The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1898-12-02

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i'm the hospital by swift or lingering dis.
ease, or of starvation inflicted at the in
stigation of the infamous wretches who
had control of the rations OF the war.
"On James eternal camping ground
Their malt ial tents are spread,
While glory guards with solemn round
The bivouac of the dead"
Some have teen struck down by all
ments contracted in camp and denied
| the privilege of standing shoulder to
boulder with their brother in an adj
vance against the foe; they did their duty
nobly and promptly as citizens and sol
diers by responding to their country's
call. So many newly made graves to be
moistened with the tears and garlanded
with flowers upon next Memorial day.
But the roll of unforgotten heroes will be
amplified, and the commonwealth will
be richer in annals of loyalty and sacri-
fee, and tonight, the words that are
spoken, the songs that are sung, will be
as much tribute and inspiration to the
gallant living as an offering to the unfor-
gotten dead. And while we do 80, we
will not forget the gallant 268 citizen
sailors who went down with the Maine.
They we're asleep in a friendly harbor;
they were not challenged to try their
courage. They were not whipped in
honorable battle, but choked, burned,
and strangled and drowned without a
chance to die fighting for life, without a
moment to say prayer; in the twnkling
| of an eye they stood in the presence OF
their Maker. And the silent appeal of
those 268 seamen comes to us tonight,
1--WE loved and died for the flag that
shields you tonight"
And it is to honor the memory of such
men as these, and the six gallant heroes
who fell from the ranks of Co. G, who
gave their lives for the cause they had
espoused, we have tonight assembled to
write their names on the national roll of
honor They sleep beneath the Stripes
and Stars, revered by people freed from
| Spanish bondage, and the liberty-loving
masses of the whole world.
Tonight we would write the epitaph
| inscribed to the fallen heroes. of Chaer-
onea, to whom, UNLIKE our own, DEFEAT
instead of victory was decreed:
These are the patriots brave, who side by side
| Stood to their arms, and dashed the foeman's
| Firm In their valOr, prOdigal of life, lpride;
| They welcomed death. the arbiter of strife
| That we might ne'er to naughty victors bow,
| Nor thraldOm's yoke, nor dire oppression know;
They fought, they bled, and on their cOuntry's
| (breast
(Such was the will of heaven) those warriors rest
The birth and resurrection of our Di-
vine Lord are first and last, always in
the memory of the Christian and patriot;
and next to these great and far-reachiDg
events come the principles and cause fol-
which our friends and kindred dared to
die, and for which they risked their all.
And as l look down in your faces to-
night, feel indeed, very unworthy OF
the high honor Of addressing y Oh, for
know, only too well, that l know moth
ing about the struggles and eart-aches
you passed through. But / do know
this, that II every company of soldiers
were remembered at throne of grace, al
you have been, then it is no wonder that
God fought for you, and brought sc
many back to home and country. Anc
l am here tonight simply because yor
have enabled me to speak, for no mar
can make speech alone. 1t is the great
human power that strikes up from {
thousand hearts that ACTS upon him anC
MAKES the SPEECH. 1t originates with
those outside of himself, if he makes one
at all; that is the way the speeches arr
made. IDEAS are the only things in tn,
universe really immortal. There are
some people who think that soldiers are
chiefly renowned for courage, but that il
one of the cheapest and commonest quail
tiles; we share it with the dumb brutes
| can find you dogs and bears and lions
that will fight and fight to the death, anC
will tear each other, but do you cal
that warfare? Let me tell you the diff
ference They are as courageous As any
of these soldiers before me, if mere BRUTI
courage is what you are after. The diff
ference between them and you is this
Tigers never celebrate their victories
never hold memorials over their fallen
Wild beasts never build monuments owe
their slain comrades. Why? Becaus,
there are no ideas behind their warfares
J Our race HAS ideas, and because ideas
!, are immortal, if they be true, we bull,
monuments to them. True, they ar,
dead, and there is nothing on all tn,
earth that you and can do for the dead
They are past our help and past on
, praise. We cannot add more glory, ant
we can give them no immortality. The,
, do not need us, but FOREVER and FoREvEl
MORE we NEED THEM.
The glory that trails in the clouds be
hind them after their sun has set, fall
WIFI lGS DeutulCtlOu upon us WHO ar
left, and it is to commemorate the i'm
mortality of the ideas for which the,
fought, that you assemble tonight, anC
for which the monument that is TO b,
raised in New York, that shall point NJ
towards God, who leads them in tn,
glory of the great world beyond. ARoUNI
these ideas, under the LEADERSHIP o
: these ideas, we assemble, reverently tt
. follow, reverently to acknowledge tn,
glory they achieved and the benedictior
which they left behind. THAT is th'
meaning of an assembly like this. Som,
years ago-many years perhaps, befor,
some of us were born-but fresh in tn,
, memory of those of the Grand Arm,
POST oshua r. Giddings was making
speech to his constituents A Southern
} man drew pistol on him while he wa
speaking in favor of human liberty, ant
marched over toward him to shoot hin
down, to stop his speech and quench tn,
voice of liberty. Some one afterward
asked him if he was not afraid? mo
said he, 81 knew was speaking for liber
, ty, and felt that if the assassin had sho
me down, my speech would still go OF
| and triumph" And the millions of mer