St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-07-01
A DAY OF SORROW
THOUSANDS FOLLOW. THE DEAD
FIREMEN TO THEIR LAST
RESTING PLACE.
IMPRESSIVE FUNERAL RITES
READ AT THE CHURCHES AND
HOMES OF THE MEN WHO
FELL At THEIR POST.
PROFUSE FLORAL Tributes.
The Collins Covered With Beauti-
full Flowers of Every Variety
and Design.


The dead fremen were laid to rest
yesterday in Lakewood cemetery in
the shadow of the shaft that marks
the firemen's burying ground. The
services at the four funerals were
most impressive, and would have
been listened to by thousands had
they been able to gain admission to
the churches and homes. The floral
offerings were infinite in number and
marvellous in design. The sad occa-
sion drew many thousands to Lake
wood
Not one of the four funerals was
more impressive than that of Frank
Uehlein, which was held at 219 Third
avenue north. This is right ada
cent to fire headquarters, and the
many firemen on duty there had the
| privilege of attending the services.
Rev. William Wilkinson was in
| charge, and he officiated from the
door step, where he could be heard
by the people inside of the house
and the hundreds gathered in the
street. The crowd was so great
that the street in front of the house
was packed with people. The floral
offerings were unusually numerous.
The st. Paul ffremen sent large
floral tribute, the Faribault firemen
another, and altogether the flowers
would have filled a large wagon.
A detail from the fire department
formally attended the funeral and
went with the body to the grave at
Lakewood, where another large
! crowd had assembled. The exercises
! at the house consisted of singing
Nearer, My God, to Thee" and
abide With Me-
Rev. William Wilkinson, clad in
! the vestments usually worn by min
listers of the Anglican church at
funerals, read solemnly the beauti-
full service for the burial of the
/ dead from the book of common
prayer At the conclusion he. said:
1t is with a sad but sympathetic in
! terest that the eyes of the people in
| this city and state, at this hour, turn
! to this home, to this casket and to the
body of him for whom we have come
! to say this office for the departed. 1t
| is our good fortune to live in a day and
! land where accidents are not looked
upon as judgments, or where those who
! have been called suddenly away are
| supposed to have incurred the anger
| of the Lord in special way. We know
the error of that view and have learned
| to speak in presence of such disaster
! as we face today as Christ spoke of
the men on whom the tower in Sloan
! fell in his day-words Of wisdom and
/ of love. Our brother met death as
thousands of men in every age have,
| when they were doing their simple
duty. following the daily task. Such
| deaths seem to give a peculiar sanctity
to honest toll; they enthrone obedience.
The lessons taught by this calamity
are varied and many; they place in
! clear relief the fact that joy and sor-
row, work and danger, are very near
| neighbors. as that usefulness and pain,
| the activities of life and the awful
! silence of death are closely allied The
man who in the repose of death is be-
| fore US was engaged in work, for which
| he had sought to fit himself for was
! engaged in that work. when, in an in
slant he looked not for it, death came.
| Men held their breath as they said
| Frank is one of the dead. I have seen
at Lucerne, in Switzerland, a picture
called the Dance of Death.''i Just be-
hind the king in his pride, the priest in
his office, the youth in its prime stood
| Death, gaunt and grim. Though I'M
noticed, Death was near, eager, earnest,
| subtle, ready to strike, as soon he will
for all of us.
1t is ever thus, ever has been and
will be till time shall be no more The
things men most set heart upon are all
passing-''The paths of glory lead but
to the grave" Are, therefore, obedience,
courage, service, spotless honor and
quiet determination to do what we
have to do we'll of little value? No,
! on the contrary, they are above all
price. In their light we should say, as
Christ said, 1 must work the works of
him that sent me, for the night cometh
| when no man can work, so that when
death is near we may say withejoy,
II have finished the work thou gave
me to do and so depart in peace.
This view of work lifts it up out of
the dreariness of toll, and time, task
| and slavery of wage earning and eye
service, it transforms it and translates
| 1t, makes the face of labor shine with
a radiancy and a glory which comes
from the face of the everything God
| To the man who does life's work thus
there are no hopes death can destroy
| Such a man, in clearer worlds of no.
bier light holds on his way. Life has
| taught him much, and of it not the
least valuable is that God is love. He
has no idea that God loves a man at
II going to a fire, and at u, having
been killed at it, when being carried
| home dead has ceased to love him.
This cherries thought he leaves for
hard theolcgianS to use; he knows bet
ter; so do We. Gods mercy endures
forever. 1 speak to you from holy
writ, and tell you of songs which are
from a world where walls do not fall
or floods destroy; where funerals are
not known: songs which abide on the
ear and make music in the heart God
intended life to be a sacrament, and
work a means of grace. I never lay
stress upon death. It is life which
charms me; it is not pain, but triumph
over it. 1 sing in the sure knowledge
that the God who made US will take
care of US, as He gave His Son to
save US; and that He is the true king
of work. When you desire to see SOL
emnity look around you at life; death
has not half its meaning or deep and
far reaching power, as we shall plainly
see when the clouds of time have
passed away and the pure, sweet sum
shine of Gods other world shines upon
us. Then we shall see with ecstatic
delight how large and glorious a fact
this is. Today 1 join hands with all
who mourn. 1 listen to hear voices
which, on earth, are silent, and look
for faces which are gone. 1 am a
man who has seen affliction, and who
has, walked on in the darkness. But
stop. The voices are not mute, the
faces are not destroyed; the ear of the
soul hears them sing and the eye sees
them smile in the world, so I stand in
rapt attention. AS 1 do, that which
was cross is changed, and the depart
ed exercise a spell greater even to me
than ever before. Bonds have changed
to beauty. and that beauty is all divine.
l can in this light see what is the mis-
sion and mystery of pain Jesus endured
1t was made perfect by it. He is a