The evening times., 1898-05-30


between men, between sections: It wal
the Union against the AConfedsEscy. Bul
II b evident that over and above the pur.
poses OF men was Gods purpose. H<
would not give victory to the Union arms
| until With II would come liberty to Q race
IN chains. The careful student Of the wal
OF the rebellion has no dinlculty In seeing
that up to the time OF the emancipation
| proclamation the doubtful tide Of battle
| set most strongly against the Union
| shore. Disaster had followed disaster
until Lincoln himself almost despaired Of
| ultfnaate victory: until It seemed as II the
exhulfing Southern hosts were about ia
make good their boast of proclaiping the
Coufederate government from the steps
OF the Nations Capitol. But from the
hour Of emancipation. from the hour in
which the cause OF the Union became the
cause of liberty. from the hour in which
the nag Of the Republic became the nag
OF humanity. from the hour in which Its
Stars and Stripes no longer fioafed over
slave: yea. from the sacred hour of the
nations new birth that dear old banner
boys who bore 1t never wavered in their
onward march to victory. With the sim
gle exception Of Charlottesville and that
stubborn. doubtful day at Chickamauga,
no decisive field Of battle was ever lost
by the men who sang with redoubied en-
thusiasm John Browns Body Lies
Wondering In the Grave. but His Soul
East vIcksburg at the West. ratified the
Presidents action and woke the morning
of our national holiday with grand ju-
bilee of Joy. From Chattanooga to Ap-
pomattox, from Atlanta to the sea, the
hearts Of the war-worn. battle Scared
veterans took new courage; all along the
line they touched elbows with a steadier
purpose. saw In each others eyes ho-
lier fire, Joined with a new inspiration
IN that glorious anthem:
Mine eyes have seen the glory Of the COM
He is tramping out the vintage where the
He hath ioosed the fatefui ligh!nirss Of
His terrible swift sword,
Our God Is marching on.
He is sounding forth trumpet that can
never call retreat:
He is sitting out the hearts OF men isefore
His Judgment seat
tubilant. my feet.
Our God goes marching on.
after a third OF a century Of peace and
prosperity all the children of our common
country kneel at the altar of a reunited
faith. The blue and the gray lie in eter-
nal slumber side by side. Heroes all!
they fell face to face. brother against
brother. to expiate nations sin- The
lonely firesides and the unknown graves:
the memory of the loved. the yearning
for the lost: the desolated affairs and the
broknen hopes are past recall. The wings
Of our weak protest beat in vain against
the iron bars OF fate. But through the
mingled tears that fall alike upon the
honored dead of both. the North and
South turn hopeful eyes to that new fu-
ture of prosperity and power. possible on
s. A. Ia - xt<a Aaa. al Anex r.,
the conquerors and the conquered. to the
white man and the black. to the master
and the slave. the result was Gods provi-
dence.
what sail we say of the men who
fought Of the men who fell? What pen
can write. what tongue can voice fit-
ting need of praise? History has immor-
talized 800 Spartans who at Thermopylse
held the gateway of their country until
all but one had died: the chivalrous devo-
ton OF Napoleon's Old Guard who at Wa
terloo made absolute verify of their
watchword. "the Old Guard dies but never
surrenders.' has filled the world with
wonder: and the song of a Tennyson has
thrilled the hearts of all mankind with
the story of the noble COO who at Bala-
klava charged an army. The heroic
achievements of Americas boys in blue
on countless battlefields will not suffer by
comparison with these. Some of our he
roes still bless the earth. but the majori-
ty are with the peaceful dead.
"Oh. those dead of ours, they lie In
each ichurchyard of the North. their
unknown graves are scattered all over
the Southern land. They are sleeping by
the river. they are sleeping by the sea.
they are sleeping on the mountain where
they charged the enemy's batteries and
tore down the enemy's nag. They are
sleeping in the silence of the wilderness
where they fell at their lonely sentinel
posts. but though above them is no tow
ering monument and over them no names
are carved. yet in the hearts Of the
American people Is monument erected
to their memories. grander. more beauti-
ful and enduring than sculptured marble
1t Is the monument of a peoples love.
They are not forgotten. though for many
summers the flowers and grasses of the
sunny land have waved and bloomed over
them They are not forgotten though the
flags they bore have been
laid away and the dust of the years has
gathered on them. We cherish their
in our hearts: We love the nag
they bore: We glory IN the Union which
they by their valor and their blood pre-
served. and bless them that Liberty and
is on the nations shield
Under normal conditions am opposed
to sermonirtng: to the reading of homilies
and to the discussion of public questions
on Decoration Day. I believe our service
should be love service; Of prayer and l
praise and song: that out of the heroic |
of the past we should draw |
new Inspirations of patriotism and find |
new ardor for the preservation of the free |
which came 10 us through the |
baptism Of fire and blood. But my coun- |
trymen. for the first time in our history |
IN Decoration Day we are at war. Once |
more upon the soil of old Virginia the |
Federal bayonets are agleam. From day |
TO day the boys in blue pass by; the re- |
veille. the bugie call is heard. even in |
his city of the silent dead. This time,
thank God, the war Is not sectional |
There are no brothers arrayed against /
no Americans against Ameri-
ans. There Is only one uniform In all
he land: one flag in all the sky; one SEN
tment in the breasts of all the heroes of
he republic.
WAR is a terrible thing: to be stunned |
md avoided whenever and as far as pos
ible. But have no sympathy with those |
Who believe that war should be avoided |
It the sacrifice Of national honor: at the |
Expense of humanity. or the loss of lib
rty- L cannot love those who turn deaf |
ars to the unceasing cries Of the VIC
inns Of tyranny. inhumanity and barbar-
ty. because liberty and relief can only
ONE through the shedding Of blood. If
read Gods history Alright. civilization
nd Christianity have not come from the
urvival Of The fittest. but by the sacri-
Ice Of the best. What puny human In
dares to assert that the blood
Lexington was not sacred. even as the |
Iood Of Calvary? Warren at Bunker
I'LL. Baker at Balls Bluff: Bagley ar