Omaha daily bee., 1897-05-30
TO THE MEMORY OF DEAD.
Old Soldiers Pay Reverent Homage I
Their Dead Comrades.

Old Soldiers Pay ReVcrent HOmRg to
Their Dead Comrades.
The decoration of the graves of the
veterans who sleep in the various cemeteries
around Omaha. was accomplished by the COM
mittees of the various Grand Army of the
Republic organizations and the Women's
Relief corps yesterday morning.
Every year since a day was set aside in
nations dead the surviving veterans have
participated in this sad, but patriotic duty,
and as year by year their ranks are thinned
to multiply the graves on the grassy hill
sides. the ceremony brings to them a deeper
meaning. Each Memorial day they find adj
ditional graves to adorn, and they strew
flowers in turn over the sepulchers of those
who helped to gather and arrange the
blossoms the year before. The thought that
in a few more years the last surviving
veteran will have Joined the shadowy army
that death has claimed, invest the occasion
with a solemnity of which no one but the
soldier appreciates the full significance.
The decoration of the graves yesterday
was largely in charge of the various Women's
Relief corps of the city. The city was divided
into three districts, each of which was in
charge of enc corps. The corps attached to
Crook post of the Grand Army of the Re-
public covered the territory north of Cunning
street. That between Cunning and Leaven-
worth streets was in charge of Grant corps
and that south of Leavenworth of Custer
| corps. The committee of each corps gathered
the flowers in its district and took them to
the cemeteries yesterday. The flowers
| were secured Friday and arranged ready
to be distributed leaving nothing to be done
yesterday except to lay them on the graves.
In spite of the backward season which
seemed to indicate a limited supply of flowers
tho floral contributions ware unusually
lavish. The bulk Of them were collected by
the pupils and teachers of the various public
schools, but a number of individuals also
made liberal contributions. The women were
fairly overwhelmed with flowers and foliage
of every conceivable description, from the
choicest of hot house roses and ferns to The
more modest blossoms which came from
| private gardens. Many Of the flowers had
been tended for months solely for the
! occasion, and when they were all brought to-
gether they were sufficient to fairly cover
every soldiers grave.
WITH FLAGS AND FLOWERS.
The carriages containing the women AND
| the flowers started from the headquarters
of the various posts early In the morning.
| They were accompanied by details of veter-
ans and the task of adorning the graves was
soon completed. The national salute was
fired at Forest Law by a detail of veterans
under Secretary Ellison, and the handsome
flag which the Grand Army Of the Re-
! public maintains at the cemetery tioated al
half mast in Difference to the memory of the
dead. Nature had pro"ided a marveiously
perfect morning Tor the IN The
fresh morning breeze kept the flowers bright
and fragrant and the grass that carpeted
the well kept slopes presented the deepest
and freshest tint of green, The veterans
stood with barred heads while the echo OF
the guns sounded more and more family
against the bluffs, and then the task oil
adjoining the green mounds with flags ans
flowers was ~tenderly completed.
Aside from the patriotic organizations,
there were hundreds of individuals who
came to honor the memory Of veterans whom
they had known and loved. There were a
few widows left who still stood over the
ashes OF the husbands whom they had never
seen since Lincoln's call to arms more than
a generation ago, and there were many eth ars
whose dead slept far away, but who re-
membered that all were comrades and came
to leave their Offering on the graves of men
who had worn the same blue uniform.
In the city the only observance OF the day
was in the flags that waved from business
houses and flag stats. The general holiday
will occur Monday. when the exercises will
be held at Hanscom park and all the public
offices viii be closed.
1t was noticed yesterday that most OF
the flags which appeared down town were
loated at full mast. While they were un-
doubtedly brought out in observance of
Memorial day, 1t is suggested that the
significance is lost unless all flags are left
at half mast. The veterans request that all
flags shall be lowered to half mast Monday.