The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1899-06-01
HONOR THE DEAD.
GRAVES OF DEPARTED HERDS ARE
COVERED WITH FLOWERS.
JAMES cAvANAGH SPEAKS.
Delivers an eloquent Address in Common
Grafton of the Day and the Men Whom
the People Delight to Honor-Great
Crowd in Attendance.

Ken0sha turned out en- masse yester
day morning to honor the memory of
her soldier dead, and seldom in the
history of the city has such great
crowd turned out to pay tribute to
the memory of the heroes of the past,
but unforgotten days. Along the line
of march the residences were draped in
bunting and emblems of morning.
Business was suspended and flags hung
at half mast in honor of the day.
The parade was a simple one and
consisted only of the G.. A. R. and W.
R. G. and Co E. of the Wisconsin Ma
tional Guard. Promptly at 10o'clock
marshal of the day G. F. Stemm,
started the procession in motion. Be,
hind him followed the platoon of police
and the members of the Windsor band,
after which came the local military
company and bringing up in the rear
were the old members of the G.. A. R.
Post. They had been asked to ride,
but preferred to drop into line again in
the old martial step shoulder to shout
der. Among the prominent citizens
who refused to ride in the profered
carriages and walked in step with the
boys in blue, was the speaker of the
day, James Cavanagh, Hon. 2. G..
Simmons, G. A. Dewey and Charles W.
Allen.
All along the line of march the pa
rade was greeted by great crowds of
people and when the soldier lot at the
city cemetery was reached the grounds
about it were most perfectly packed
with people. tits estimated that fully
three thousand people attended the
services at the cemetery. After music
by the band the beautiful and impress
sive ritupl of the Grand Army was read
by Post Commander George Hale, after
which Chaplain G.. 81. GuIick, of the
town of Paris, read a very impressive
prayer. The orders of the day were
read by F. q. Lyman, after which the
ladies of the relief corps laid burden
of flowers at the base of the soldiers
monument in honor of the heroes who
sleep in unknown graves on the sunny
plains of the Southland. Among those
who assisted in this service was Mrs.
Charles Blood, who has the distinction
of being the daughter, the wife and the
mother of those who have worn the
blue and have offered their lives as a
sacrifice to their country. Following
the decoration of the monument Com
mander Hale introduced Hon. James
Cavanagh, who delivered the Grafton
of the day.
Mr.. Cavanagh spoke of the origin of
the day and said that at this time there
were four classes of graves to be deck
ed with wreaths of flowers. Since the
first Decoration day in 1868 the las of
the soldiers of the revolution have seen
called to answer the bivouac OF the
dead, but three of the soldiers of the
war of 1912 survive and the ranks of the
noble veterans of the war with Mexico
and the civil war are being thinned
by the ravages of time. The Grand
Army is now composed of gray bearded
veterans, who are fast falling out of the
line of march in life. Some of the
veterans who last year fingered ever
the graves Of unforgotten comrades,
today sleep under mass of flowers
with flag above their graves to tell
the story of their heroism. He spoke
of the new Grand Army, the veterans
of the Spanish American war and said
that these also had won place in the
hearts of their fellow men. The custom
of Decoration day, said Mr. Cavangh,
is as old as history and as beautiful as
it is old. It never meant so much as ii
does today.
During the year just past the same
love of human liberty which actuated
the soldiers in the rebellion had caused
an army marching under the stars and
stripes to strike the shackles from
100000 oppressed in Cuba and
Porto Rico and the Philippines. From
the time you left 275, 900 of your brave
comrades bleaching on the fields of the
OOuVuj GDO AAOnAAAS VI OLAO ~ dAUOO OG1UOc
has had different Interpretation. TIE
war of the rebellion made an absolute
Union. There is no North, no South,
no East, no West. The people f the
United States are to be congratulated
on the fact that today the sentiment is
to decorate the grave of every man
who took part in the late war, whether
he wore the blue or the grey. From
unity of states we have led up to
unity of mankind. But Athens forgot
to place the laurels of remembrance Oh
the graves of her heroes, and went
down and down in the story of nations
until today her name is only matter
of history. The Grand Army of the
Republic is growing less and less as
year after year passes. The day will
soon come when you will be gathered
So