Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-06-01


ton. In conclusion, comrades deeminR
this a most fitting opportunity, let me
enioiu upon every one of you that as you
leave tho rose covered graves Of your
dead comrades to 60 forth again in the
pursuit of your daily avocstions, that
with one accord you renew your vow OF
fealty to the great principles that under
lie the structure Of our organization-
Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty" Then
all will be well with you.
At the conclusion OF the address prayer
was offered by Rev. J. w. Chichester.
after which the band played General
Grants Funeral March, the first time il
has been played in public in Los An
geles. -,
The quartette then sang the following
hymn, composed by Professor G. W.
Arbuckle: tFtH
Again as tlrsless years go round,
And natures laws obey, !. ,a,,,a
Comes our Memorial Day.
In all Our Land the altar fires
Are lit from sea to sea,
In mem'ry OF our patriot sires
Who died for liberty.
And round these affairs freemen stand,
Their gratitude 70 shog
For those whose yalor saved Our Land
And venquisbed every foe.
They bravery fought, they bravely fell,
Our banner waving high,
And many graves still plainly tell
How grandly they could die
With grateful hearts, o Lord we raise
This day our songs to Thee;
For patriots lives thy name we praise,
keep us ever tree.
The President then introduced Maj
Gen. w. A. Pile as the orator of the day.
ADDRESS OF GEN. PILE.
Comrades, Ladies and Gentlemen. On
this, our annual Decoration Day, we, in
common with the thronging thousands
Of our comrades, and with the thousands
Of citizens Of this great and prosperous
country, turn aside from the busy
thoughts and engrossing cares and occu-
pations Of our respective lives to stand
for an hour. under. the shadow Of the
tomb. forgetting for time that We are
either real estate buyers or real estate
sellers; that we are home-seekers or
me-distributors; that we are engaged
in this or that commercial or industrial
occupation, and in common with the
vast surviving army Of our comrades,
who, from the shores Of the Atlantic
where the sons OF the Republic keep
watch at the rising of the sun, to the
golden gates and peaceful "Playas' Of
the Pacific, where the sons OF the Re
public watch at the going down thereof,
we come with decorous, measured tread
and appropriate solemnity to offer our
tribute to the character, memory,
achievements and heroism Of our dead
comrades To us. who were active par
ticipants in the great struggle. the occa-
sion necessarily gives rise to reminis
cences of two and half decades. We
see again the lowering clouds gather all
along the southern horizon. Again we
tremble as we see The incredulity and
apparent Indifference Of the great North,
engaged as her citizens were in building
railroads. in establishing factories, in
founding schools and colleges, in push.
ing forward the manifold enterprises
and industries of a great and pros.
porous people, she did not believe
that we were on the eve Of
a civil war, aud though State after
State in the South passed ordinances OF
secession, and although general con-
yention Of these seeding States was
called and general constitution and or
ganization adopted, the great North.
whose eyes were blinded by gold and
whose ears we're stuffed with cotton,
hssitated, inoredplous. temporized aud
resorted TO expediepts, would not be-
lieve that we were on the eve of dire
conflict Of arms. But at last the crisis
came. On April 18th the lurid fash OF
actual civil war lit up the still gathering
and threatening clouds that hung DER
all the southern horizon. The sullen
boom Of Sumpter's guns startled the ma
tion-the great North, and the scales
fell from her eyes. The estoples started
as though impelled by some great explo-
sion from her ears, and then there oc-
cured the greatest, grandest marshall
ing Of many hosts known to history. Al
uprising which current writer aptly
called The uprising Of q great people. ;"
Ny comrades, what an awakening was
that. Do you hear again, in remem-
brsnce, the tread of the gathering hosts!
Do you hear the shouts Of the loyal
thousands as they responded to the
Presidents call for troopsg The author
ity OF the nation had been dsfed. The
Gag had been fired upon and the loyal
sons OF the Republic had risen up almost
as one man to say that the insult must
be avenged aad the authority OF the ma
ton established, and the Union and Com
stitution maintained one and insepara-
bic forever. Then was entered upon in
this hitherto peaceful and quiet country
the greatest civil war that the sun has
seen in the cycles and cycles Of ages that
he has turned his face toward earth and
man. A civil war whose history
scenes. incidents, defeats, victories, tri-
umphs and achievements shall not
stop to sketch, or even enter upon, but
which altar four and half years Of APP
palling war, gloriously closed by the re-
establishment of the national authority
over every foot of the nations territory,
and complete triumph Of the national
arms; triumph baptized by the blood
Of SO many OF our heroic comrades and
by the final baptism Of the blood and
tragic death of our martyred and i'm
mortal President.
Having SAID so much and no more of
this great conflict, | propose to depart
from the usual line Of remark upon these
occasions. and to submit single inqui-
ry and ask your attention to few con-
siderations in answer thereto: Have
the American officers and soldiers who
fought for the maintenance of the I'm
ion and the Constitution; for the princi-
Piles Of freedom and the maintenance of
national authority, valid claim to per.
petuai memory and fame, and, if so,
upon what does that claim rest? We
who were active participants in the
great struggle, are bound to our dead
comrades by ties Of comradeship; by
feelings that cannot be fully realized by
any persons who were not participants
with them in hardships. in long marches,
in weary midnight watches, in conflicts
at arms, in the modification of defeat,
in the triumph and exaliation Of victory.
But with all Of us the sun of life is
passing down the western decline. The
lengthening shadows are falling to the
eastward, and we shall soon Join our
dead comrades Gin the silent bivouac Of
the dead" When this shall occur and the
last surviving active participants in the
great tragedy shall have Joined his com.
radea on s'Fams's eternal camping
ground, will these, our friends, their chill
dren and children's children, and the vast
generations OF the future, by the con.
tinuance Of these ceremonies or other
appropriate ones, perpetuate the mem
DRY Of the conflict and our participation
therein To repeat the enquiry, have
the American officers and soldiers who
constituted the great army Of the Union
tangible claim to perpetual memory
and fame, and upon what does that
claim rest
With reference to the first branch of
this enquiry. ! answer In the broadcast
sense tSat, beyond any army that ever
marsballed or fought in any cause in
the history of the race, the army of the
Union challenges the admiration Of the
present and claims the respect Of the
future.
base this claim, first, upon the
broad grounds of military renown.
Whatever We may say or think as to
the evil Of war. the cruelty OF war, or II
you will, the barbarian OF war, man in
N 4 ri. A =