth
street to Second avenue. and west on that
avenue to Court House Square.
At the hour above named, after the mil
itary had formed In front of the speakers
stand, and the veterans had deposited a
beautiful floral pillow, bearing the inscrip
ton Our Comrades" at the foot of the
monument, Capt. j. J. Parks introduced
Rev. S. S. Cryer, who offered brief
prayer appropropriate to the day.
The Glee club rendered vocal selection,
after which Rev J. B. l. Patterson and
DIR. Gregg made brief addresses.
The Glee club sang a Decoration Day
hymn, after which w. III. Gest. w. w.
the audience.
THE ATTENDANCE
was very large, many thousand people be-
ing gathered in the enclosure.
The soldiers monument was very pref
thy decorated, for which the executive
committee appointed by the Rodmsn Rifles
deserve great credit.
The contributions of flowers were greater
than was expected and enabled the COM
mittee to display some commendable taste
in their arrangement
The Veterans turned out about forty
men, and marched through the streets with
the procession of old soldiers.
Among the veterans was Theodore
Therman, who was veteran of the Next
can war, and had on badge showing his
membership of the National Association
of Veterans.
The addresses as delivered are SUBJ
joined:
MIR. PATTERSON
made the following remarks:
Late last evening / was asked to say
few words, to fill gap in the programme,
caused by the failure of one of the
appointees. reluctantly consented to do
so-reluctantly, / say, not because / felt
in any wise unwilling to contribute my
mite to the interest of this solemn gather
ing, but because the notice was too short
to allow me, even for the few moments al
lotted, to do justice either to myself or the
occasion.
need hardly say | do not come before
you as politician. If at no other time,
on such day as this, when we meet as
citizens of our common country, to lay our
floral tributes upon the pile which com
memorates the patriotism of those who,
regardless of their party affiliations, fought
and died for the one great cause, viz: the
perpetuity of our national unity, the voice
of party strife should De hushed, and the
animosities of party feeling be suppressed.
We stand, as it were, in the presence of the
dead who laid down their lives for one su
preme idea, the union of the American
people, and to me it savers of sacrilege to
breathe over their graves one syllable that
would tend to thwart or retard the grand
object for which they died.
VIII you allow me to say, also, that /
come not merely as an American citizen,
but as a Christian citizen-not merely as a
Christian citizen but as a minister of that
religion whose very genius is, Peace on
earth and good will to men?"
All over our proud and beautiful to-day,
our people inspired by the laudable desire
to testify their appreciation of patriotic
zeal and valor, meet, not only to deck with
fading flowers the graves of departed he
roes. but by fitting services, by more en-
dearing words, to eulogize their motives
and embalm their deeds, and thus record
for posterity their appreciation of patriot
ism.
Contessedly we are great people-con-
fessedly we are a peculiar people. In very
many respects we started out from amongst
all the natives of the earth past or present.
in bold relief as a unique people And in
nothing to my mind is the popularity of
our national spirit SO strikingly evinced as
in the wonderful rapidity with which we
have recovered from that great national
earthquake, which shook to its very foun-
dations the edifice of American constitu-
tional liberty. / do not refer in this to the
marvellous recuperation of our industrial
and financial interests, or to the enlarged
growth and material prosperity, which fol-
lowed so closely the end of the war, but to
the spirit of American citizenship. / do
not believe the pages of history record an
example such as we present to-day. But
a few years ago as people we were en-
gagged in civil contest, which for its mag
nitude astonished the world, which enlist
ed all the sympathies, which aroused all the
passions, and worked an unparalleled sac
rifice of treasure and blood After such a
conflict, usually generations must pass
away before the boiling caldr0n subsidies
and the heated waters cool.
When the war clouds parted and the
''stars and bars" were forever furled at APP
pomattox. the very best that thought
full men, guided by the light
of history could hope for.
was, that somewhere in the dim distance