Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-04-28

his master strokes of genius stamped him
as the formost soldier of his age. When
he hauled wood from his little farm and
sold it in St. Louis. his fnanciering was
hardly equal to that of the small farmers
about him, but when message was to be
sent BY president to congress that would
pnncture the fallacies of the inhationists
and throttle by veto the attempt of I'M
wise legislation TO cripple the finances of
the nation, a state paper was produced SO
profound in its reasoning that it has ever
since commanded the wonder and admir-
alton of every believer in sound currency.
He was made for great things mot for lit
tie. He could collect SIS, 90 600 from
Great Britain in settlement of the Ala
bama claims; he could not protect his
own personal savings from the miscreants
who robbed him In Wall street"
The Honors to His Ashes.
After referring to the heroism with
which he met the advances of death, the
orator said that at last" he was per
mitted to enjoy what he had pleaded for
in behalf OF others, for the Lord had let
him have peace. His remains were borne
to their resting place by the tender hands
OF his own veterans. As the funeral
train wendell its solemn way to Riverside
the flag which had never been lowered in
conscious that his strong arm was no
longer there to hold it to the peak. The
patton stood within the shadow of an
overpowering grief, and sorrowing people
wove their garlands OF eternal farewell
Distant lands uniting in our grief hung
out their emblems of mourning, aud even
historic Westminster flung wide it portals
as II TO let the spirits OF England's Illus
triOus dead listen 10 the funeral march of
brother In greatness
Tomb Worthy of His Renown.
NO effort of human hands can add
single laurel to his brow; but the people
whom he served have resolved to fashion
a tomb worthy OF his ashes and rear in
monumental rock fitting tribute to his
fame. We have assembled today on this
selected site TO take steps preliminary to
the work The monumental sepulchre
erected here will be the shrine at which
American patriots will worship. Genera
lions yet to come will pause to read the
Inscription on the portals, and the voices
OF grateful people will ascend from this
consecrated spot as incense rises from the
holy places, invoking blessings on the
memory Of him who had filed to the very
full the largest measure OF human great
ness, and covered the earth with his re-
nown."
Commander Freeman's Remarks
The chorus sang America" when Com
mander Freeman arose to initiate the
particular ceremony of the day-the
breaking Of ground for the monu ment.
The spade which be used was superb
specimen OF American handicraft made
by the Gorham Manufacturing company,
and bearing an inscription, giving tie
chief events Of Gen. Grants career. Be
fore turning up the sod, Commander
Freeman said that Greece had its heroes,
men who won fame by a single act, or
gave their lives to carry out a noble pur-
pose. ~The world is full Of monuments to
the great and good Of generations past
every nation has its sacred shrines-
a
Grandest Soldier of Them ALL
but we come to-day to perform the
preparatory work for monument 20 the
grandest soldier of them all-Ulysses s.
Grant Born in comparative poverty, he
made his way step by step to the highest
honor which this nation conld bestow
Without brilliant genius or gif: of ora
tory, he furnished inspiration for others
and pushed right on in his purpose until
the goal was reached. His ashes rest
here, but our broad land is his burial
place. We called him ours, but the ma
tons of the civilized world Wed with each
other in showing him honor.
The Turning of the FRS: Sod.
Now, IN the presence OF Al
mighty God and these witnesses we, the
representatives ofthe Grand Army of the
Republic, break the sod preparatory to
laying the foundation of the monument
which shall -tand as a slight expression
Of the love Of this nation for its great
chieftain. and shall tell TO all the world
that the | nited States OF America does
not forget its heroic dead"
AT the close of his remarks Commander
Freeman took the spade in his hands and
with it tossed up the earth. This ended
the ceremonies and the crowd dispersed
THE GENERALS GRANDDAUGHTER.
Little Vivien sartoris Attends a Memoir
ial Banquet.
Vivien Sartoris, the little granddaugh-
ter of Gen. Grant, sat next the toastmas-
ter last night in DeImonico's dining
room, where a distinguished company
were celebrating the anniversary Of the
generals birthday. At first she sat in the
, balcony looking down on Senator Evarts,
DR.. Depew, and Judge Wallace, and Gen.
Howard and Secretary Noble and Senior
Romero, and Col. Elliott Shepard aud the
rest With her were her mother and
grandmother. and other ladies.
Came Down to Hear the Speeches.
But when the speeches began she came
down and General Collins PIT her in a
big chair. At the head of the main table
sat Joseph H. Choate Next to him was
Senator Evarts. Then came the little
girl with the big black hat, wreathed
with wild flowers on his long, flowing
brown hair. She looked around inter
estedly at the handsome men. old and
young, at the big bank of roses and hya-
cinths which spelled out the qualities OF
the general, quality for each table. She
studied the portraits Of Lincoln. Grant.
Sherman and Sheridan ranged against
the wall at the back of the room But
when the speeches began she settled her.
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