Smyrna times., 1897-06-02
FALLEN HEROES HONORED.
Beautiful Flowers and Glowing Tributes
Mark the Memorial Services at
Our Churches

Beautiful Flowers and ulOWing lrlDutes
Mark the Memorial Services at
Our Churches.
Sunday was memorial day and the
time honored custom of decorating the
graves of our fallen heroes was not
found wanting this year. In fact there
seemed to be even a greater effort to
celebrate the event The day was
beautiful and spring like, and as con-
sequence the services at our different
churches were we'll attended. Roses
seemed to be in evidence everywhere,
and our cemeteries were fairly
sprinkled with rich, blooming flowers
and many wandered thither to see the
tributes, not only to the fallen soldiers,
but to neer relations and friends who
had fought the battle of life.
For the first time in several years a
thoroughly organized G. A. r. Post |
participated in the exercises of the day
The w. S. Hancock Post, No. 30,
under the command of J. G. Garner.
BY invitation this Post, twenty eight
in number, marched to the Presbyter-
ian church Sunday morning to hear
the memorial sermon of Rev. J. L.
Estlin, d. D.
The church was tastefully decorated
with u S. flags and flowers. On each
side of the pulpit recess were festoOned
large American flags and in the recess
smaller flags were in evidence. In
front of the pulpit a rich display of
roses and peonies were banked and in
termingled, as it were, in the folds of
the red, white and blue, made a beau
tiful effect. There was q good sized
congregation present, the Grand
Army Post occupying the front seats
of the church.
A novel feature in the anthem sung
by the choir was the bugle call from
the cornet of w. G. Anthony, supple
mented by a strong chorus of voices.
The Bugle notes were a good imitation
of a reveille.
The memorial sermon given by Pas
tor Estlin was a strong and vigorous
one He prefaced his remarks by well
coming the Grand Army Post in the
church and then announced his text
from the Book of Ruth /: 8:
The Lord deal kindiy 'ciH you as
ye hare deaU Cith the dead, and me.
He spoke of what a grand institution
the g. A. r. organization had gotten
to be, the opportunity they had in
bringing about sincere patriotism and
in advocating the principles of the
Lord Jesus Christ He praised the
custom of memorial day, the distribu-
ting flowers on the graves of fallen he
roes while their souls go marching on.
) He was hopeful of great things of our
people as a nation. In his reference to
history and the past, he eulogized four
l great men who contributed to the well
fare of this nation: Hamilton, Jeffer.
, son, Webster and IincOln-HamiltOn
for the part he took in centralizing Oul
government, in the protection of the
colonies, and his great genius for in
ternational and constitutional law; JEFF
fersOn for his popular and democratic
, principles in keeping down interna
strife; Webster, for his matchlesi
, speech in COngess, when he upheld the
Constitution as a great power agains
sovereignty and State rights ant
> through his Interpretation vouchsafeC
the liberties of the American people
e and Lincoln as the savior of the uniOl
when divided in RebelliOus strife owe
the abolition of slavery.
DIR. Estlin closed his discourse will
. patriotic words on heunity and Great
Il ness of this country. Turning to tn
i G. A. Il. comrades, who sat before him
e he bid them God speed in the work
ing in which they were engaged an,
u advised them to look to their characte
and war a good warefare.
Al REV. sTENGLE's MEMORIAL ADDRESS.
h At the Methodist church there wa
Ie no particular celebration in the way {
L Grand Army Posts, but the Rev. Adal
A. Stengle preached an able memoirs
le sermon, taking as his text the 1St
verse of the XLIII chapter of Isaial
a, Remember yc not the former thing!
which was attentively listened too b
er a well filled auditorium. The tex
l. would suggest the scope of thought {
the speaker. Slavery as the cause an
l., the civil war as the result, were r,
viewed as the features that had burne
st themselves into the memories of I'll
of nation, but now happily numbere
r, among the things of the past.
ne The expressions in Armenia an
s. Cuba were characterized as blOts c
the civilization of the century. I'll
prophecy however in relation to Il
swords being beaten into plow sheal
. and spears into pruning hooks, he bt
IL lieved was in the process of fulfilmen
W Wars were much less barbarOus tina
10 in the former centuries, prisione
." were more humanely treated and IL
ne rights of noncombatants regarded
never before. Such have been the r
re forms in the code of warfare that the
III is reason to believe that the same spin
81 which is an outgrowth from Christian
u ity, will in the course of time aboli
's' war altogether. A feature of the sin
ing was a solo by L. NJ. Price.
be BISHOP COLEMAN's TALK TO MEN.
to In the evening a large crowd turn
ng out to st. Peters Episcopal church
BIZ hear the address of Bishop Coleman
ma the men of Smyrna. All the organ
us cations in town were represented, the
Id, occupying the front of the church, bel
the Masons, Odd Fellows, knights
lie the Golden Eagles and the Graz
mt Army Post. Outside of few bunch
O of flowers that adorned the table in {
err chancel, there were no decoration
irs Bishop Coleman was assisted in I
evening services by the Rev. l.. Wei
ith of Trinity p. +. church, Clayton, a
she Rev. G. w. Dame of this town. I
Bishop took as his text the 10Th vel
ol- of the 2nd chapter of ST. Pauls epis