The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-05-28
DECORATION Day.

Mondays celebration are more ex-
tensive than ever before. There are
reasons for this, apart from the i'm
= portance OF the occasion. The United
States has always been deficient in
national holidays. Fourth of July
and Thanksgiving Day were hardly
enough to so round the calendar, con
s%equently when some patriotic gentle
man suggested that Washington's
birthday be added to the list, the idea
was hailed with delight. After the
war came Decoration Day, at first
observed in desultory fashion, at
no fixed date until finally by common
consent May 80 was selected as the
common anniversary.
True, Decoration Day cannot be
strictly regarded as a national event.
1t belongs to the North, and is to
that extent sectional. That is the
fault of the situation, however, not
of the people who observe it. The
South has it's counterpart in Memorial
Day-and, in all Difference to North
ern patriotism. we like that name bet
ter than our own. The sentiment is
the same, but Memorial Day seems
more properly to fit the occasion. But
it is only proper that North and South
should alike honor the bravery of the
soldiers who gave their lives to the
cause they served, no matter on which
side of the line they drew their
swords or shouldered their muskets.
They were all Americans, and when
time has healed the wounds of war
the generations of the future may see
their way to a commo observance of
the holiday. Decoration and Memoir
ial Days may blend Is the shades of
the Blue and the Gray melt into n
color. And it is a notable fact that
we find this spirit strongest among
the soldier element. The men who
fought the battles were the first to
reach out the hand of fellowship, and
while they feel that way inclined,
what right have the unscarred veter-
ans of the Home Guard-the men who
stopped at home to nurse fat contracts
to interfere?
1t is in this spirit that we would
have Decoration Day celebrated. The
animosities of the war, the sectional
bitterness that remained, should all
be buried in a common grave and for
gotten. The bravery and the courage
of the American people is not sec
tional. 1t belongs to the whole coun-
try and rebounds to the III
credit.
Let Decoration Day he O token that
the country is once more united under
one flag and marching as a
unit to its appointed goal.
Let the people, soldiers and
civilians, plant flowers upon the
graves of the heroic dead whom it is
their pride as well as their duty to
honor. and then, in the sanctity of
their churches and their homes, de-
voutly thank God that the war is
over, never to be revived by hatred or
malice, nor by the INSCRIPTIONS who
for so many years made the memories
of the war the stepping stones to
power and office, and plumber, as
ghouls fatten upon graves.
Let every American citizen rise up
Monday morning remembering that
the wal is over, and fully determined
never to let the fact slip out of his
mind again.
REMEMBERING that tue country
stands upon the threshold of one of
its most memorable festivals, THE
NEWS will today make a notable con-
cession in the interests of peace. har-
mony and the fraternal spirit that
should mark so memorable an occa-
sion it will say nothing unpleasant
in reference to Mayor Wanser. 1t
will even wish that he may thorough
ly enjoy the day, as a soldier should,
and hat he will on Tuesday return to
his official duties refreshed as a giant
by needed rest and sleep.
WE are eve 81 graciously inclined
as to extend our clemency to the
JoE,DGl also and we will say nothing
unpleasant about it either.
But we can't send any flowers.
There we draw the line-a heavy
black one. There is q limit even to
our generosity.
The Police and the RumsterS.
The respectable element will watch
with curiosity the course of the liquor
dealers and the police tomorrow. Last
Sunday rum ruled. Thepolice said they
did not know the saloons were open,
that they meant to close them as tight
as ever, butswere lulled into security
by the previous good behavior of the