The Hope pioneer., 1899-05-25

AEsV EW/.Ijf<NljlM graves Of those
H;N\yIfIMN/IlIfFEo who died for their
country and lay
above the sacred dust our tribute al
fcction and remembrance. Sprung from
the soil of our native land, the flowers
we strew to cover the wounds OF war
were born in the cold earth. Whilcstorm
darkened the sky and the world was
bound in the fcttcrs of frost, beauty and
fragrance were terminating, and thus
out of the tumult Of war came the full
ness and glory of peace.
Within the circle of the year that lies
behind us since last we assembled in
the "city of the silent" to commune
with the spirit of our dead, Liberty has
spoken new fiat. She has called upon
this nation, with the voice of the buglc
swcr to the query. "Am my brothers
kcepcr?" She heard the cry from the
islands of the sea, and to this people,
as once before. she gave the command:
Go forth! Strike off the shacllcs and
/ loose the letters of those in bondagc!"
AS one voice, from counter to work
shop, from farm, mill and mine, from
valley, mountain and desert, east, west
north and south, the strength and pride
Of this nations youth and manhood
cried: Here am l;,Srnd me-" And so
F; they went forth to offer the sacrifice of
their blood upon the altar Of a right
cous cause.
They fought and fell under the fierce
heat OF torrid sunshine. they died by
bullets, disease and starvation, they
died of wounds and wearincss. Their
graves are on foreign hilsidcsc, i'll trop-
ical iungles, and in the depth of the
ocean. Some sleep in the quiet church
yards Of their own dear land, but wher-
ever they lie we offer to their memory
the tribute of our gratitude, and from
their blood and suffering I; new era of
the world shall spring, a memorial to
the bravery of the American soldier.
"Am my brothers Keeper" Amer
lea has given the answer. "Lo, when
the oppressed cry unto Liberty, when
my brother reaches appealing hands
unto me, l will succor him and share
with him the blessings that have been
granted to me-" At the call of duty she
declared, by the memory of Bunker
Hill and Antietam, that tyranny should
fattcn no longer upon the blood of the
innocent and the feeble.
With the tears we shed above the
graves of our lately fallen there is
mingled pride in their achievements,
and that they fulfilled the prophecy of
their sircs at Shiloh and Gettysburg,
and for this they were schoolcd by
Grant and Lee and learned of Wash
ington and Lincoln. Their blood has
been the solvent that has made Amcri-
can citizenship homogeneous, and has
given the flag the same meaning in the
south and north. In '9S the sons of men
who had opposed each other in '61,
banded together under the stars and
stripes, fought and fell side by side at
El Caney and Santiago and in the far
away Philippines.
Rich in the heritage of her brave,
America reverently gives thanks for
the heroism of her sons. The grea t
deeds Of the civil war and the heroes
of those days of stress and struggle will
never be forgotten by this nation. They
laid the foundation of national unity,
upon which is built the magnificent
structure of our happiness and pros
pcrity. They perpetlated the ideals of
freedom and Instructed this generation
how to live and die for their country.
! When wars shall be no more, in the
far future when man has reached the
fullillmcnt of his destiny, he will look
back over the battlcfclds of the world
and recognize that there death took
hostage for perfected civilization, and
there the wrongs that barred the way
of progress were struck down by those
who fought the battles of liberty. The
hnmblcSt hero who fell at Marathon or
Manila struck blows whose echoes shall
never cease to resound through time,
and, though history may forget the
names of those who wrought, their
work remains.
The old Greeks gave a simple crown
of Oaken leaves or laurel to those who
were winners in the Olympian games,
and thus we bring our garlands to
crown the memory of those brave souls
who ran SO well the race of life, who
won the goal, a hcros death. Our gar
lands will wither, our flowers lose their
fragrance and their beauty, but their
deafness deeds shall bloom anew with
every golden year of our nations his
tory; and time shall have for them
neither death nor oblivion.
LOU V. CHAPLIN.