The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-05-31
THE MEMORY OF HEROES
4 RICH AND EYER GROWING HERI-
 TAGE.

Ahe CnrlsCian CommanuerS Aumirah COope
 Lessons from His Life and Heroic
 Achievements-Memo Services at
 Howard Avenue Congregational Church
 Last Evening.
 Memorial services were held in the Howard avenue Congregational church last evening. Admiral Foote post, No, IT, G. A. R., Woman's Relief corps Mo- 3 and Nathan Hale camp No. 1, Sons of Veterans, were in attend ance and the church was filled with a large congregation. Flags and flowers were the decorations and everything was done to make it a service to in spire patriotism in the breasts of the young and satisfy the sentiment of those who are older. The music was as follows: "To Thee, o Country,
 choir; 'Sleep, Comrade, Sleep" 'Hark, Hark, May Soul" by Shelley, and Star Spangled Banner" Patriotic airs
 were played on the organ by MT. H.
 A IDSdCIl, lllt CllOIl 1CClOi. IlCNs I|is
 Mutch delivered a patriotic address which is given below in full as follows:
 Following is the veteran memorial
 address delivered before Admiral Foote
 Post, No. r, G. A. R., Admiral Foote
 womans Relief Corps, No. 8, and Ma
 than Hale Camp No. l. Sons of Vete-
 rans, by Rev. W. J. Mutch Ph. D., at
 the Howard Avenue Congregational
 church, last evening.
 The remembrance of the honored
 dead is rich and ever growing heri-
 tage of the living. Out of the life that
 is and has been, people always con-
 struct the ideals of the life that is to be.
 In so far therefore as we treasure the
 memory of noble service, and honor
 deeds of patriotism, we are preparing
 the way for more of the same kind. We are not as old as other nations of
 the earth, but there is recorded on the
 pages of our history roll of Worthies
 of whom we are not ashamed in the
 presence of our neighbors. It Is not fitting that we should take time here
 to speak in general terms of eulogy
 upon our nations worthies, for this has
 been done so often before that it is in danger of giving the impression of boasting and vain speech, rather than the true inspiration to nobleness of soul, which it ought to produce.
 It will be more to our purpose if we take some marked points in the life and
 character of some single hero, like the
 one who gives his honored name to the leading Grand Army Post of our city, and by noting the worth of those ele- ments of character, we shall not only honor him and all others who have pos sessed like qualities, but we shall put premium on the possessions of those virtues by ourselves and those who come after us
 The one point or quality in the char acter of Admiral Foote. which would be most naturally referred to on an occa- sion like this, Is the one which more
 than any other characterized him as
 man and a soldier, namely, his Chris
 tian purpose. I may therefore refer to the incident of his conversion which occurred early in his professional life. not for the fact itself, great and worthy as it is in any life, but rather for the
 marked effect which 1t had upon his af-
 ter life and professional services.
 This young townsman of ours with a
 name still worthily borne by many citi-
 zens of this community, wrote a letter
 home to his mother while serving as a
 midshipman on the "Natchez," which lets us into the inner chambers of his soul, where we need to go if We would find the sources of much that we are impressed with in his after life. It was
 his second cruise, the first having be- gun when he was but sixteen. and con tinued four years in the West Indies and on the Pacific coast. He is now re- turned to the West Indies with a vessel sent for the farther suppression of the pirates who then swarmed in the south
 ern seas. It is in his tWenty-first year;
 he has seen service enough to know its dangers and it's stern realities. Life in
 the navy in the early days, fighting pi-
 rates, catching slaveships and cruising
 to the ends of the earth, was not the
 place one would choose as most favora- ble for Christian living.
 But he had not chosen the sea with any reference to Christian living, and he was now choosing the Christian life without any reference to its surround ings, but purely on it's own merits. A religion that will not work anywhere and everywhere Is not worth having If it cannot grow and bear the proper fruit of clean life in any legitimate calling where it is the duty of a man to serve, then 1t needs to give place to a religion that can do it, for a religion
 that is universal in its aims must reach humanity in all places and conditions. One of the greatest public services, therefore, which Admiral Foote rem dered during his life, was to demon- strate by practical test of thirty-hve years that the Christian life is practica- ble under the most unfavorable circum- stances; and that a man who is in earnest can live a clean, straightfor- ward, outspoken Christian life under conditions the most adverse which the real life of the world furnishes.
 In the letter referred to he assures his
 mother that she need give her mind no farther anxiety about her wayward son. A lieutenant on the ship who was a Christian man and doubtless felt lone some in this respect, made some inqui- ries or suggestions to young Foote about the matter, but was bluffed off at first. The solitude of the night watch soon after, when they were on duty to- gether, brought the matter up for far ther consideration, and the impressions then made did not leave him. 4 fort g-~I.4 -c