The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-05-31
MEMORIAL DAY. IN BUTTE.
A Brief Ceremony Conducted at
the Cemetery.
FLOWER-COVERED GRAVES
The Address of the Day Eloquently Rem
dered by the Rev. MIR. Groeneveld
at the Authoritarian Ex-
ceilent Programme

but to an extent failed. The day opened
with an uncertain sky, yet the sun
found openings in the clouds through
which it cast its rays down on Butte's
streets and dried them to an appreciate
extent.
The parade programme was some
what longer than the parade. NUMBER
of expected societies failing to turn out.
The city police led the procession over
the advertised line of march. The G.
A. r. veterans turned out fairly well,
as did the Meagher Guards and The
parochial school cadets. The Elks also
joined in the march. A fife and drum
corps furnished the music and few
carriages transported the mayor, alder
men, librarian and civilians. After
marching about town the procession
went down to the cemetery, where the
G.. A. R. conducted the brief ceremon-
les. Since last Memorial day the local
post has buried one of its members,
John Raley, who was killed last sum-
mer while on visit in Nebraska The
graves OF the dead comrades were dec
Grated
Before the sun went down last night
1t is safe to say that no one single grave
in all the large cemeteries south of
town was overlooked by the dispensers
of natures blossoms. The cemeteries
probably were never before more beau
tifully decorated with flowers and gar
lands From early in the afternoon UNI
til late last evening special street cars
carried thousands of men, women and
children, all bearing armloads and bas-
ketsfui of flowers to the cemeteries. The
choicest cultivated flowers were strewn
over the mounds and wild flowers from
the hills and valleys of Western Mon
tana were there in profusion.
The fire department of Missoula sent
large box Of wild flowers to the Butte
department, these to be laid on the
graves of the victims of the awful ex-
plosion of Jan. Is, 1895. Chief Sanger
and others of the department went to
the graveyard in the forenoon and dec
grated the graves of the dead heroes;
also those of firemen, paid and voun-
teer who died before or since the ex-
ploslon-none We're overlooked The city
fremen express heartfelt thanks to the
thoughtful boys of the Missoula depart
nent for their most generous donation.
Fred Won Bentenbostle, now of Mis-
soula, sent box of beautiful flowers to
Chief Sanger, his old friend. These the
chief distributed over the several
mounds of the dead firemen.
Besides these, the families and rela-
tives of the dead heroes literally buried
the mounds under profuse heaps of
beautiful flowers. 1t was a most i'm
pressive scene, "a repetition of five form
er Memorial days, scene that will be
repeated as long as Butte continues to
be the home of Christians
At one time yesterday afternoon it
was estimated that there We're 500 peo-
pie inga: the cemeteries distribut-
ing flowers on the. graves of rela-
tiVes and friends. Many graves had
been decorated the day before The
flower booths of the city were sold out
entirely by o'clock yesterday after
noon.
The evening exercises at the Audi
forum were attended by a full house.
Ihe programme was revised to con-
form with circumstances. Several who
were down for songs or recitations were
detained, but the numbers were taken
by others. Mrs. Werriok, an elocuton-
list of wonderful cleverness and abil-
fty, recited a pathetic verse depicting
the scene of the union of common
brotherhood on the field of battle.
Miss Hughes also cleverly recited a
beautiful and pathetic war sketch.
Little 9-year-old Edna McGovern COM
pletely took the house by storm by her
remarkable display of oratorical tai
ent. She is nothing less than. a star
"a midget wonder. Mrs. Rooney and
Mrs. Donnelly sang a. duet, Miss Mailde
Beebe very cleverly recited, and there
was singing by the G. A. R. and the
audience.
Senator Mantle occupied a chair on
the platform. Judge Pemberton, who
had intended to deliver the Grafton,
was compelled to send word that he
was too i'll to undertake to talk, and
Rev. e. ]. Groeneveld of the First
Presbyterian church spoke in his stead.
The reverend gentleman spoke patri-
otically and said that while he was
not born in America, he studied geog-
raphy and that as soon as he found
out with the aid of the map where
America was he came here and here
he intends to live. He said that he
was thankful for the honor bestowed
upon him by the noble veterans of
Butte, and he was also thankful that
this country and her noble sons had
been true to mission, and that the
nation under the impulse of mighty
ana patriotic wave, performed a mis-
sion for humanity, mission more hui
name than the world had ever seem
After referring briefly to the Spanish
war. he said:
I'VE are not clarifying war We
would not try to cultivate the brutal
spirit. We are all in favor of peace
Yet we feel that we do not want peace
if our honor and principle are to be
sacrificed. We believe that the love
of country is one of the noblest in
stincts of the human heart. We want
our children to learn from the lessons
OF the past. We want them to know
of the estimable worth of the defend
ers of our country. We shall ever ex-
alt the deeds of the heroes of IS years
ago and the memory of the soldiers
of this nation will always live. On
p Decoration day especially should we
talk of their deeds and sacrifices. Their
lives teach us the lesson of liberty and
love. We are trying to learn from
them the lesson of liberty better than
we ever knew it before. Every lesson
that comes to us from those days
makes us better men and women"
The speaker then went into a review
or the civil war, stating that it was
not war of destruction-it was a war
OF opinion. But it blessed the North
and the South, and to-day we are the
same people, under the same flag, and
all working for the same institutions.
we owe it to our country to be true,
honest, upright, brave, patriotic men
Inat is the kind of men this country
wants, We are Americans, not Ger
mans, not Austrians, not Irishmen not
Ital1ans-we are all Americans, ZAP