Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1898-06-22

years were over, out OF Z, Zl3,3b0 men that
had enlisted, 3S9, 400 had laid down their
lives-shot on the battle fields, died In he
hospitals or starved to death in the prison
pens Of the enemy.
And so when those standing by ask the
meaning OF this day, why these veterans
are gathered here, with the badges OF the
army upon them, and yet with their ands
laden with flowers, shall we not tell them
this story Of sacrifice and suffering, of our
fallen, martyred heroes, and shall they
not more and more regard this day, and
tread softly the ground where sleep our
nations passover, for on them the
sword fell, their blood ran like rivers
free-a nation second to none on earth
and that our flag should be honored from
ocean to ocean?
Our place to-day-and 1t Is a high one
among the nations OF the earth-was pur-
chased at great cost; so great that
though we meet from year to year while
time lasts, and recount the battles
fought, lives given, the suffering passed
through, the half will never be told.
1t was not pastime, the war OF 81;
not child's play-but two mighty armies
met in deadly conflict, each deter
mined to win or die. That is why there
are so many graves all over the North and
South, and why this day holds such deep
significance for US all.
CAUSE OF THE CIVIL WAR.
And here and now / want to protest
against using this day for merry maxi ing
and festivity, for basel ball games, pleas
ure excursions, dancing, feasting and
drinking. This was not day set apart
to celebrate our victory, but to honor our
dead and to call to remembrance their
glorious work and honorable death.
Shame on the hand or voice that is raised
to belittle this day, for in so doing it be-
Titles our country, our flag, and the cause
for which these men gave their lives.
Do you ask what that cause was, you
who like myself looked upon the war
with childish eyes and realized nothing
OF its awful import, and you who came
upon the scene after the victory was won,
and grass and flowers were growing on
The battle fields that had once been wet
with the blood OF Americas bravest and
best? That cause! All! High Heaven
must have rang with glad acclaim when
our boys went out to do battle for It, for
1t was righteous, sacred cause.-the
cause OF human freedom.
We, rs a nation, had been liv ing a lie.
We had not been "practicng what we
preached. We boosted OF our broad, fair
land, in song and story called the
Gland of the free'', while at the same time
the clanking chains Of four million slaves
were ringing in our ears, and men and
women, some with the same blood flow
ing in their veins as was in the veins of
their owners, were being bought and sold
like cattle.
No wonder it brought upon US who
boosted OF our light, culture and chris
tanity, the horrors of civil war No
more surely did France reap the gullo-
tine from the seeds of oppression that she
sowed among her people, than did the
United States reap civil war from the
seeds OF oppression that she allowed to be
sown among the black people Of the
South.
Those who lived at hat time, and were
in the thickest of the fray, tell us that
"the rebellion was conspiracy organized
in the interest of human slavery 1t was
to follow up the infamous fugitive slave
law with laws extending slavery into
other states and territories that We're to
become states, and so fasten into the very
vitals of the nation this relic OF barbarism
and inhumanity. 1t was not only to put
the flag into the place from which it had
been torn hat our boys went to the front
in 1861, but to rescue our beloved land
from the clutch of the slave holder and
make it indeed and in truth what we
claimed it to be, the "land Of the free and
the home OF the brave.
Our constitution had become farce
it would have been by-word for OF her
nations and stencil in the nostrils of
Almighty God, for does it not say that
"all men are created equal and endowed
by their Creator with certain inalienable
rig hts, among which are life, liberty and
the pursuit OF happiness?
Why then was the cry of the oppressed
allowed to ring in our ears? Yes, even on
the streets Of our northern cities, where
the fugitive slave law was enforced, and
those that had escaped from their bonds
carried back into slavery. And this was
not done merely toienforce the law, but to
show the North that their masters lived
in the South and that they were ready to
make good the boast OF the southern poll
tician that the time would come when he
would "call the roll of his slaves from
Bunker Hill monument.
WAR LONG IN COMING.
The war was long in coming. 1t was
not born in the campaign OF 1860 when
you voted for the immortal Lincoln. 1t
was not plot Matched in night. These
eggs OF treason were warmed in a nest by
hate and arrogance and pride, and it was
many day and year before the brood OF