The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1883-05-31
Editor.
Decoration Day.

This Wednesday is the day set apart for dec
Grating the graves Of those who died 10 save the
Union Ia thousands Of riiies. towns, hamlets,
and cnHntry grayc-yanls, in the North aud parts
of the Sonth, 1; will be observed as holiday,
and the people vii! assemble to strew flowers on
the graves of those who fought under the starry
flag. These graves numbered by the tens of
thousands; aud they increase year after year,
the worn veterans drop of. The population
Of the grave never ,lcceases-ii grows steadily
and surely. year 10y year. The patriotism of
thosa who renainr,! at homo must not he under
valued: for they raised the crops, furnished the
money, provided the supplies, and looked after
the interests in the rear, without which, the
armies in the field would have been swept away.
Bat The sacrifice the priv alton, the danger, the
haTdships ami sIilcrngs we're for those who
went la the war Perhaps few men, when they
90 10 war, ralcnlIte that they will lee among
the killed: yet every iaan no enlis.s, takes his
life in his hand, aud knows not what day or
hour hr may be among the slain. There is no
reasonable certainty for the future to the man
who goes to war. II is useless for him TO calcu-
late day ahead, for his life is constant Offer
ing, and may b- demanded at any moment. His
own; lac mnSt move promptly as directed, with
out even the right of s-Ifpreservation, or to
avoid danger and death Those are the men
who fill the graves, and are daily making new
ones, Ia lie decorated with flowers on each a0ih
ofMay.
But there is something better and of more
consequence than decorating graves This costs
bnt little, and requires hut few hours thine,
and need not he omitted in order TO do that bet
ter thing. There are thousands Of soldiers still
among some maimed and wounded, some
suffering from the effects of exposure and dis
ease, all gruwing old, and the infirmities Of age
added to those of hardships, creeping upon them.
Ihere are the widows and orphans of those who
died for the country. Many of these are provid-
ed against want; but none of them receive too
much, while very many, from causes beyond
their control. are yet without the pittanee of a
pension. Is il not better to make all these men
comfortable now, and Perhaps Prolons their
lives, than to let them die in poverty and want,
and then honor their memory by scattering flow
ers over their graves Let full Justice lie done
the living. as well as homors bestowed upon the
dead. 1t il but 4 mockeTy TO the soldier who is
living in pcuury, TO know that when he is dead,
his grave will he decorated according to formal
regulations, on the nth Of each May.
Let every living soldier have pension in pro-
portion to his nrrds aud deserts, rather than de
prive any deserving needy one of his rights be-
cause il has got beyond his power to produce
certain witnesses and evidence required by es-
tabIislcd rules and regulations The dead do
not need any attentions, and would not miss
them. Ii is all done for effect upon the living,
at best. The soldiers who yet live are the ones
who need and can appreciate attentions. Do
not wait until they dead, and then waste
the money and sympathy they need, on their
graves.