The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1899-10-06

come, all sail set and all furnaces in
full blast, sheaves of crystal tossing
from their cutting prows.
And now all the squadrons of all de-
partments, from smallest tugboat to
mightiest man of war, are in process
sion, decks and rigging filed with men
who on the sea fought for the old flag
ever since we were n nation. Grandest
fleet the world ever saw! Sail on be-
fore all ages Run up all the colorsl
Ring all the bellsl Yea, open all the
portfolios! Unlimber the guns and load
and fire one great broadside that shall
wake the. continents in honor of peace
and the eternity of the American unionl
But lift my hand, and the scene has
vanished. Many of the ships have
dropped under the crystal pavement of
the deep, sea monsters swimming in
and out the forsaken cabin, and other
old craft have swung into the navy
yards, and many of the brave spirits
who trod their decks are gone up to the
Eternal fortress, from whose easements
and embrasures may we not hope they
look down to-day with joy upon ma
ton in reunited brotherhood?
All those of you who were in the
naval service during the war of 1865
are now in the afternoon or evening of
life. With some of you it is two o'clock,
three o'clock, four o'clock, six o'clock,
and it will soon be shutdown. If you
were of age when the war broke out,
you are now at least 60. Many of you
have passed into the seventies. While
in our Cuban war there were more
Christian commanders on sea and land
than in any previous conflict, | would
revive in your minds the fact that at
least two great admirals of the civil
war were Christians, Foote and Far
ragut. Had the Christian religion been
u cowardly thing they would have had
nothing to do with it. In it's faith they
lived and died. In Brooklyn navy yard
Admiral Foote held prayer meetings
and conducted revival on the receiv-
ing ship North Carolina and on Sab
baths, far out at sea, following the chap
lain with religious cXhortation. In
early life, aboard the sloop of war
Natchez, impressed by the words of
Christian sailor, he gave his spare time
for two weeks to the Bible and at the
end of that declared openly: Hence
forth, under all circumstances, | will
act for God" His last words while dy-
ing at the Aston house, New York, were:
81 thank God for all His goodness TO
me. lie has been very good to me-"
When he entered Heaven, he did
not have to run blockade, for it was
amid the cheers of great welcome.
The other Christian admiral will be hon
ored on earth until the day when the
fires from above shall lick up the wa
tiers from beneath and there shall be
no more sea.
oh, while old oceans breast
Bears "a white sail
And Gods soft stars to rest
Guide through the gale
Men will Him necr forget,
Old heart of oak
Farragut Farragut-
Thunderbolt stroke!
We hail with thanks the new gen
Grafton of naval heroes, those of the
year 1898. We are too near their mar
velous deeds to fully appreciate them.
a century from now poetry and sculp-
ture and painting and history will do
them better justice than we can do
them now. a defeat at Manila would
have been an infinite disaster. Foreign
nations not oyer-fond of our American
institutions would have joined the
other side, and the war so many months
past would have been raging STILL and
perhaps a hundred thousand graves
would have opened to take down our
slain soldiers and sailors. 1t took this
country three years to get over the dis
aster at Bull Run at the opening of the
civil war. How many years it would
have required to recover from defeat
at Manila in the opening of the Span
ish war | cannot say. God averted the
calamity by giving triumph to our navy
under Admiral Dewey, whose coming
up through the Narrows of New York
harbor day before yesterday was greet
ed by the nation whose welcoming
cheers will not cease to resound until
tomorrow, and next day in the capital
of the nation the ieweled sword voted
by congress shall be presented amid
booming cannonade and embannered
hosts,
Especially let the country boys of
America join in these greetings to the
returned heroes of Manila. 1t is their
work. The chief character in all the
scene is the once country lad, George
Dewey. Let the Nermonters come down
and find him older, but the same mod
est, unassuming, almost bashful person
that they went to school with and with
whom they sported on the playground.
The honors of all the world cannot
spoil him. A few weeks ago at ban
quet in England some of the titled
noblemen were affronted because our
American minister plenipotentiary as
sociated the name of Dewey with that
of Lord Nelson. As well might we be
affronted because the name of Nelson
is associated with that of our most re-
nowned admiral. The one man i'm all
the coming ages win stand as high as
the other So this day, sympathizing