Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1888-06-07
mEmoalAL DAY.
The Soldiers of the Late War ke-
member Their Comrades VINO
Have Cone Before.

THE whole country, in the large cities IN
the towns. in the villages and even ~ she
country church yard. honor was done 20
the brave soldiers over whose memory
flowers were strewn. At st. Paul the ee-
monatration Was like that in other
cities, and an extract from the Grafton OIL
Col G. ID. Kerr will serve as Sample OF
the thousands that were delivered else
where Col. Kerr said:
Ii indeed there be anything in past asso-
Citations MT to affect the mind OF man, We
need not strive to subdue the emotiohs
which press upon us here, for these nr,n,
whom you have met here to honor, pur-
chased our present prosperity and PAID Iof
IL with the blood, illustrating again lnd
attestipg the truth as old as the world thar
only thus by sacrifice and fiery trial ana sor-
row, can either nations or individuals De
purified and made fit to be prosperous any
happy Every noble crown Is. on eartn, ana
viii forever be a crown Of thorns The man
who has lived in this country for the last
thirty years has attained an experience
and reached q full stature OF marnood
compared with which the nine hunofeo
years Of Methusela's tame pastoral lie were
but as the feeting existence OF child. for
we live in thoughts, not years; IN neafp-
beats, not in figures on dial
GAINED AN EMPTY PRIZE
can remember as though it were but yes
day, think it was just about this time OF
the day on May 80. 1862, that marched
with my regiment over the abandoned WORKS
and into the deserted streets OF Cor1nth
That was indeed, a gloomy period In the
history of the war The campaign Ia the
East had proved a total failure. Beaure-
gard, through the irnbecility of Hallock. had
ESCAPED from Corinth unmolested with his
entire army and with all his material and
munitions of war. Gloom had settled ike
a pall upon the hearts of the people, and al
ready the cry was reaching the army that
the war against rebellion had proved fail
ure. oh! weak of faith Trembling In
doubt and despair when indomitable VIII
and fearless courage alone could save the
nation Where would you doubters nave
been to-day; on what a tempestuous sea OF
anarchy would YOU and all of US be. drifting
now If these and such az these, the living
and the dead of the Grand Army. had shared
in your doubts and partaken of your fears!
Nothing That can say or that THIS natlon
can do will ever express 1.-THE OF the graf
itude that should animate every patriotic
heart for the men who fought and died 70
retrieve the fortunes that seemed then and
for a wear thereafter so near the lowest ebb
of their receding tide.
THE REBELLION LONG CHERISHED scHEME
For years the rebel leaders had nursed the
project of a separate nation, with slavery as
It's corner stone. They may have brought
themselves TO bellows that their cause was
just But my friends, IL makes all the dit
ference whether We pursue certain
course because we believe it to be right.
or Judge IL right because we pursue 1t
A pretext was the last thing such men were
likely TO want and the election of Abraham
Lincoln served their purpose And Dow ut
last the rebel leader stood upon his sunny
Pisgah. looking back over savage deserts OF
doubt and disappointment and delay and
forward 10 Canaan OF promised joy, which
he had only the Jordan of secession 20 cross
in order TO possess None but TIE hand that
rules above could save the natiau tten. The
government aud all its resources we've under
the control OF Southern sympathizers Wash
ington was full of rebels openly proclaiming
their treason In the very halls of congress
and the mansion of the chief executive.
Washington was also full of Northern men.
politicians mostly. who were crying God
save the country. but the cry simply meant
God save my place and my fortune. Inc
PRAYER of the South In Washington was let
me live upon the fruit of other mems In
Gustry, and the prayer of the Northern poli-
ticiun aI the CAPITA was let me fatten upon
the plumber of the public Fort Sumpter
was attacked and civil war was upon us
Then uprose that mighty host In the North,
not of politicians. not of seekers for place or
plumber, but of the honest masses. the main
stay and support of every republic To
these masses belong the credit and the
honor of that wars success
THE VAR NOT HOLIDAY EXCURSION
Ii was no holiday excursion over summer
seas "a Won well know. At last we thought
the end drew near. But the South still hal
corn bread and roasting ears, there was still
lead and gunpowder, ana while these means
of sustaining and destroying life remained
it seemed as though the South was de-
termined to prolong the struggle. The same
bipartisan masses who had fought the bat
ties of the Union, fought again at the polls,
aad ia legislative halls the battle of recon
struction The result Is before you to-day
THE LESSONS TAUGHT
Now. what are the lessons all this teaches
to as, 10 be taught in turn by us to our chill
dren on occasions such as this? Primarily,
that this is a union, and not a confederacy
merely Second that slavery in whatso-
ever form it may riss its hydra head, has
been banIshed from this land forevermore
Third, that liberty, our sacred heritage
from the forefathers. Is handed down again
by US to our children, sanctitied anew by our
toll and treasure and blood; but above all
things, that the liberty thus transmitted is
not lawlessuess IL is not the liberty on the
one hand 10 die by starvation, or on the
other To run riot with unbridled license, but
is founded on the rock of obedience TO law
and respect for government That political
liberty is a means, not an end, and a means
order. of property and morality. Fourth,
it teaches the lesson that the safety of the
country depends in the future. as in the past,
not upon the professional politician or
spokesman, but upon the yirtuons and intel
llgent mass OF the people, and that
attain Is TO be ciassed with the
latter as distinguished from the former.
Teach your children. my comrades, 10
stand up openly for truth and all true men
and let this and this only be their creed and
their party. In all human probability these,
our comrades who died that such principles
might live, are as much without successors
as the martyrs of the church, but they are
eanonized in the hearts of ali generations
and are yet living to all by the memory OF
what they did and were Who dares say TO-
day that they died in vain; Why, then, dc
we meet here to strew flowers upon the
graves of these dead heroes today MOI
surely to shadow forth our grief and sorrow
at tueir fate. Nay. not so. Flowers, from
the day they were stTegn in the triumphant
pathway of our Savior to the day wher
they decorate these graves. have ever Spoken
the language OF love and constancy an6
gratitude and Joy. And they appropriately
speak that language here.
soon WILL BE THE LAST CAMP FIRE
Why should we mourn these honoreC
graves: Life at best is so short, so fleeing
precious are hying over our heads like cloud
on a windy day. Seel While you are fasten
ing to your breast that honored badge of tn,
Grand Army IL fades and grows dim. Ever,
time we say good night at the camp fire, anC
every time we meet and part on Decoration
day, arc bat preludes to that eternal sepa-
ration we raust shortly make Shall mourn
then the fate of these, my comrades. VIII,
passed over only a little before, with tn,
sweet assurance that they had died for thel
country and would be remembered witt
grateful hearts and with floral offerings O
praise and love by generations yes unborn
Nay, yerilyi Ii the spirits of these patriot,
InGn are locking down upon us to-day, as
believe they are, it is with no tinge of regre
that they made the sacrifice they did TO &C.
cure a nations safety and enjoy these endur
ing tokens of nations gratitude And s,
when you drop the forget-me-not and tn,
rose and the violet on the honores
graves of your comrades, you saw I.
| the dead who lie there. SIeep oil
brave souls and not murmur shall escap
our lips that you rest so nobly IN the dus
you redeemed from rebellion Certainly W,
should come here TO-DAY with malic
toward none and charity for all. Yet / will
| confess that when recall the tolls and trial
of those four years of war, and see how the
dotted this land all over with the graves o
| promising young men, and filed it witt
| shattered constitutions and with maine,
and crippled bodies, cannot repress a feel
| ing of bitterness toward the men who cause,
it all. So far as the civil leaders of tn
| South at that time are concerned the feelinl
| is there to stay. cannot helpit 1t is m
human nature-the clay as It came from IL
hands of the potter