The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1894-10-06
rAs Last March.

Ihs Last March.
The parade Of the Union veterans Ut
Ptttsburg the other day was probably
the last one that will ever take placf.
A point has been reached In the lives OF
these survivors Of the greatest of mod
ern armies where they can no longer en-
dure the fatigue and excitement Of such
displays. TIMER marching days are
over, says the st. Louis Globe Democrat,
their time has come to stand and wait.
The records show that 1883 OF them died
during last year, and $50 Of the number,
alas! were buried In paupers' graves.
Thus are they passing away ct . rate
which must increase with each succeed
ing year. Already the death-roll OF the
period since the war exceeds that of the
war itself. and when one of them now
departs 1t means gong to join the ma
jority OF his comrades. The youngest of
them are over 80, and the most Of them
over CO. There II snow In the hair OF
all Of them, and rust In their joints, and
wrinkles in their faces. They belong
to the past, they represent superseded
generation. There could be nothing
more touching than the spectacle OF
their present decline a. compared with
what we know about their former po-
tency. They were irresistible In their
day, equal to any emergency. ready for
any test of courage Of. endurance. and
now they are at the mercy Of the en-
croachments of age, and their sons and
grandsons have grown to be the cmbodi-
ment of the country's vital energy and
the controlling force in the activities of
civilization.
1t seems to these men only yesterday
that they were young like those who
have pushed them to the rear and taken
charge of the affairs OF the nation that
they helped to save. They are fond Of
cheating themselves with the fancy that
time has stood still for them since the
terrible experiences of war, and that
they have not ceased to be boys as they
were when they followed the flag aud
heard the thunder of the captains and
the shouting. 1t does not appear to
them that anything important has hap
pened in the intervening years. They
carry in their hearts such memories as
triyialize the things that are taken seri-
ously by the present generation. 1t is
not possible for them to share the sur
passing Interest that those around feel
In such matters as the tariff, the cur
rency, the rise and fall of stocks, and
the prices Of food and clothes. They
were at Shiloh and Chickamauga, at
AntietAm and Gettysburg, where the
interests at stake were 80 much more
momentous, and the sense of duty SO
much more significant. 1t is well, they
admit. to live in a time of peace, when
the martial impulse is unexercised, and
the multiplication table is predominant:
but it is better. they insist. to have lived
in = time Of enterprise for idle bravery
and Of patriotic devotion and sacrifice.
And SO they dwell upon what has been,
and fight the old battles over again. and
can not quite reconcile themselves to
the prevailing conditions.
This peculiar feeling OF the veterans
can hardly. be appreciated by those who
have no personal recollection of the war:
and such persons il is to be remembered,
constitute large proportion of the pres
ent population Of the country. or the
100000 Of people in this great land
to-day, probably not over l00oo, 600 were
living when that awful struggle was in
progress. To only a comparatively few.
therefore does the attitude of the old
soldiers appeal with due force and true
meaning. All the rest regard 1t with a
sort Of surprise, or with smiling indul-
gence, and miss the solemn beauty, ten
derness and pathos of it. The war is
TO them simply part of the general
story of the universe, known to them
only by hearsay and reading. They
never heard the roar of battle tina: shook
the continent. and did not witness the
scenes OF OF desolation and bereavement
II is not their fault, but their misfor.
tune, that they fail to properly realize
what the vanishing veterans stand for,
and how much of sadness there is in the
thought Of the last march of the sur
viving remnant Of the grand army
which saved the Union and indicated
the right Of liberty to endure forever
We owe the deepest homage to the men
who rendered such service. Their pres
ence is an inspiration and benediction.
They are going from us in annual regi-
ments, brigadcs, divisions, but they will
not be forgotten. Their fame is secure
beyond every chance Of disaster: and
out of the pages Of history will always
come voice saying:
Thesc heroes all are mine
Aud am glory.
Notice.
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