The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1890-05-30
to-day: g q : question - b thought ovs.

sV.9ay lslD eGq0e1tlon 70 b thought ont.
pstiently and sobeIly.
y ~ not . matter TO be discussed oyer
me erayes Of q departed heroes, Or In.
.l0auced py The orators whose special
auty on Memoriai Day it IL to euIocize
the soldiers Of the Union. dead or iiyinc
But 1t 10 fitting that on : day at asida
and held sacred to the memories 81 the
past, to recalling the time Of trial n
winch such terrible sacrifice was made to
preserve . common country for dwelling
within its limits. 1t is proper that the
.'tal questions Of the hour should occupy
w minds OF men even though their
thoughts find no public utterance. and
tnat each veteran of the war afor the
Union" and every descendant of such.
should over the dust Of those they honor
Tor laying down Of life through patriotism,
resolve to increasingly, unselfshly labor
70 restore harmony, suggest means and
work to accomplish ends that will result
n actually and entirely bringing about .
union of States, o union of hearts, and
q union of hands that no social, politi-
cal, race. creed, business or sectional
quest ons can ever sever.
There is work-great work, for heroes
patriots to-day-work as grand and
no Die Tor the young men Of the present
generation as for the veterans Of the past
TO perform, as was ever comprised in the
bloody tasks set before the men who now
lie under flower and flag decorated sois.
The sentimental side is we'll enough; it
is eminently proper that one day in eash
year should be devoted to the honoring
of those who died that the nation might
live; no pages of history, though they
grow into millions, can do more than
justice to their noble deeds. But realities
nf fha rrooonf vnrck not Ia f0rrokkox ~,
neglected in contemplation Of the ro-
nance OF the past. The duty Of every
man to his country is as actual to-day as
1t Was twenty-five years ago, and that du-
ty is to preserve the peace won by the
blood and wounds OF the men of '6l-'65.
Too practical in one way are vein
blind devotion to business, in continual
seeking, all else -forgetting, striving af-
ter wealth. We give twenty-four hours
each year to the sentimentality of Memo
rial Day, and the remaining three hun
dred and sixty-four we live for self. As
the men we honor by speeches and flags
and flowers died for others. it is the duty
OF those who survive them to live for
others.
The formula used by Cain-type, as
he was, of seltishness and cruelty-"Am
I my brothers. keeper?"-has been pro-
PSuAN0u ny AO AloA 4IOm LIB Ody "
our own. He voiced the universal in
quiry. The answer to this question has
the same force nov it had then, and an
added force which has come with added
knowledge. Precepts have not the force
of example, we know, but He who was
the perfect result of all the good which
the hearts and lives of men ever con-
tanned, and III captain, who uttered the
words, Let us have peace"-they are per-
petual examples for all people. They
thought and worked, unselfshly and con-
tinually, for the good of all.
It is such musings that prompt these
lines from one who through all the civil
strife did what he could to aid his CON-
who can still see that, while peace is not
yet secured to the land for which so many
died, for which such hosts still bear the
agony of wounds, also recognizes the fact
that our young men are cold or dead to
the influences that again threaten to dis
rupt u country. There is no man liv-
ing in this age but knows his duty. How
many are there who do it? To know what
duty demands is a great stride forward.
And the responsibility attaching to such
a condition makes. condemnation far
greater when there is a failure to
live up to that knowledge. In all
human relations, including domes-
tic and social unity, and thence
widening out into broader relations of
political, patriotic interests, the idea of
duty to country, with the light of God
shining through it, brings to bear on
every transaction of life an imperative
obligation of loyalty to our land and our
fellow men. AS We do our duty toward
our country and our fellow men, we do it
toward our God and ourselves. No po-
litical party or leader should receive
blind obedience; if q man would be free
he must think and act for himself and
others-for all. If the men of to-day
would not wear faces of shame when
they meet-if aver they do-the heroes
they glorify on Memorial Day, they must
study the questions of the hour-mus1
act without passion and all forgctful OF
self TO harmonize the distracting ele-
ments now disturbing the land. The,
must insist upon justice to all, firmly;
but with reason and kindness they must
insist upon this, they must awaken to the
fact that they are their brothers keep.
ers." and that if they would truly honol
those in memory of whom May 80 il
held as a new All Saints Day." they
must fight as brayely and long, and suffer
as patiently and severely, as those who
for the Union bled or died.