Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1899-06-02


services of our dead soldiers and comrades |
in order that the principles for which they |
offered up their lives may be borne in per-
petual remembrance and sacredly main |
tanned by those who shall come after us,
to the end of time.
Fright here, as upon all occasions of |
this kind the question naturally suggests
itself to every listener: Why all this sac
ritice in blood and treasure? In answering |
cannot be expected to speak of the cause
otherwise than it was. Almost 81 years
have passed away since the last hostile
gun was fred yet time cannot change the
truths of history, which are, and must re-
main, absolute and eternal" The speaker
then carefully demonstrated the fact thatthe
civil war was not war between the states
of the North and South, that it was not
sectional war, but that it was a war of the
southern section of the country against
the national government. II need not
dwell upon the terrible details of those
four anxious and weary years of tell and
costly sacrifice. 1t is enough for us to
know that by reason of it was secured at
last the true Interpretation of the powers
of the general government under the con-
stitution, the sovereignty of the Union
over its several and constituent parts, and
the unity and indestructibility of Ameri-
can nationality, which never would aud
never could have been won in peace"
Col. Haskins next took up the subject of
pensions and said in part: owe admit that
our government saved and purified through
the fundamentally of its soldiers, has
dealt generously with its surviving veter-
ans, and the widows and orphan children
of the dead, but not beyond deserving.
The pension roll does not, nor never can.
outreach, however literally the affairs of
that department are conducted, the obliga-
ton and gratitude the American people,
especially those of the loyal North, ought
to feel toward the survivors of that grand
army of men who, unainchingly, met
proud and valiant foe on more than 1000
battlefelds. But we are told by the edi-
itors of a certain class of newspapers and
! political demagogues that frauds are being
perpetrated upon the government and that
| the names of persons not justly entitled
thereto have been placed upon the pen
sion roll that the Grand Army of the
Republic is composed of camp followers,
coffee coolers and bummers; that 'it will
| be happy day for the government when
the last of its members shall be laid in the
grave;' that our pension system is but an
organized system of robbery and that the
pension roll is not a roll of honor / sub
NIT that such base ingratitude thus exhib-
tied toward the veterans of the war still
surviving, and the widows and dependent
ones of the dead, is but the legitimate off
spring born of that spirit which would
teach the young of this generation that
our beautiful starry banner is but mere
textile fabric woven in different colors
The statistics of the department of justice
show that while the customs the internal
revenue, the post office and nearly all 9th.
er departments of the government are
fraught with ways that are dark and tricks
that are vain,' the pension department has
been and is comparatively free from such. -
The speaker then called attention to the
vast political and industrial progress OF
this country in the past "a years, for which
the four preceding ones of bloody wal
paved the way, and continued: 1--WE stand
today as we should continue to stand, tn,
political primate of the Western hemis
phere, the acknowledged sponsor and guar
dian of American destiny. And while i
never has been, nor is it now, the policy O.
this nation to seek territorial aggrandize
ment by war of conquest, yet in view O
our vast productions and our unboundeC
resources we have no right to stand idl,
by and witness the great nations of Eu
rope struggling for empire while a singl,
island of the sea that may become in tn,
future important for us to possess, eithe
commercially or as a harbor of refuge an,
defence in case of war, can be honestl
and honorably secured by peaceful nego
tiations and treaty with the nation to whicl
it belongs" The speaker then reviewed
the Spanish-American war, paying a glow
To-, 81 NrsL IL,
gallant sons of Vermont to whom is du
no small measure of credit for the mag
nifcent victory of the United States.
"The result of our recent war has neve
been better expressed than by the Rev. Dr.
: Edward Everett Hale, when he said: I'll
100 days God has set forward the civiliza
, ton of the world 100 years. When on
army and navy destroyed Spanish author
ity in her islands of the sea and we &C
cepted a session of Spain's title and sover
| eighty, we became morally and legal,
bound, before the world, to provide then
with, and to teach them the way of, goo
government, that they might in the en-,
become an humane and self-governin,
people. Our national honor is involved
! in the ful6lment of these duties and re
sponsibilities. Men may talk as glibly a
= they please, yet there has never been al
hour since the roar of Dewey's guns wa
/ hushed when we could have turned the en-
= shaved people of the Philippines back t,
Spain, or abandoned them to the tende
| merces of their self-appointed and unscru
pulous military leaders, without involvin,
the whole world in war and bringing dow
/ upon our heads the bitter and well-merite,
eXecrations of Christian civilization.
! "To provide them with such a govern
ment as their present condition require
r they must first become obedient to the au
= thority of magnanimous nation that en-
entertains no purpose of enslaving them
. but would raise them up to the full enjoy
ment of the worlds best civilization. o
this the Filipinos were assured in the Ian
) guage of the proclamation issued by tn
: President after the treaty of peace ha
been signed by the plenipotentiaries of tn
United States and Spain. Beyond thi
: the President had no right or power to &C
S under the constitution. To Congress be
= longs the right to determine as to their fl
ture form of government, and the Pres
S dent would have usurped the congressions
: prerogative had he presumed to have don
more.
"To my mind the evidence is cumulativ
that had the peace treaty been prompt
ratified without acrimonious debate, an
l had no speeches been made or publication
issued criticising President Mckinley, nc