The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1893-06-30
ment Towards the Crippled
Soldiers
Communicated.

which was given in sense of gratitude
to the Father of our country, and
the brave patriots, who, after long
struggle, succeeded in casting off the
oppressive yoke of the mother
country, and in establishing an
independent form of government,
which has grown to be the most
powerful in existence.
The spirit of patriotism which
inspired our forefathers was Of
character pure and unalloyed. 1t
sprang from a character which aimed
to serve ones country, either in
defending it from foreign invasion,
or in maintaining its rights and its
laws, and was the true characteristic
of good citizenship eminating from
The noblest passion that animates
man in the character of a citizen and
patriot.
When we reflect upon the wonder
ful advance made in our civilization
from that to the present time, we
should naturally expect that a
sacredness for the character of that
patriotism which would be in some
kind of harmony with our general
advancement, would be found exist
ing today, particularly by the head
of a government whose existence
was due TO the patriotism of its
| people, and that the triumph Of the
arms of our soldiers in removing or
eradicating the last cause for internal
dissension which could imperil the
permanency of our free institutions,
would justly entitle them to a
treatment worthy of a civilized
people, and secure to them the
preference to employment in the
various departments under the
control of the government.
But what are the facts which we
are compelled to witness? Men Grip
pied for life, with limbs so distorted
as 20 render them unable to perform
physical labor only under the greatest
disadvantage to themselves, and free
from charge Of unfaithfulness or
incapacity to discharge the duties Oh
the office, are ruthlessly turned out
to make room for those sound in
body and limb, and worst of all
whose sympathy for the government
when it's life was trembling in the
balance was not of the most enthu.
siastic character.
Alas. for the spirit of patriotism
that can stoop to the prostitution of
the dignity of the best government
the sun ever shown upon, to such
base political purposes. A deep
contrast indeed. between this and
the spirit which has characterized
the treatment of our crippled soldiers
by previous officials of the govern
ment since the war. 1t is only by
reviewing the more important events
of the war in illustration of this idea,
and showing that at its end, the
matchless grandeur of American
citizenship was as sublime in peace
as in the fame of battle.
When peace finally came to tie
warriors in blue and tranquility had
been restored, the soldiers of both
sections, who had made American
heroism the most lustrous of history,
obeyed the command for peace and
from soldier to citizen, from the
strife of arms to all the various
channels of commerce, industry and
trade, a million and half of heroes
settled down to dignity a common
citizenship. In no land but ours
would such peace have been possible,
and ours is the only country under
the broad canopy of heaven where
the soldiers of the civil war have
been the bulwark for safety, law and
order in every community.
When johnson and Buckner stood
with Sherman and Sheridan at the
grave of Grant as pail bearers. they
reflected the grander heroism Of
peace that only the soldiery of
America could portray. 1t would be
sad indeed, if the lesson of our civil
war ended with the story of sacrifice.
sorrow and desolation, even with the
silver lining of the heroism of our
people in battle and in peace; but
the lesson does not thus end, the
present is full of promise while the
past is refulgent in grand achieve
ment. How We have progressed you
may understand when | tell you that
|, as something Of a student of our
country's growth when its population
was less than one half of its present
sixty millions, can recall the
birth of many of the States; when
the neighboring State of Ohio was
considered the far off West and all
beyond it was regarded only as the
homes of the savage, when not
steamship ploughed the briny ocean,
when there was not railway
locomotive operated in the world,
when the lightning messenger was
undreamed of, when to have predicted
the ocean cable and the present
system of telegrph;ng and telephon,
ing would have been regarded as the
phantom of hopeless lunatic. When
the war broke out there was not the
native ingenuity and skill adequate
to the artistic repairing of a locomo
tive, or the successful handling of it
when in working order, south of
Mason and Dixon's line.
There is now M barrier tn indnstrv