Morning journal and courier., 1886-06-18

G. A. R; roster, department of Connecticut, G. A. R.; bylaws and roster of posts IT, 52 and 76, G. A. R.; bylaws and roster of camp No. 1, Sons of Veterans; proceedings of the department encampment, G. A. R. of Connecticut, 1886; bylaws and roster of Admiral Foote Woman's Relief corps; list of officers and members of the Naval Vet l erans association of Connecticut, with as- sociation badge; New Haven Palladium of | January 30, 1882, and June 6, 1886; Register, | March 27, 1885, and June 16, 1886; Union, June 16, 1886; COURIER, June 15 and IT, | 1886; News, June F; report of the Board of
 Selectmen for 1885; programme of to-day's exercises.
 The corner stone, a massive granite block six feet by four and eighteen inches deep, was then swung into position under the su- | pervision of Commanders Fox, Gleason and \ Weidig of posts IT, 52 and 76 of the G. A. R. | and Commander Farnham of camp 1 of the | Sons of Veterans.
 | Commander Fox then said: 'tIn the name \ of Fraternity, the first great principle of the \ Grand Army of the Republic, lay the cor ner stone of this soldiers and sailors monu- | ment" As he finished he struck the stone | one blow with mallet.
 | Commander Gleason said: stIn the name | of Charity, the second great principle of the | Grand Army of the Republic, lay the cor ner stone of this soldiers and sailors monu- \ ment."
 ! Commander Weidig said: In the name of | Loyalty, the third great principle of the Grand Army of the Republic, lay the cor
 ner stone of this soldiers and sailors monu- \ ment.
 Commander Farnham said: In the name of
 Friendship, Charity and Loyalty, the three I great principles of the Sons of Veterans, l lay the corner stone of this soldiers and | sailors monument.
 Each of these following the example of | Commander Fox struck the stone one blow ' +1a aI1 trv1o Ind | The stars and stripes were then run up on ! the flagstaff erected in the center of the site
 by Captain s. P. Crafts and Comrade John ! Mccarthy. At this instant the cannon sta
 tioned on Snake Rock boomed out, sending
 the echoes far over the city, and the band played the Star Spangled Banner. When the band ceased playing Governor Harrison
 was introduced and spoke as follows: ADDRESS OF THE GOVERNOR.
 They died for their country.
 ! Whatsoever faults or weaknesses they may have had, whatsoever stains of sin may have ' been upon them, whatsoever acts ot wrong ! they may have committed on their passage ! through this mortal life, nevertheless to \ them at last were given the grace, the power I and the will to lay down their lives delib- erately in obedience to duty and for the sake I of the republic.
 How wonderful that grace, how sublime | that power, how full of majesty that willi Is IL not true that they WHO thus ! died for their native land thereby performed ! the final and supreme act of faith and freely | delivered themselves into the hands of a \ faithful creator, and must it not be true that I they have inherited the promise "Whosoeve1 I will lose his life for my sake shall find it." And now upon this high and eternal rock, \ in memory of their great sacrifice and of their I victory over death, we build the monume nt \ which will stand here, we hope, as long as | any work of human hands can endure. Generation after generation of men will come and gaze upon it and pass away, to be followed by other successive generations but | the tall shaft of stone will remain, looking up at the sun and the clouds and the stars by ! day and by night, looking down upon the \ fair city far below, and upon the blue sea in | the far distance, and silently signifying, from | age to age, it's perpetual story of human \ minds and human hearts.
 When the Governor concluded the chil- ' dren sang the grand old hymn, "My Coun- | try, 'tis of thee"
 | John L. Treat, Esq, representing the | Board of Aldermen and the town of New ! Haven, was next introduced and spoke as \ follows:
 HISTORICAL ADDRESS BY SELECTMAN TREAT. Gentlemen of the committee and fellow \ citizens: In the absence of the president of \ the Board of Selectmen, who had been cho- sen to represent the town of New Haven
 
 ! perform the honorable duty of speaking ! briefly of the part which our town has sus- | tained in the inception and progress of this noble enterprise.
 While the city of New Haven may claim | the prestige of this rising monument, and ! has given it a commanding location upon this spot, looking out in every direction up ! on the eternal grandeur of nature, it must ! not be forgotten that with the town of New ! Haven originated the practical move ment which has led to this consumma- ! tion of which every citizen, both of town l and city, must be justly proud. Various
 plans and suggestions had been made and
 urged from year to year, both before the | town and city governments, for soldiers ! monument; and the city had at one time
 even gone so far as to set apart spot in the \ Green for this purpose. But the first well | devised and practical movement in this di- \ rection came in the form of petition pre- sented to the Board of Selectmen under ! date of November 20th, 1882, which read as ! follows:
 To the Board of Selectmen, Town of New Haven. The undersigned citizens of the town of New Ha-
 sert in the next cali for town meeting of the voters
 of New Haven vote making ing an appropriation of
 procuring2 ga a suitable disign. and erecting in the ! the soldiers of the late
 Dated at New Haven, Conn.,, November 20, 1Ss2. ! This bore the signature of seventy five of the \ of New Haven, including those of H. B. Bigelow, S..
 E. Merwin jr., Charles R. Ingelsoll, Henry B. liar | rfson, and many others.
 In pursuance of this petition call was is- | sued for an adjourned town meeting to be | held on the 7th of December following, for | the purpose of considering the prayer of the ' petitioners.
 The adjourned meeting was held upon the date mentioned, and it was then voted that suitable monument be erected to the memo zE through which our country has passed, It was also voted that Samuel E. Merwin, | jr., Henry B. Harrison, James E. English, John F. Weir, Joseph D. Plunkett, John Mccarthy, Col. John G. Healey. Col. Sam
 uel Tolles, Hobart B. Bigelow, Theo-
 s. done A Rav5nds T1ttle snnssd simeoR 4ofaP Fox and General Frank D. Sloat are hereby appointed committee with full power to procure designs and estimates, and to erect or cause to be erected in the town of
 New Haven a suitable memorial to the sol diers of the town, who died in the past wars, and said committee is hereby authorized to draw on the treasurer of the town for such sums, not exceeding fifty thousand dollars, ($50, ,00O) as may be necessary to carry out this vote, and that the Selectmen are hereby authorized and instructed to pay the same over to the commission for the erection of said monument.
 
 foregoing nasty, brief and inadequate sketch of the inception ot this laudable undertaking I can only add that this noble shaft whose foundation stone we meet to lay is designed to commemorate the immortal deeds of our ancestors, our fathers and brothers, who laid deep and broad the foundations of the repub- lie and who preserved them intact and unsul- lied through four wars. The heroes of the revolution, of the war of 1912, of the war with Mexico and of the great rebellion are all borne in honorable and revered memory here. Connecticut and New Haven contributed their full quota of patriotic soldiers who par ticipated in these conflicts for liberty, honor and the Union.
 The graves of our dead who died that we might live, and that we might enjoy the blessings of peace and the glory of great and undivided nation, are scattered all over the land and in many a sea, but in this peerless mausoleum shall tenderly gather their memory together and perpetuate it with love and gratitude for all the long gen. erations yet to come.
 H. l-s- T.