The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1896-08-26
SOLDIERS BUDGET.
The Sons Of Veterans.

Line comrades are rapidly awakening
to strong realization of the necessity
of doing everything possible toward the
upbuilding of the Sons of Veterans into
the largest and most influential order in
the country. Every day brings some
thing to impress them with the emf
nent need of such an order-of an or
gauization which will draw into its
ranks the best and strongest men of
the country, and which will have for
its cardinal principle stern insistence
that patriotism is sacred duty, that,
first, last, and all the time, this govern
ment must be honored its flag respected,
its laws implicitly obeyed, and its insti-
tutions jealousy guarded.
The Grand Army of the Republic
feels this more strongly every month.
The comrades bear on their bodies and
hearts ineffaceable scars telling OF the
terrible penalty of the neglect of incul-
eating such principle.
Forty years ago it was nobody's bust
ness to teach patriotism. Nobody
charged himself with the duty of in
sisting that the citizen owed his coun-
try duty second only to that he owed
to God. Patriotism was not held to be
prime requisite of true manhood, but
rather matter of cheap and hatulent
bunkum, something connected with
frecrackers, and brass bands, and
Fourth of July rhetoric, which serious
minded men looked upon good-humor-
edly as among the vanities.
Artful, wicked men, to the chief of
whom monument was begun recently
at Richmond, Va, took advantage of
this decayed national spirit to poison
the minds of great portion Of our peo-
pie against the government to which
they owed allegiance, and to incite hos
tility where there should have been
perfect concord. And it took two mil
lion men four years, it cost 100000
lives and a million more wrecked
bodies, and nearly S7,000,000,000 of
treasure to suppress the wickedest, the
most causeless, the most excuseless re-
bellion in the history of the world.
We are complacently told that this
thing cannot occur again that slavery
and states rights caused the war, and
that they are dead beyond the hope of
resurrection. 1t is true that that pre-
else thing cannot happen again. Things
never happen twice alike. But that
sort of thing can happen in any year
just as easily as it happened in 1861.
There are possible jeff Davises in every
state, only waiting for favorable OPP
portunity to develop. Everywhere
there are artful demagogues like him,
thirsting and furnishing for notoriety.
They are looking eagerly for some pre-
text upon which to inflame the popular
mind and give them prominence and
followers.
Forty years ago war seemed as re-
mote as it does to-day. For aught we
know, it may beinearer to us now than
it was then.
The best possible safeguard against
such calamity is to build up the Sons
of Veterans into an organization of
commanding power and influence.
Next to the men who fought the war
through, the sons of those men know
best what the preservation of the ma
tional existence cost; they know best
what led to that war, what dangers
now threaten the government, and how
to best meet them. This has been so
instilled into them by heredity and pre-
cept that it passes knowledge and be-
comes the higher form of wisdom. That
anty that he is patriot at heart, and
Cuu NC ACAlCu VII III w hbtONCl 10 hCSOo-
sary to preserve the nations integrity
and carry it forward to still higher
planes of development.
If, as the veterans of the Grand
Army pass away, they could see a
million of our sons arrayed in an or
ganization devoted to preserving and
continuing their work, and in readi-
ness to meet any emergency that may
arise, they could take their departure
cheered by the serene hope that the
future of our beloved country was en-
tirely secure.
And why may we not see the Sons
of Veterans one million strong? This
is day of organizations and societies,
and wherever we turn we see orders
: without 1.-THE of the reason for exis-
tence that the Sons of Veterans have
running up into membership numbered
by the hundred thousands. There is
absolutely no reason why the Sons of
: Veterans should not surpass in mem.
+ bership any of these. They can have
, all the bonds of union that any of these
/ societies have, and in addition start
= with much stronger reason for com
= Ing together than any other can pos
{ sibly have. They have the best pos
\ sible material in the country from
r which to select their members, ant
. enough of it, for there are several mil
q lion sons of Union soldiers still in thu
country, and everywhere they are il
8 the foremost ranks of society, business
a the professions, science, and whereve
else strong, efficient men are doing thu
4 work of the community.
n There ought to be strong camps o
h Sons of Veterans in every village anc
q city in the country, made up of thu
r very foremost young men in the com
+ munities, who will be mutually helpful
- to one another in thousand ways. |
- ought to be that the fact of a man bein,
q a son of veteran in good standing a
home would be sufficient introduction
to wide circle of friends wherever h.
: might go.
We are confident that this can b
done, and we expect to see it done. |
. ought to be done for the sake of tn