The San Francisco call., 1899-09-04

The world is astounded and perplexed by
cur versatility in turning. without hesita-
ton as a people from the habits and en-
terprises Of peace 10 the duties and ext
gencies Of war.
The Spanish General Pando reported to
his Government, just previous 10 the late
conflict, that the United States
wholly nnpTepaTsd for T.r,y. war tEs that the
fort to readily take up the hardships of
camp life, and were too independent in
thought, feeling and habit of life to vol
unfairly surrender personal liberty to the
degree necessary for efficient military ser
vice. but when the call to arms was
sounded 265.o00 OF our young men sprang
10 arms with enthusiasm that amazed
the world. He had overlooked the fact that
American home-life so inculCates civic vir-
tues in the germ in the childhood of the
nation that, when the threshold Of man
hood is reached the pulses have acquired
the habit OF leaping with high sentiments
and the whole being has become familiar
with the call OF duty and all the powers
TO every worthy appeal.
Out from such homes went the young
manhood that constituted our armies; such
homes welcome back the returning ones:
and in such homes that mourn the loss of
sons who came not back, there Is sorrow
deep and poignant; yet in il all profound
sense that the country has its right to the
loyal service of its even unto death.
There is heroism in the silent bearing
played the battlefield. The heroism OF
the battlefield was possible because the
stilled into the brave hearts that went forth
TO suffer and die. You who were comrades
of the fallen ones saw the pure gold of
their characters revealed by the fiery tests
Of experience in camp, on the march, on
the firing line and in the hospitals You
and these families knit together in a
common bond of sorrow that is almost
sacred.
Mascagni's Ave Maria" exquisitely
rendered by Mrs. Eva Tenney with a vio-
lin obligatO by Pietro MarinO, followed
ND haT Nnnrca SnOEp
What the Dead Have to Say to the Liv-
ing" He said in part:
Any one who pays visit to the battlefield
OF Konigsmark or Sedan, OF Gettysburg or
the Plains of Abraham, or any other of the
places where man contended with men, Will
see there very few evidences Of the past
strife Time is great healer and a great
compensation, and in the neighborhood Of
Waterloo as well as in the other places
mentioned you will find that the energy oi
has repaired the breaches and that
upon the field itself the grass is as green as
before; and while here and there you may
see mounds that tell Of bones resting there
you will receive the impression that time,
with its compeHsating influence, heals many
wounds, repairs many breaches, dries many
tears-in fact one of the main sources of
human comfort is the divine law of COM
pensation that in time recOnciles us with a
great deal that seems to be inexplicable
to US.
/ dare say that that will be the story OF
the Spanish-American war ten years from
now. We will talk of these dead with some
degree Of complacency and with some degree
of pity, but time Will have healed many
wounds, and in the fields where these men
suffered there will be witnessed the industry
of man and his capacity to repair the dam
age of g decade ago There is not much Of
a ten years after battle. 1t is
for that reason, fellow citizens, that to-day
You should inquire somewhat more closely
into the reasons why these men died-not so
much from a national standpoint. not so
much from a philosophical standpoint, nor
from the standpoint of the widow who lost
q a
These who died died for something.
They died for principle.
c. w Chadwick's Allah rendered by
Mr.. Griswold, which came next. was fol
lowed by an address by Professor Thomas
r. Bacon, who spoke Of The Soldiers
Legacy" Briefly, he said:
In memory Of the dead we meet here
on this day of rest to pay last tribute
IN honor of those who went and returned
not, and it is fitting that we should at this
time remember why they went and what
they have done; whether the world is
richer poorer because of the sacrifice
which they made. We look back across
those months since they sprang to the call
TO arms with emotion to see what sent
them forth TO lay down their YES. We
the youth OF the land full Of splendid
promise, In the flower of their young man
hoou go forth to lay down their lives for
the benefit OF mankind No national emo
tion ever stirred mankind as that which
ekiiItu 10 uil I" an ~ IIi'Vu "a 81
of war. When all allowance Is made for
the views OF the demaGogues and the poll
ticans and their blunders, we must still
remember that what moved the nation
and what stirred these young men TO such
heroic self sacrifice was TO rescue miser-
able people from the oppression and slav-
cry to which they were being subjected.
1t WAS for that that these brave youths
went to the front
And what did they do? All were ready
TO lay down their lives. and to some
that privilege given. A great price was
paid-paid out in the lives of our young
est and best. We know they accom-
plished that for which they were sent and
brought to us the doubtful blessing Of ex-
tensive possessions beyond the seas. But
that is not all. Something more was ac-
comDlished by this sacrifice something In
spring To all the people, and we are not
profiting should by that sacrifice IL
we are not the better therefor. They went
forth to battle for idea. and they have
left to US an inheritance in their example
and their spirit which shall be to in
coming years something new in our national
life which shall be an added stimulus to
the nations progress.
The Loring Club then sang softly Nov
the Light Of Day" by Chadwick
President David Starr Jordan of Stan
ford spoke of the student soldier. He
spoke of the awakening of the MARTA
spirit in the universities in 81 and marked
It's growth in the Spanish-American war
when eighty-five men threw aside theil
gowns and donned the soldiers uniform
Forty-two of them were Stanford and one
fell a victim To the war.
The closing address was made by Rev
Father William d. McKinnon, chaplain
Of the First California Volunteers, who
pines" He said:
More than sixteen months ago when the
call came for volunteers. it was the good
fortune Of the First Regiment of California
to be the first accepted. 1t was my good
fortune to be accepted as their chaplain
a IrnrI,a hat ME cfs,,,T fHlt