The National tribune., 1891-06-04
AFTER MEMORIAL DAY-wnArg
Memorial par IS nast and conc.

The bells have rung, the cannon doomed,
flags have foated from every masthead,
the anvil has been silent the mill
wheel stood motionless, the shop door
closed, the Office deserted, while the busy
workers have gathered at the cities Of the
dead 10 honor the last restng-places of
those who died for them Orators have told
in glowing words the story Of heroic days
when these men fought and endured as
never men fought and endured before, and
the papers Of the day, internitting for
awhile their cayilings and malignities have
filed their columns with tributes TO those
who preserved the Nation from its mortal
peril
The people Of this country, whose great
heart is ever right, have observed the day
with unprecedented respect and reverence
Never has the memory Of those who died
for the country seemed so near the hearts
OF the whole people. Never has there
been such a general suspension Of bust
ness and the customary vacations, never
have the professions been so large and the
throng at the cemeteries so great The
farther we get from the great struggle the
more clearly do people recognize its i'm
mensity and the splendid yalor and iorii-
tude OF those who fought il through 10
victory. Also the more vivid becomes the
real cation Of the awfulness Of the caias-
trophc which their sclfsacrifce averled, and
the grandeur Of tie prosperity purchased
with their blood. These are facts which
no defamation OF bcliiting by Tie soldier
haters can dim.
The day Is over and gone.
The caunous are silent, the throngs have
dispersed, the workers are again busy in
shop and mill and Office the Earlanas on
the tombs are wiihcring in the hot June
sun. The declarations 10y orators from
10000 Tostrums that the Nation owes a
debt Of gratitude TO lis heroic defenders
which il never can pay is a rhetorical
memory Of yesterday the papers resume
their chickering's and flsehoods about the
enormousness Of the pension bills and the
general yileness Of pensioners
The veteran reads these things and muses..
Certainly" he says 10 himself, there
once was in this country the most terrible
civil war in history. II brought The Nation
to the imminent brink Of destruction. This
every one now living freely acknowledges.
1t was only saved by the most terrible and
persistent fighting in the annals Of warfare,
when men by hundreds ana thousands
counted their lives rs nousht and accepted
wounds and death, mutilation and disease, rs
lar preferable 10 any compromise with the
country's enemies This, too, every one now
I living freely Acknowledges. But who was il
I did all these heroic, selfsacrifcing things
Of which 50 much has been said so elo-
queuUy? To whom is due this great,
sacred debt which the Nation can never pay
Who was1t fought 80 stubbonly at Shiloh
and Stone River, at Chickamauga and
Gettysburg? Who marched 50 undauntedly
through the bloody hell Of the Vii ierness
Who starved and roited with such mistaken
iortilude in Andcrzouyll.e and Salisbury
"was il only the dead whom the sexton
has crossed OF The pension roll? Was il
only they whose skeleton hands can never
more close over their quarterly payments
Has Death departed from his usual c0urs,
and been careful 10 harvest only the brave
the uns,llsh and the true, and let the COW.
ards, the sinks and the evildoers live on
over 600 600 men barred th,ir breast TO th,
enemy in 800 battles; 100000 q them wer'
dead before the sanguiuaFy struggle ended
100000 more were struck by bullet OF shell
sabcr or bsyonet; 100000 more or less dis
aided veterans are alive to-day; Is it POSSIBLE
that all the merit OF that vast army Of heroc
is buried beneath the sod which covers Ia
graves Of those who have died IL is i'm
possible.
"Tbey who have gone before and the.
who yet survive shared equally in the peril
and sacrifices Of those mOmcntous days
The man who fell at Boil Bun and his com
rade who lived 10 greet the white flag o
AppomattoK and now draws his pensio
were equal partners in the work Of sayin
the Nation They both did all that me
could and the debt due the living is exact
T. the same as that due the dead. IL is vi!
hypocrisy 10 give mouth-honor TO the fallel
K and malign aud deny justice 10 the living.
at is sweet and itting--it is eminent
. creditable 10 as as a Nation that we homo
. the dead who return 10 us no more. VIII
lessen this by trsducing their comrades WI
are marching 10 join themg The slandere
i and nal jgned veteran Of to-day may be o.
- Of the honored dead tomorrow. Why grudl
d him his need Of praise and justice until J
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