National Republican., 1888-05-31
A BRILLIANT GRAFTON,
COL. II. g. INGERsOLL'S TRIBUTE
no TIE DEAD HEROES.
The Great Achievements of Those Gal
liant Men who Died FOR Liberty and
the Union An Address Bristling
with wit and Sarcasm.

New YORK, May 3O-The Metropolitan
opera House was crowded this evening at
the Memorial exercises. The stage was oc-
copied 10y the commanders Of the Grand
Army Posts and the National Guard, be-
sides many prominent citizens. Chairman
John c. limbcck, of the Memorial commit
tee, occupied the chair at the opening of the
proceedings. ON each side of him were
seated the Rev. Robert Collyer and Hon.
Chamccy VI. Dcpcw, who presided, and
made brief address
Col Robert q. lngersoll was introduced
MS the orator Of the evening. He was
loudly applauded His speech was witty
and full of sarcasm, and was well received.
Col. Ingcrsoll said
This day is a sacred day--a day for graft
tudc and love. To-day we commemorate
more than Independence, more than the
birth Of the nation, more than the
fruits of the revolution, more than the
accumulation Of wealth, more than national
prestige and power; we commemorate the
great and blessed victory over ourselves
the triumph Of civililatiOn-the rcfor-
nation of n people, the establishment
of Il government cOnscCratcd To the
preservation Of liberty and the equal rights
Of man. Nations can win success, can be
rich and powerful, can cover the earth with
vet he selfish, small, and mean.
Physical progress means opportu-
nifty for doing good. 1t means
responsibility. Wealth Is the end Of the
despcablc; victory the purpose of brutality.
But there IS something nobler than all those
--somethng above land and palaces some
thing above raimcut and gold. 1t Is the
low of rir lp nf
nature, the desire to do Justice, the mex
tinguishahlc love Of human liberty.
On this day we honor the heroes who
fought to make our nation Just and free,
who broke the shaclile Of the slaves, who
freed the masters of the south and their
allies of the north We honor the Chivaric
men who made America the hope aud the
beacon Of the human race-thG foremost
nation of the world. They did away with
that ignorant and cruel prejudice that
human rights depend on race or color,
and that the superior race has the
right to opprcss the inferior They estab-
lishcd the sublime truth that the superior
are the Just, the kind, the generous, and
mcrciful that the really superior are the
protectors, the defenders, and the saviours
Of the oppressed, of the fallen, the unfur-
tmatc, the weak, and helpless. They cs-
tahlished that greatest Of all truths, that
nothing is uobler than TO labor and to suffer
for others,n
The speaker then briefly reviewed our
history from colonial times undcra system
Of slavery, and declared that the colonists
and their successors prosecuted the good
aud emslavCd The helpless were believers In
pillorics aud whipping posts for honest,
thoughtful men.
our fathers. lie said, compromised \
compromise Is Il bargain in which each party
dcfrauds the other and himself. The com.
| promise uur fathers made was the coffin Of
| honor and the cradle of war 4 brazen
ralschood and timid truth are the parents
of compromise. The conflict came The
south unsheathcd the sword. Then
rose the Cmhattlcd north, and
| those men who sleep tonight
| beneath the flowers Of half the world, gave
all for us. They gave us a natlon-a re-
| puhlic-without slGvc-a republic that Is
| sovereign and to whose will every citizen
aud every state must bow. They gave us a
constitution for alone that can he read
| without shame and defended with
out dishonor They freed the
| brain, the lips, and hands Of men. All that
| could he done by force was done. All that
could be accomplished by the adoption of
| constitutions was done. The rest is left to
education, the innumcrablc influences Of
civilization, to the development Of the in
tcllcct, 10 the cultivation of the heart and
| the imagination. The past is now Il hide
Gus dream. The present is filed with
| pride, with gratitude, and hope. Liberty
| is the condition Of real progress. The free
man works for wife aud children the
slave tolls from fear Liberty gives leisure,
and leisure rellnes, beauties, and cnnubles.
| Slavery gives idleness, and idleness degradcs,
dcforms, and brutalizcs. Liberty and slavery
the right and wrong; the joy and grief; the
day and night; the glory and the gloom Of
all the years. To the wise man, to the wise
| nation, the mistakes of the past are the
teachers of the present. The war Is over.
The institution that caused it has pcrishcd
The prcjudiccs that famed the flames arc
| only ashes now. We are one people. We
will stand or fall together The triumph OF
right was triumph for all. Together We
reap the fruits Of the great victory
We are all COnQuerOrs. Around the graves
Of the herocs-nOrth aud south, white and
colored-tOgether we stand and with un'
covered heads reverently thank the savior.
of our native land.
The colonel closed as follows:
"The past rises before us, and we sec
100000 of human beings governed by the
| lash: we see them bound hand and foot: We
hear the strokes Of cruel whips; We see
the hounds tracking women through
tangled swamps: we see babes sold from
breasts Of mothers. Cruelty unspeakable
Outrage infinite -Four million bodies in
| Chains-l ,OOO,OOO souls In letters. All tht
sacred relations Of wife, mother, father
and child trHmpled beneath the brutal feet
of might. and al IBIS T5s done under oul
own Beautiful banner Of the free
The past rises before us. We hear the
roar and shrek Of the bursting shell. Tn,
broken fotters fall. These heroes died
We look. Instead of slaves, we see mcl
aud women and children. The wand o
progress touches the auction block. tin
slave pen, the whipping post and we SCI
homes ard iiresdes and school houses aut
books, and where all was want and crim
and cruelty and fear we see the faces Of tn
free.
These heroes are dead. They died 70
liberty--thcy died for us. They are at rest
They sleep in the land they made free, un
der the flag they rendered stainless, undc
the solemn pines, the sad hemIock, the tear
ful willows and the embracing vines. The,
sleep beneath the shadows Of the clouds
careless alike Of sunshine Or o
storm, each IN the windowles
palace Of rest, Earth may run red viii
other wars-they are at peace. In the mids
of batte-in the roar Of conflict, they foun,
the serenity Of DEATH ! have one sentimen
for soldiers living and dcad-checr5 for tn
living, tears for the Dad.
\ vision Of the future arises: / sec Ou
country filled with happy homes, with fire
sides Of content, the foremost land of al