Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1885-05-28

MEMORIAL SERVICES Memorial SER
vices preparatory for the exercises of
next Saturday were conducted at the
Congregational church, Sunday, Nav
"a, by the Rev. 8. w. Eaton. He stated
at the outset that it was not his inten-
ton, nor the desire of the committee. to
anticipate the peculiar services of Me-
mortal day, but to make this prepare
tory service for that day. just as the
European traveller has at Baden Baden
foretaste of the grand and beautiful
scenery of the Alps. His text was
taken from Second Timothy. ii. 8:
Thou therefore endure hardness as
good soldier of Jesus Christ" The
speaker drew picture such ms only a
soldier can, of the hardships to be en-
durcd both by those on the field and
those at home He said in SUBSTANCE:
There is undoubtedly something at
tractive about war, something grand in
the movements of large bodies of men in
military order. Poetry pictures war in
not unattractive light, and warfare
has its poetic side; but those soldiers
befare him, his comrades in the late
terrible strife, knew only too well the
horrors of the reality. For two oppos-
ing armies to discharge firearms with
the express purpose in view of destroy
ing life, to lay waste the country, to do
all possible harm to each other was in
deed a terrible thing. Such deeds done
without sufficient justification are tho
most gigantic forms of sin. War can
never be justified except to prevent
some great evil. Our late war could
have been avoided only at the expense
of our national honor, and the loss of
our political life. The course of events
had lett the two alternatives: war or
The ACKNOWLEDGMENT of the Union. The
Union must be preserved or we die. DO.
litIcally. The country is geographically
one. To sever the South from the
Union would be to sever its spinal cord
and its arteries. The result would be
death. and the failure of our attempt at
elf-gorernment. Between these al
ternatiyes there was but one choice TO
be thought of. We must preserve our
national unity, and the great underly-
ing cause of Gissention must be removed
Failure would be preferable to acoui-
escence in state of things worse even
than war. But we did not fail, and the
result though attained at Il fearful price
was worth all it cost. To have chosen
to do ones duty in such cause entities
one to he called good SOLDIER
There were many martyrs to this noble
cause, aud it was in remembrance of
them that these services were held.
FIRST among this noble army of mar
tyrs was the great Abraham Lincoln.
Though it was not his part to fight as a
soldier, be fought the fight through at
the capitol with patient heroism. The
speaker then dwelt with feeling upon
the heroes who lost their lives in de-
Tense of their country.
But there is another warfare. for
principles greater than those for which
we fought. whose theatre of action is
the whole werld. Among the leaders
in this war are the greatest and best,
and its list of martyrs contains the
greatest names of all history. He set
forth with eloquence the glories of this
holy warfare, and invited his hearers
to become soldiers of Jesus Christ"
The music of the choir was appropri-
ate and well rendered, and the address.
of which we have attempted a resume,
was heard with appreciation by a large
audience. At the conclusion of the SER
vices. Capt. Alex Ivey arose, and on be-
half of the Tom Cox Post, at whose re-
quest the service was held, thanked Mr..
Eaton in few appropriate words. The
members of the post attended in body
and occupied seats in the front of the
church.