The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1898-06-03

Gue strongest OI udUlOuS. f1er people,
her colonies, her navies, her commerce,
her literature, her spirit of freedom,
have no rival upon the belted globe.
An alliance with England, would be a
natural league, an affinity of like peo-
Piles. We are of one stock, of one
tongue. 1--WE are alike in character,
emperament and institutions. All
English literature is sour common in
heritance. Shakespeare and Milton
are our literary ancestors, 1t is said
that three fourths of the world
is printed in English, that two
thirds of the letters by post
in the commercial world, are written in
English. This literary influence is
marching on wherever commerce goes.
1t has girdled the globe and is at home
in every island of the sea. We too, are
of the same fighting blood, possessed of
the same martial spirit. There are no
such soldiers in the world as those of
England and America. This is no vain
boast, but has been proven on many a
bloody field of strife. Our combined
navies would be supreme on every sea.
Our love of freedom comes to us from
a common Runymede, and the spirit of
Hampden kindles its flames in every
English and American heart! For all
Christian purposes, for all purposes Of
fensive and defensive, England is our
natural ally, and together we could sue
cessfully Withstand the world in arms!
America" and "God Save the Queen
are sung in the same air; why not let
them be sung by the same voices and
the same people?
But I can pursue these themes no
longer. We have now had thirty-three
yearsIof peace. The temple of Janus
has again flung wide open it's doors. A
new generation has entered the &C.
tivities of life.
Men born in our midst since our con-
test closed, are now marshalling into
the ranks of new war. They are with
us this day to aid in celebrating the
memories of those whose example they
are to emulate. Here on this campus
the young soldier and the grey-haired
veteran meet, and fifty meet, on this
most memorable day of the year. 1t is
the pu tting off of the old and the put,
ting on of the new. 1t is the hour in
which the veterans of the war for the
union, transfer to younger and stronger
hands this flag, the proud emblem OF
the nations honor. All untarnished we
received it from the hands of ou1
fathers; nosfeck or speck on it's bright
folds; no star erased! Stronger, larger,
grander, freer than ever before, we
turn this great nation over to another
generation of the ''boys in blue" 1t
will be yours to preserve it, defend it
and transmit it with increasing glory
onward through the ages! If it shall be
your destiny to carry that flag beyond
the seas and add new provinces to the
Republic, so mote it be! Gods will
be done! But let every act of yours be
clean and pure, and sacred to liberty
and humanity God speed the young
soldiers of the Republic in their march
to honor and true glory.
And now let us turn to our immortal
dead who sleep in countless graves
on hill and in valley! Some repose in
mausoleums of granite, or in polished
marble, some in unknown, and unmark-
ed graves. We here cast upon them
all the flowers of our love and affection.
We place the victorious palm upon
their brows, the cypress upon their
tombs. This for remembrance! This
act of devotion brings them once again
to our vision. Like living panorama
they pass in review before us, from
youths bright morning. with drum
beat and colors flying, to the last pail
of death And when we too shall be
gone who will decorate these graves?
Will we all be forgotten in the rush
and whirl of mighty events. We must
leave our memories and our deeds
to the considerate judgment of pos
terity. By our work, at least, the
union stands and re- garlanded with a
new wreath of Liberty, will abide as an
eternal monument of duty faithfully
performed. But there is one, at least,
who will not forget, and that is God.
Through all the passing years and
changing centuries, He will still bring
hither the dewy verdure and deck these
graves with his own flowers! He will
pour the mellow beams Of the moon
upon their lonely sepulchers. His stars,
Orion, the sweet Pleiades, and all the
consultations of the skies, will still
shower their golden lances on every sol
dier's grave. God will never forget,
and through the bewildering avenues OF
the long ages He will keep Mem
orial Day with His planets
and His flowers. His bugle call
ed them to reform their squadrons
above the stars, and there they repose
in the loving bosom of their Father and