Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1896-06-05
MILFORD, DEL, FRIDAY, JUNE s. 1896

MILFORD, DE
! millions OF graves III - Nly.l.ns. uu-
} nounce 1t. The nations need moru the
spirit Of treaty and less of the spirit of war.
Why War Is Detestabie.
War is moro CHASTITY now than once, not
only because Of the greater destructiyenoss
Of its weapoEry, but because now it takes
. down tho best men, whereas once il CHI, fly
took down the worst Bruce, in 17l7, in
his Institutions Of Military Law" said
= Of the European armies Of his day, "If all
Infamous persons and such as have COM
mitted capital crimes, Eeretics, atheists
and all dastardly feminine men, were
wooded out Of tho army, it would soon be
, reduced TO a pretty moderate number "
, Flogging and mean pay mado them still
moro ignublo. Officers were appointed to
sec that each soldier drank his ration Of a
pint Of spirits day. There were noble
mon in battle, hut the moral character Of
the army ihon was 95 per cent lower than
the moral character of an army today. by
so much is war now the moro detestable
because it destroys the picked men of the
nations
Again by this national ceremony we
mean to honor courage. Many of these
departed soldiers were volunteers, not con-
scripts, and many Of those who were draft
ed might hay o provided IA substitute or got
off on furlough or have deserted. The fact
that they lie in their graves is proof of
their bravery. Brave ut tho front, brave Mt
the lannon's mouth, brave on lonely pick
I ct duty, brave in cavalry charge, brave be-
fore the surgeon, brave in the dying mess
! age to the home circle. We yesterday put
! a garland on the brow Of courage. The
| world wants moro of 1t.
! mhe church Of God Is in woeful need OF
men who can stand under fire. The lion
, Of worldly derision rOars and the sheep
| tremblo In great reformatory movements
4 at the first shot how many fall back.
| The great obstacle to tho church S advance
ment is the inanity, the vacuiiy, the soft
| prettiness, the numhy pambyism Of pro-
| fessod Christians. Great on parade, cow
ards in battle. Afraid of getting their
plumes rufllod, they carry parasul over
! their helmet. They go into battle not with
warriors gauntlet but with kid gloves,
not clutching tho sword hilt too tight lest
the glove split at the back.
In all our refOrmatOry and Christian
work the great want is more backbone, /
more mettlo, more daring moro prowess (
of hundred do nothirgs for one do every
thing. Quit yourselves like men; be
strong"
Thy saints in all this glorious war
Shall conquer, though they die.
They SIC the triumph from afar
And seize it with their eye.
Self Sacrifice.
Again we mean by this national observ-
ance 10 honor self sacrifice for others To
all these departed men Lomo and kindred
were as dear as our home and kindred arc
to us. Do you know how they foltf Just
as you and l would feel starting out to-
morrow morning with ninO chances out Of
ten against our returning alive for tho
Intelligent soldier secs not only battle
ahead, but malalial sickness and exhaus-
ton. Had these mon cko.Cn, they could
have spent last night in their homes and
today have been seated where you are
They close tho camp, not because they
liked it better than their own Louise, and
followed the drum and fife, not because
they were better music than the voices of
the domestic circle. South Mountain and
Murtreesboro and the swamps of Chicka
hominy woro not fairgrounds.
These heroes risked and lost all for
others There is no higher suhlmity than
that. To keep throe-quartors for ourselves
and give one-quarier to others is honura-
BILE. To divide even with others is gener-
GUS. To Keep nothing for ourselves and
give all for Others is magnani nifty Christi
like Put girdle around your body and
then measure the girdlo and SEQ if you are
90 or go inches round And is that the cir
Gle of your sympathies-the size of your
self Or. to measure you around the heart,
would 1t take "a girdle large enough to en-
circle the land and encircle tho worldi
You want to know what we dry theO-
lOgians mean when we talk Of vicarious
suffering. Look at tho soldiers graves and {
find out. Vicariousl pangs for others,
wounds for others, inconsistencies for 9TH
ers, blood for Others sepulcher for Others.
Those who visited the national ceme- '
teries at Arlington Heights and at Rich I
Inond and Gettysburg saw one inscription I
on soldiers tombs oftener repeated than S
any other" Unknown" When, about 81 q
years ago, 1 was called to deliver the ora
ton at Arlington Heights, Washington, .
was not so much impressed with the min
ute guns that shook tho earth or with the
attendance of president and cabinet and
foreign ministers and generals of the army 7
and commodores Of the navy as with the
pathetic and overwhelming suggestiveness
Of that epitaph on so many graves at my s
feet. Unknown Unknownl 1t seems n
to me that the timo must come when the 4
government of the United States shall I
take off that epitaph. They are no more I
unknown. We have found them out at n
last. They are the beloved sons of the re- y
public.
Would it not be we'll TO take the statue a
Of the heather goddess off the top of the n
capitol flor l have no faith in the morals a
IF heather goddess) and put one great /
statue in all our national cemeteries-a d
statue of Liberty in the form of u Christian +
woman, with her hand on an open Bible e
md her foot ON the Rock of Ages, with the 4
,ther hand pointing down to the graves Of n
he unknoW n, saying, These are my sons, r
Who died that might live" Take of the n
nisnomer. Everybody knows them. 1t +
S of comparatively little Importance whit 4
vas the name given them in baptism Of 4
water. In the holier and mightier bap- II
ism of blood we know them, and yester- 1,
lay the nation put both arms around them !
md Rugged them to her heart, crying, r,
Mine forever" s
Future Defense. Nj
Again, by this national ceremony we Il
mean the future defense Of this nation II
BY every wreath of flowers on tho soldiers o.
raves We say, "Those who die for tho Il
ountry shall not be forgotten, and that b
will give enthusiasm to our young men in Il
use our nation should in the future need d
o defend itself in battle We shall never
ave another war between north and p
outh. The old decayed bone of oonten- b
ion, American slavery, has been cast out, a.
Though here and there a depraved poll Il
ioian takes 1t up to see If he can't gnaw 81
omething off it. We are floating off far h
her and farther from the possibility Of b
ectional strife. f
No possibility Of civil war. But about Il
orcign invasion am not so certain. When D,
spoke against war said nothing against A
of dnfnnsn An invnnfnr fold mo fhnt he