Omaha daily bee., 1896-05-31
MANDERSON AT GRANTS TOMB
Eloquent Address of the Ex-senator at the
Great Captains Grave,
MIGHTY IN WAR AND GLORIOUS IN PEACE
Sterling Qualities that Made the Man
Conspicuous ns II Leader of n
Great Army and President
OF a Grcater Nation.

NEW YORK, May 30.--At Riverside today
The tomb of General Ulysses S. Grant was
the center Of the ceremonies. General Charles
+. Henderson of Omaha was the principal
speaker. He said:
Commander. Comrades of U. s. Grant
Post and Of the Grand Army OF the Republic,
My Fellow Citizens:
The spring is here, the delicate footed
May:
She unlocks the flowers, to paint the laugh
ing soil.'
1.-THE chi ling wind, the whitening snow,
the surly blast that thrown aercely from the
Icy fingers of stern winter did work of de-
struction, have passed away and the season
of bloom and promise, of bud and hope, of
flower and expectation, again is with us.
Charming May. with ethereal mildness, re-
vivifying warmth and gentle moisture, pre-
pare3 nature for her full fruition-for the
ripened grain, the matured fruit, the gath
cred harvest. The heavy frosts have fallen
in the fresh lap Of the crimson rose. >
Again the common, yet the strange, the
ever-recurrlng yet the Away surprising, the
annual yet the wonderful mystery Of activity
after quiescence, Of awakening after sleep,
Of life after death. Again natures great
symbolic teaching through leaf and flower
Of mans immortality. Again her vigorous
"iNh lillE u VI IN
hopeless doctrine of final extinction. Again
her comforting promise Of a future state, her
consoling assurance of a life beyond the
grave. With an eloquence forcing belief she
utters her convincing truths. '.s1 -
Speaking to us from the lower forms of
creation, from the springing grass, the open
ing bud, the unfolding ,eahet, from forming
larva, evolving worm and changing chrysa-
lis, teaching us from her higher mysteries,
the rising of sun and moon, the swelling
ftdn an1 thu ratttrninn n Oh n rrnnInip, c
that death is not an eternal sleep.
"'Can 1t be7
Meter Matte in, immortal n o and an ID shall ball spirit de-
Shall man alone. for whom all else revives,
No resurrection know? Shall man alone,
Imperial man be sown in barren ground,
Less privileged than the grain on which he
feeds?'
"No No! My comrades, 1t Is not SO.
These beloved dead shall live again. On the
other shore We will meet and with
our endeared companions, who have gone
before. The spirit of our great leader, the
captain OF the mighty host that battled for
the right in the dark days Of the rebellion,
yet lives. The dross and refuee are in yon-
der tomb, but that which we cherish and
revere will never die!
"''Tis heaven itself that points out an here
And intimates Eternity to man.
o AN IDLE CEREMONY.
"How sublime the teaching and how beau
tiful the object lesson! This tribute that,
with every annual Memorial day. we pay to
the memory Of our dead companions In arms.
Is no mere pageant, no idle ceremonial. In
augurated by the noble order, whose motto
Is fraternity, charity and loyalty, whose in
sigma We are proud to wear, the sacred
services incident to the day shall continue
so long ae there remains a survivor OF the
armies of the union, and, after we have
passed away, willing hands, responding to
grateful hearts, will, we hope. continue the
touching ceremonies at the graves of the
heroes OF the war Of the rebellion.
ION this twenty-elghth Memorial day all
over this broad land, wherever the nations
noble defenders lie sleeping, whether In the
south, where the grim edge Of battle Joined.
In the border country. where the fear and
agony OF the republic centered. or in the
north, where anxious hearts grew sick with
hope deferred. countless thousands are gath
cred to pay their tributes Of love and grati<
tude.
"standing here in the shadow of this su-
perb monument, destined to remain through
the ages as a testimonial to our chief. stand
ing on the appropriate summit of recognition
OF most Distinguished service, highest 10y
atty and purest patriotism, We look over the
land to find. by teeming city and modest
hamlet, in noble cemetery and rural church
yard, the same gathering OF comrades TO
decorate costly tomb and simple headstone
alike-placing the flag OF the free over those
who maintained 1t triumphant and the
choicest flowers OF the vernal springtime TO
exhale their perfume with the fragrance OF
the sweet memories OF the dead. All! These
burial places where sleep the brave, who
sank TO rest, with all their country's wishes
blest,' are the Val-hallas. the Westminster
OF our country.
whether our departed lie where there are
stately trees. grassy lawns. fower-bedecked
slopes, shaded walks. costly monuments and
Commanding views. or rest In obscure places.
where desolation reigns and barrenness en-
dures, ii can be said Of all alike, as our
Comrade Garfield said OF consecrated and
stately Arlington, Here is our temple, its
pavement is the sepulcher Of heroic hearts;
Its dome the bending heaven; its altar