St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-05-31


one in every way worthy the occasion, but
Mr.. Woolley read it, which detracted some
what from the effect. bespoke as follows:
Grafton of the Day.
Soldiers of the Grand Army of the Re-
public-I wish l could say fellOw-soldiers;
l wish l could claim that splendid fellow
ship with you by right of what would
have done and would have been twenty-fOur
years ago, when too young to go to war, but
old enough to understand, though dimly, its
portent, and old enough to feel in every
fiber the STRINGS of great desire to be a
soldier and to fight for the country that,
even then, loved. But although in that
high regard, of having dared and fought
and starved and suffered in your company,
it is forbidden me to be counted in the gem
Grafton of victory-winners, to wear your
uniform or hang upon my breast your badge
of honor, yet in this patriotic service OF Of
fering flowers and good thoughts and max
ing high resolves, as citizens. upon the
sacred tombs Of our defenders, it is happily
permitted to us all to greet each other
equally, with: Hail fellow! Hail comrade!
Hail Columbia! The God of nations bless
us ALL
spoke of making high resolves as citi-
ZenS. because this seems in very truth, for
every reason that can touch loyal man, a
day and place for making them.
There is no spectacle, no grand parade,
no form of ceremonies that brings us here
to-day. This is no holiday although We
march to music and carry flowers in our
hands. 1t is time to think, to give thanks
"a kind of civic sacrament of patriotic
communion taught us by the gospel of
peace-where we come to lay our gifts upon
these altars-after we have gone and be-
come reconciled to our brothers.
STANDING ON THIS SPOT,
or near it, three years ago to-day, L spoke
to you, and what | said was favored by
some notice at the time. Something was
said and written in its praise, but more in
criticism of it. found it in my mind to say
and said it, that it was splendid thing to
be a man, tenant of knights fee in the
world; but that to be soldier was to be a
prince and ruler among men, the strength
of the state, the executive of the law, the
power behind the throne, the leader of prog
ress; that all the philosophy of the sages
would never have civilized the race; that all
the religion would never have protected
the weak from the vicious strong, or the
beautiful from lust; that a nation of legiSla
tors would perish weekly; that govern
ment of lawyers would sink into anarchy;
that all the great constitutions, characters
and codes of rights and laws had been made
effective in the administration of govern
ment by soldiers; that the conversion of
Constantine was great event-to Constan-
tine-and great to the world, but that 1t was
his army that gave Christianity safe con-
duct and hearing throughout the empire
and enabled Christian civilization to advance
like giant ShOd i'll Seven-league boots from
valley to valley and from state to state I'M
til it became the mighty engine that moved
and controlled the world. That Charlie
magne was a great statesman and mighty
man, but his wise laws and noble character,
though challenging the admiration of men
down to the latest times, would have been
comparatively little to the world, his en-
pire would have been waste and Chris
tiantity would have
Persisted FROM THE EARTH
had not his soldiers rescued the low cotl11-
tries from the SaxOns, swept France and
Spain of the Saracens, and thrown open
France. Spain, Germany, Holland, Hanover.
Belgium and Italy to the light of the world
That in all the consultations of
great names that CLEAN out upon us
from the spaces of the past, the bright par
tcular stars were soldiers. That if we
looked over history and tradition as over
landscape we would find that men and
kings were the plains and little hills and
the soldiers were the Himilayas, the Cor
dilleras, the Alps, the Sierras, upon whose
cloud-crowned, demonstrating SUBMITS
the ark of progress had rested after deluges
innumerable. This passage was called
extravaganza, overwrOught morbid. I have
thought much about it, have looked again
into the books to ask the authors of all ages
if what l said were true. l never expected
to speak again upon it, but you have given
me an opportunity to correct it by adding
emphasis and saying somewhat further
Look into your history of the East and find
ME a Mr.. Constantine of Greece, and show
me Mr.. PericleS or MI. Alexander of
Rome, and let me hear of Mr.. Caesar of
France, and let me look upon Mr.. Charles
Martel of England, and tell me of a Mr.
Nelson Or Mr.. Wellington, and passing to
our own country, where is our Mr.. Wash
ington or our Mr.. Grant
IT IS FAIR TO BOAST
of the progress of civilization and the ex-
tending reign of peace as illustrated in the
arbitration OF our war claims against En-
gland, 1t is true that the reign of Angus
tus was the golden age Of Rome. 1t is to
our eternal credit as q people that COM
mittee of citizens settled the electoral diff
ficulty of 1876. But who does not know
that Caesar made Augustus possible; that
the power that set up the Geneva commits
sion and pushed it to an honorable and
peaceful result, was the name of u. S.
Grant! Or that the mighty force that was
able tn sneak ssPaaoa he Still - IN tho wild
hot, throbbings of the nations impulses
when Hayes was seated in the capitol, was
the unvoiced eloquence of these soldiers
graves.
And here these soldiers lie scattered from
Maine to Florida and from Minnesota to
Texas. For themselves peacefully await
ing whatever follows after mortal life but
for us, each in his narrow sentry box
day and night. while the seasons
i'm fair procession follow each
other across our lovely land, and
while the peace they and you the living
gave us grows old and their faces grow dim
in our memory, guarding forever the coun-
try that they loved and died to save from
civil war. Are we nation? Your graves
prove it, Are all men equal before the
law? There lies the evidence of it. Shall
the majority rule this country? Every
grave votes aye. Shall honest labor have
an honest wage? They have said it. Shall
one man own another? Yonder lies your
answer. Has this country any defences?
Our greatest danger was from ourselves.
Against that danger we are now fortresSed
on every hand by these green mounds
They are the nations earthworks. They
cannot be surprised, nor scaled, nor bat
Thax ,f,. ,fr1,o n