Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1889-05-31

soien,niy ratified by every state In the ulio,, al
that time ls5s $s.S% 81 .s,
/ When we enn,nerate The great thugs accom-
ipHshed BY the war, one may Justly include the
settlement Of this great question y the arbitra-
mcnt OF the sword. And that other great ques-
tion. that bone Of national contention, human
slavery. In the supposed interests Of which war
Iinangnrated, has happily been oyerthrown
forever, .5.Si .zss .,E..
| They asked us then torend the scroll
Our fathers names are written ser.
TO see our starry flag nuroll -.
To stars and stripes no moro ~ e rs
With worse than feon hand i..s6 =
| And Ielon counsel TINS to sever IS (
| The Union OF this goodly land y ~
We proudly ansWered-EEyER. i.s /
The Southern people we're brave, united, and
confident of full success; their armies were ably
led, and then in their native land they foug hi
for their dearest. heart held ideas, for their
homes and their fires. It cost much to conquer
them. But the men Of the North, the supporters
Of the govern Gent understood all the grand Is
sues involved, they understood the difficulties 10
be overcome and rising to the sublime heigh,
of the grand req uirements Of the case they &C
ceptet the dread issue Of war which was forced
see again the scenes Of the CO.'S. see the peo-
pie in their primary meetings consecratfne
their nil to their country. see the rich mai,
lend his wealth when its return was entirely un.
certain: see the poor man give his Drawn and
his blood; i see the men of all creeds unitedly
follow the fag as the sigh Of their faith =; l see
native and foreign born citizens go out in com.
mon duty for common cause and pour their
mingled blood in rich libation Oh Freedom :
altar. see the mother give her sou, the. wife
her husband and the childits father: and in the
face Of danger, defeat. death and disaster they
went They fought their way through plains
and valleys. over rugged mountains. through the
dense woods, the dismal swamps, against forth
fed cities, by land and by sea and oh how fear
full price at last was paid to.Dutys high behest
We name it; say over three hundred thousand
lives were lost that government OF the people,
by The people and for the people. shall not perish
from the earth" Number the young men OF ali
your state, 60 into the great cities. with their
swelling thousands, 60 into all 70 IT workshops.
20 out to all your counties, go on all your lakes
aud all your woods and all your rivers and mus
ter all the young men Of this great state, but
they wonld not equal the dead of that great war.
Place yourself in some prominent position, and
pass before you a column of men four deep with
the ordinary paraphernalia and supplies OF war,
and let them march in review before you. Take
your stand in the gray dawn of morning rs that
llng line takes its march, and wait through the
long houls OF day, the noontide sun would beam
in its meridian light the shadows OF evening
would lengthen across the PLAIN. the sun would
set, the night descend, and still that mighty
IF n nfai nv nd
another day would rise another sun would shine
i'll noontide beam, again the shadows would
lengthen and again the sun would set, and still
through the long hours OF night that devoted
column would keep marching on.
We come out today to decorate the graves Of
the dead-te do honor to their memory. We best
honor their memory by living inithful: true and
manly lives. By consecrating ourselves anew to
the preservation Of the Union which they died to
maintain. and to the honor and observing OF the
laws which they vindcated. The contest Of the
cannon and sword are over. The flag Of the lost
cause was furled. turled forever on the red field
Of Apponlattox nearly i've and twenty years ago !;
but still n srtie goes on between the powers o.
good and Of evil, between truth and error The
Union, Constitution, liberty and law were vim
dicated in the glorious past aud they ought to
be cherished In the present and the future. We
| should live higher manlier, grauder lives. Now
we should fight the contest Of right against
| wrong, of truth against error, of duty against
degrading indulgence.
In the tropic seas there are insect creatures SO
small that you can hardly perceive them. yet il
they get into the timbers of a ship they SO cor
rode and eat out its Internal structure that the
strength Of the vesse, is destroyed. and when ex-
posed to some unexpected shock it skaters and
sinks The proud vessel that had swept the seas
and successfully breasted the battle and the
breeze. Shall we, looking at the noble Ship OF
State. freighted with the grand hopes of human
ity. consccrated by the blood o! heroes, and
floating high the flag for which VIC fought. per-
nit the dry rot of personal degradation and
political corruption, Of intemperaNce and shame
to eat out its vitals, and give her at once to
degradation dlshonor and destruction? No.
better to nail 10 the mast her holy flag, to set
ench threadbare SAIL and give her to the God of
storms, the lightning and the gale!