The Anaconda standard., 1896-05-31
THEY ALL ATTENDED
Great Falls Turns Quito Appropriate
ly Observe Decoration Day.
FLOWERS ON THE GRAVES
beautiful Services at the Cemetery
and In the Evening a Vast AS
semblage at the Pavilion to
- Listen to rev. Mr.. Wasson.

Great Falls. May so-Decoration day
was generally observed in this city.
Inc business houses were very gener-
ally decorated in national celors, 3ags
were at half mast, trade suspended and
general air of solemni.y prevailed.
AT 10 O'Clock the veterans assembled at
the old armory and took CARRIAGES to
higniand cemetery, were they We're re-
ceived by the members of the Woinan's s
Reief Corps and the children from the
public schools. Then followed the beau
tifui ceremony Of covering the graves
OF the dead with lively, fragrant flow
kers. Immediately afterwards the school
J5children marched to mound which
represented the unknown dead, and lit
orally buried 1t with flowers 1t was a
Egrandly beautiful and interesting scene
AND attractive beyond description. The
ritual services were then conducted
by Commander Stafford and Chaplain
sBeecher Of post No. IS. G. A. r., after
- winch the veterans were brought back
TO the city and served with an elabo-
rate dinner, arranged by the Woman's
Relief Corps.
At o'clock tonight the veterans as
sembled at G. A. r. hall. where a brief
meeting was held. after which they
ctook cars for the pavilion at Black F;a-
gle rails. The large room was hand
somely decorated with flags and bunt-
Ing and presented a military-Ike ap-
-pearance. Every seat was occupied.
and standing room was at a premium
On the stage were Judge Benton, Dr.
Wasson and others. Judge Benton call
eo the assemblage to order and stated
prleny the occasion of the meeting Af-
ter the rendition of appropriate musical
f9Selectfons by the Great Northern band
2 Commander Stafford conducted ritual
. services. These were followed by vocal
music, after which Rev. Dr. Wasson.
rector of the Church of the Incarna-
-tion, was introduced and delivered an
eloquent address of which the following
is a summary:
1T is the fashion now to denounce
war and to praise peace as the only
common-sense way of settling national
difficulties. Doubtless, on the whole.
peaceful methods are preferable when
ethey are also practicable, and do not
involve the sacrifice of something even
better than peace. But there is such a
thing as purchasing peace at too high
! prices and II would be nothing short
of calamity were the peace-at-any-
price idea to get the upper hand. War. |
doubtless, is a terrible thing, and some |
people are much too ready to advocate |
It, Like matrimony, 1t should not be |
entered into "unadvisedIy or lightly, |
but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, So |
berly and in the fear of God" And |
where II Is so entered into II is a good |
thing. A terrible thing, to be sure, do
ing some evil, and causing a vast
amount of suffering-but, still a neces-
sity for clearing the moral and polit-
cal atmosphere and restoring things to
proper equilibrium. Human nature
being what it is, in such a world as
ours, war is sometimes the only meth
od of finding an answer to questions
that confront nations and imperatively
demand solution. And the penalty of
Sinking II, under such circumstances.
would be national dishonesty and de-
cay.
Looked at in this way, as a moral
necessity, as moral remedy for po-
ntical Ills, no war has ever had strong
er justification than that waged a gem
Grafton ago to save the life of this re-
public. That war is primarily not a
material, but moral conflict. lis
greatness is not in the vast material
Issues involved; nor in the areas of ter
ritory concerned; not in the vast num-
bers of it's fighting men; not in the
treasures poured out like water on eth
er side. This has ben epigrammatically
described as meaning the loss of a mil
lion of men and a billion of treasure
Doubtless these things make 1t dramat-
lc; doubtless they make IL big. But
they do not make it great: only the
moral issues involved in. 1t make il
great; these make ii grand; these rank
Il with the few great conflicts of histo-
~ that have meant and done much for
life. The civil war was the I
only method or arriving at the solution
of moral and political question-that
IF human freedom and national unity. /,
Il could not be avoided, though earnest
tnd patriotic men on both sides had ! .
deprecated ii and delayed. Under the !.
1t was not only the best, ! :
)ut the only thing.
Nor need either party to n he
of it's record Happily the q
ime is past when the ugly words =
traitor and treason have any mean
ng in connection with it, And IL 'reb- |,
Il and rebellion can be technically .,
justified, IL is just as well to remember =
he old couplet: "A patriot is a rebel
vho succeeds, a rebel is a patriot who :,
ails.' Happily the time is come when :,
We can view the matter with some of
he dispassionatenesso of history Each
ide was equally true to it. Our hon
st Convictions and neither all the cir a.
being considered, could -
ave been expected to act differently oS
tor is this to belittle the moral i'm :,
ortance of the affair. Far from il. y,
iorally the North was wholly in the n
Ight. and usually the South was Who'll y,
= in the wrong. This is easy enough ~
D see now. Had the conflict ternina- 10
I'd otherwise than as il did, the cause p
human liberty throughout the world n
rould have been put back hundred NJ
ears. The South can see now as clear ef
as the North the incalculable. the N,
nnlea surable disaster Of victory of | s-r
avery and disunion. And for those 10
lat in behalf of liberty and union dr.
we'd not their lives unto death. we ar
ourn not the nation mourns not to-day | m
any day. Happy are they. yea bless IL
I. Even the old heathens knew that Ts
is sweet to die for ones country. &c
heir fame is secure: their glory un- | no
their works live after them.
ID a nation that they have redeemed
ID saved will give them a name bet m,
T than that Of sons and daughters bu
nd their lives and heroic deaths are be
ore than a memory; they are a co
lightly, living, and growing force and DIT
er-present inspiration TO single ag