Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-04-01
Reflections OF Our Beet0wn Correspond
ant


Spooner / have received series of let
tiers in pamphlet form, originally pub
lished in the Chicago Tribune, entitled
BREAD Winners Abroad, written by
Robert p. Porter. After careful peru
sal of these letters, must earnestly wish
that every voter in this country, of
whatever political party, whether free
trader or protectionist, wage-laborer or
capitalist, could read them also, and
learn how the artisans and operatives of
Europe live, and what their chances to
rise to something better are, compared
with the same classes in our own favor
ed land.
In looking over the list of soldiers and
sailors of the late war, obtained by the
last state census, one cannot help being
saddened by the fact that only about
one-third of the whole number who en-
listed from this state are now alive or
residing within its limits. Probably
those now residing in the state who en-
listed in other states will make up for
those who have moved out of the state:
so that it is forced upon us that two
thirds of the great army from Wisconsin
have passed their final muster-out And
of those who remain, how many crippled,
infrm and feeble. and how few whose
heads are not gray with approaching old
age. And their numbers are growing
rapidly less as year after. year glides
swiftly away, and in another score of
years veteran of the civil war will be
as rare as veteran of 1912 was in 1861.
Comrades, as we march down the slope
we have constantly with us one reward
which red-tape pension department can
neither give nor take away, and that is
the consciousness that we did our duty
and assisted in preserving the best gov
eminent the worlds history records, and
that consciousness is better than wealth,
or power, or place, or youth renewed.
1t appears from the list that the nu-
merous Smith family were, as in every
thing else, foremost in the strife, some
more than three hundred being still alive.
Next come the Browns; then the Jones'
es lin point of numbers. The last named
with the O's and the Mes, indicate that
Brave hearts from Severn and from Clyde,
And from the banks Of Shannon"
did not fail us in our hour of need. In
fact, this record shows that our citizens
by adoption from nearly every country
in Europe were ever equally ready from
the first call, on to the end, to do battle
for lone country and one flag" And
they, the German soldiers in particular,
were superior to us inasmuch as they
were mostly drilled soldiers.
Among those who fought to perpet-
uate republican form of government
were Kings, Lords, Mobiles and Earls;
there were Bears, Wolfs, Lions, Bucks.
Does and Foxes; and although war has
been defined as "legalized murder, four
Gains and two Abels returned from the
fray safely to old Wisconsin.
| am not ready to agree with Secre-
tary Timme that the many errors in the
list were due to the carelessness of the
soldier or the enumerator alone; but |
think it more probable that clerks and
composltors are responsible for their
share, at least. But everyone, especial
ly the enumerators, ought to do all they
can to assist in making corrections with
in their own districts, and if Secretary
Iimme would send a copy of the list to
each of the enumerators it would mate
rally forward the work.