The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1895-06-08
Df |! / / s0lDIl|IE
ssY. James 4 D, sleilly.s Eloquent Al
dress On nec,Orat ION DaY. M

u CLOCK, klNQS vas ISSa0eus4E ny stn0s ISuEtu-
visit mil tary Band which was followed
post, Camp g, Sons OF Veterans, Com
panY III, Boys Brigade, Company Is,
Boys, Brigade, pupils Of the Van Cleve
school and other school delegations
from the SURROUNDING neigh borhood.
after the graves had been decorated and
prayer offered, Rev. James 10 Reilly, of
st. Anthony of Padua Church. delivered
an eloquent and touching address as fol-
lows d INV IN MI }.i4 II .5 e.
Soldiers Of the Grand Army lou; are
the orators Of Decoration Day, whoever
may be the speakers. All over the
united States today flowers, medals,
empty sleeves and graves fill the hearts
Of many by their silent but visible elo-5
quence.# Yours is the sorrow that makes
us smile at the sad and dark countenance
Of death. When you enter graveyard
you turn it into 3 garden. You do not
walk to the graves Of the dead with
gloomy faces, but with smiles and flow
ers that seem to laugh at the face Of
death. Il. VI
'T'he living soldier today honors his
dead comrade and the nation honors the
dead and living soldier of the war. It
is well thatit should be so. And /, too,
pay the tribute of respect to every man
who suffered anything or sacrificed any
thing to give to- this country what
Abraham Lincoln called q new birth of
freedom Ito keep alive the proudest
landon which the sun looks. down, where
there is no lord and no slave.
Decoration Day is a day of education.
It Is true that the schools are closed, but
we have turned the nation into school,
and these, are our teachers-these
4
pies: 81 They are the pictures held before
the American boy and girl today, and
from them they can learn their noblest
lessons. There is no teacher like his
tory; there is no eloquence like that of
death. There is no crown so precious
as a wreath of flowers, and surely the
least that we can do every year is to
place a flower above their graves. Cold,
cold must the heart of that people be.
and unworthy Of what these dead men
have done and suffered and saved, II
each year they refuse to place the wealth
OF spring upon their tombs.
81 am one Of those who believe that all
who fought in the war of the Union
should be pensioned for life. The ma
ton owes them this reward. God knows
We3are free enough with honors for the
great captains. There is nothing Of the
and Is it not true that the common sol
dier has an equal claim? When the
great Greek commander, Miltiades, re-
turned from some great battle where he
had conquered and asked for Especial
crown, someone in the crowd cried out,
When you conquer alone you shall be
crowned alone. The people approved Of
this. The great commanders have not
conquered alone. The humble soldier
bore his share of the burden of the day
and of the deaths. For self respect Of
those who witnessed the war; for the
glory of humanity; we are bound to
guard the declining years Of the brave
men who offered their lives to keep the
republic one and undivisible.
Every year the roll call Of the veter-
ans is becoming less. They ate moving
away to the shadow land, and spreading,
their tents and taking their places on
flames eternal camping ground. A few
yeards more and our Grand Army that
showed to the world the inexhaustible
resources of the republic, and that gov
eminent for the people was something
more than dream, will be only mem
Dry. But let us guard that memory. for
it will be the saddest and the proudest
on the page of American history. Those
who have made that page which will
cause the eye Of the American boy to
brighten when we. are dead should not
be forgotten; while they are yet living.
They were not all heroes, perhaps, but
they suffered much, and the nation for
which they suffered should hold them in
grateful and blessed remembrance
Gentlemen of the Grand Army, I am
done. IA platform in the open air is not
the place. for, long speeches. Some Of
7,
march yet before4you. Still; though you
are not as young as you were in the days
that tried men s souls yet hope for the
many years to come you and will as
sernble here to decorate the, graves of
your dead comrades And when you,
too, have gone If the Almighty leaves me
here, I will teach and preach to the ris-
ing generation to cherish the memory Of
the Old soldier, and testify their love each
year by placing flower upon your
graves" n 3s .s,t