Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-05-30

| life lasts We will strew the hallowed graves
| of their dead with the richest Of God $
| beautiful flowers.
| mo ties are so strong as those that are
| welded in the fire of battle. No fraternity
| so holy, no fellowship SO brotherly, as that
| which comes from the memory of our mu-
| tual suffering, endured for a cause that
| was patriotic and sacred. Such memories
Will remain ever a part of our lives.
THE services of the Union soldiers and
sailors were for humanity's sake, and were
given when this nation was gasping for the
| very breath of life. 1t was a glorious priv
| ilege of battle for the holy cause of free
dom Freedom for all men living under the
| folds of this flag.
1T is a sad fact. brought home to us
more often as the days glide by, that our
ranks are being rapidly depleted. The
years which pass so quickly are bearing
| the remnant of the grand old Union army
and navy to that Land of Sunshine which
lies beyond the grave.
I'm few years taps will have sounded
for u.s. and the 'reveille' of a glorious resur-
rection morning will summon US to heavens
roll call"
Mr.. Webster Davis.
After a rendition of THE Holy City" by
| the Marine Band, Rev. w. H. Honn, depart
ment chaplain, offered up a fervent and
| patriotic invocation. selection by the
| octet was followed by the reading of the
| orders of the day by B. f. Chase, assistant
adjutant general Another selection by the
| Marine Band prefaced the Grafton of the
| services delivered by Mr.. Webster Davis,
assistant secretary of the interior. Ad-
dressing the veterans, Mr.. Davis said:
You were called upon to take part in
the most terrible war of the nineteenth CEN
tury. There have been wars of longer du-
ration but none more terrible than that war
of neighbor against neighbor, brother
against brother and father against son. For
four long years the echo of the picketS
rifle did not cease.
The total number of men comprising the
Union forces in army and navy during the
civil war aggregated almost three millions.
There wcro over one hundred land battles
| in which side or the other lost more
than five hundred men. AT Gettysburg
alone more than fifty thousand Americans
were lost. nearly half of them being de-
tenders of the Union On both sides which
participa Ted in that conflict more than half
a million lives were lost before its end.
Counting those who received wounds not
considered mortal, but who have been
dying since from their effects, nearly 100
coo soldiers who wore the blue have died.
How appalling this is when you contem-
plate its magnitude. If the graves of those
Union soldiers were placed SIDE by side
they would extend almost a distance of
800 miles. Stepping from one to the other
you might walk from Washington to Phil
adelphia, thence TO New York thence to a
point twenty miles beyond Boston, and
still be on the graves-a distance almost as
great that from Washington to Cincin-
natl; almost one-sixth of the distance
San Francisco.
Mr.. Davis drew a parallel picture be-
tween the veterans who marched today and
the magnificent army of the civil war, say
irg:
Yes, as these survivors march on Dec
Grafton day. by looking closely you see
between the lines those specter soldiers
the boys who never came home: you can
see, also the phantom flags and banners
floating among them-these We're borne by
the boys who never came back. Truly the
greatest product OF our nation is our he
rOes, This nation grows men,
Some persons will tell you that corn is
king; some that iron is king; others that
coal is king; then, again, others that cot
ton is king; but all are mistaken-in this
country man is king. And the nation or
country that can grow men of such char
acter and such loftiness of soul, that they
will go down to death, If need be, for an
idea, for principle, can rule the world.
For these are the men which make coun-
try great and nation strong and irwin
chile.
We rejoice today that we live in
mighty republic-a land of freedom and
equality of rights, a land wherein every
American boy is heir TO a kingdom, and the
boundary of that kingdom is the limit of
his personal capacity; a land where every
thing is possible to every citizen, and where
the only restraints upon the full enjoyment
of life, liberty and the possession of happ
ness are the necessary restraints of society
against the abuse of these blessings.
with fertile lands yielding abundant
Increase, with splendid systems of trans
portetion with commerce extending to al
most every section, with a mighty pOpula-
ton increasing in wealth; annually, in the
presence of blessings like thes4, thrilling
with the consciousness of citizenship in a
government more glorious than any that
ever existed surely should be thankful
for privilege SO great.
"All this Is the result Of the heroic work
of the defenders of the Union. Had they
failed the Union would have been dissolved,
the silver cord loosed, the golden bowl
! broken at the fountain; rival confederacies
| of states at war with each other; ferocious
! factions struggling for supremacy-hate,
malice and treachery rampant; with
! flag here. and another flag yonder, while
Old Glory would be folded up and laid
| away among the memorials that preserve
| the memory of dead republics.
When | think of what these men have
| done feel that if the poorest and humblest
| of their number were placed in rags by the
| side of the most exalted son of royalty ar
| rayed in the finest rament of the world |
would hasten to grasp the hand of the old
! soldier of the Union and hail him noblest
| of men, for none are titled and none nobler
| than the man who is but an American.
| Surely it is right, just and proper that
| our government has provided so literally
| in their old age by the establishment of
| soldiers homes and by proper pension leg
slation.
The money paid for pensions nearly all
! remains If this country, and it goes directly
| into the channels of trade, and, greatly re-
| duces local taxation for the support of the
poor; some of 1t goes to poor farmers and
farmers widows. In every country, hamlet
and village, well as in every city, the
physician. the druggist, the groceryman,
the fuel and the landlord. all are
| directly interested, for as the pen
soner receives the pension money the first
| duty is to pay for the necessaries of life,
| which have been furnished by their neigh
| Dor tradesmen in expectancy of the forth
| coming pension"
| The speaker dwelt upon the question Of
pensions at some length. saying that of
| course, there may be some pensioners who
are frauds. But he said there were a mil
| lion names on the rolls, and he asked If
| such a number of people could be gathered
| together anywhere in the world without a
| fraud among them. Mr.. Davis said those
| who remained at home and prospered
should raise no objection to. a grateful ma
| tons properly and justly caring for those
| who bore the brunt of the conflict which
rendered the existence of this mighty ma.
ton possibility. He closed by saying:
| "Oh, how thankful we ought to be for the
era of good feeling that prevails today be-
| tween the north and south. This alone is
| worth all the cost of the war with Spain.
| auh her. tnia fyIn oil