The times., 1888-06-01

| iack OF appreciation OF great ana goou
deeds deserve to be marked by all the
forces of God as doomed to oblivion. A
day OF memorial therefore Is OF exceeding
great yalue-a day set apart for thought
Of sacrifices and heroic deeds and results;
to have our emotions stirred in us by the
memorials of them. There is tendency
in the driving busy cares of these passing
days 20 forget even the greatest of days,
the birthday Of our nation and the day of
our deliverance from the tyranny of Eng
lands oppressive policies. But we eau
not afford to forget them. They are our
richest legacies. There is considerable
tendency just now to a commercial slav-
cry, to which our people seem to be hope
lessly drifting, with only here and there a
sign OF waking realizati, to its coming
and its dangers. / allude to the fact that
the conflict for commercial success is driv-
ing men into all sorts of expediences by
which to earn q livelihood, such as raffi.
| ings for goods, and dice throwing for ci-
gars and guns, and purchases of goods in
the hope Of getting pictures, pianos, any
thing which merchant may offer as a
bribe to the cupidity of customers and this
| under the guise of necessity or inducemcnt
| to trade. But besides this, strong tendencies
are now running 10 the corruptions of the
consciences OF the people, and, that too,
| by class of citizens who would deny
with great vigor any thought of such a
thing If they were directly charged with
any such purpose as this. But. again, see
| how the entire commercial population is
exhausting itself by oyerwork, of long
hours from early morn till late at night,
day after day and month after month. 1t
| is no wonder our insane asylums are null
tiplyipg so rapidly. And unless the laws
of God are soon better observed, and our
business men combine and cooperate in
matters of gambling and Sabbath keep
ing, there will be another kind of slavery,
from which there can be no escape. Days
OF rest and instruction and remembrance
Of the past are an absolute physical and
| moral necessity to civilized people. A
savage people have no need of special
days for relief from heavy taxations
of toll and care. But we cannot have ciyili-
zation without these. But who would be
a savage for the sake of savage freedom
and care.
But our memorial day, if we will make
1t, what it fully means, is not only a me-
mortal OF war and battles. while it is all
this, il is more, q memorial of the great
tidal movement OF this latest century Of
history. We cannot forget, if we would,
the fact of the war having been, tho the
scars on the body of the republic are
healing, yet would we remember some.
thing more benefcent to memory, and
heart. and national life, than strife and
blood and loss of life. This day is me-
mortal Of something more than courage
and deeds OF valor, and glory of military
achievements. The records of the nation
will abide forever. Nothing can be eras-
ed or expunged from our pages of ma
tional history by any enactments that
legislatures may desire to make. History
is not made by pen and ink. History is
carved in the granite rocks of time and
abide for after ages, to read like the hier
oglyphic history written by the kings of
Babylon and Egypt of old for the men of
this age to transcribe. Poets will sing
beautifully of the glories of war; orators
will flttingly eulogize them; preachers
will endeavor to tell the moral lessons of
them; but unless We can find something
better than these to write on the pages of
our history, and something more than
these to commemorate our memorial day
will be indeed in vain. A nation must
find in its deeds something still greater
than the deeds-as the love OF country, or
patriotism in all its forms and elements.
1t Is not then the victory of one section
over another that we celebrate; no patriotic
soldier desires to make and perpetuate
sectional hate; and make separation of
heart the worse than separation by state
lines, and make these the perpetual condi-
tion of this great republic. But in the
spirit of the great Commander every true
American citizen says: ''Let us have
Peace" Something then must be perpetu-
ated that shall be as good for the South as
for the North-the common results of the
war. This is an exceptional war in his
tory in its causes and in its results.
This Memorial Day, therefore, is day
of honor because Of these. higher principles
which our great heroes have endeayored
to teach the whole nation TO observe. The
war was justifable one 80 far as its re-
suits are concerned. The memory of it
ls therefore sacred. The wounds obtain
ed In 1t are honorable. The loss of life
made by the war has been made good
thousand fold in the blessings that have |
followed. This is the only great war in |
history that after ages will say of it, 1T |
resulted in great blessings to the human |
family"
1. This is a worthy Memorial Day be-
cause Of the preservation of of the Repub- |
said and hoped, and Gladstone was one of |
them, that we could not stand the shock
of such a war. Gladstone knows more
now than he did then. The: rulers of
Europe were against us, but the people
were with us and showed by their good
hard common sense that they knew what
a good government Is as well as their ru-
lers. Their hearts were with us. No
against the union could
have been had by any great mass of peo.
pie, said Gen. Grant in his memoirs.
2. This Memorial Day brings TO mind
the fact that our Republic now rests on
new foundations of higher principles than
It did before. We are now true to our
Declaration of Independence, that all men
are born equal and have an inalienable
right to the pursuits of life and to protec-
ti0n Of life and to the results of their in
dustries. We remember by this day not
only the negative fact, the abolition of
human slavery, but the affirmative fact,
the extension of liberty. We have lifted
up race of people into the plane of the
civilization OF the whole world, and while
IL Is true that all the details of their
II ihavfv MT yat uoiuarool tn thar, uot |