The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-11-16

I hail thee Scranton. as she chosen ground
On which the heroes oi a war are crowned
With wrcaths Immortal by the hand that wovc
These precious garlands in the loom Of love.
'Tis long ago since first to thee I came
And saw thy youth that promised future iame;
Found In thy shade mission and a home
And knew contcntmcDt when ! ceased to roam;
Saw with delight thy energies expand
Till thou vert known and famed Throughout the
land
And thou. to mc, art dcarer day by day
As I behold thee speeding on thy way
With highest aim and noblcst end in view
The greatest good thy willing hands can do
For have seen thy bounty oft displayed
Without reserve, in all the forms Of aid.
1t matters not along whatever line
Tiny help is sought, bcncvocncc is thine.
Let other pens thy weaker lines dccry.
'ris mine to see thee with lovers eye,
For thou art fair from every point of view,
I!il, grove and vale and all around thae, too
As ii some fairy hand had touched thy brow
And made thee graceful as we see thee now.
The gocd the brave and true in thee abide,
Exc, vert thou poor with all thy charms beside.
For what are wealth and luxury and art
Without the priceless treasures OF the heart;
Those are OF earth and will in time decay,
These are divine and shall not pass away.
o! massive size upon thy Court House Square,
4 classic monument stands proudly there,
That granite pile, symmetrical and high.
Encants the heart and captivates the eye.
Its figures mute, yet far more eloquent
Than pen or tongue recall the great event
When North and South in hostile lines Ariaycd,
Faced each the others deadly cannona'!c
That swept the wood, the hillside and the plain
With all the fury Of hurricane,
While shell and bullet, sword and blyCnet
Did each its work. well remembered yet
On mountain height, in valley deep AMI wide.
The struggle surgcd like oceans rolling tide
From North to South, from East to West it
spread,
Leaving a trail OF wounded and OF dead
a heritage of sorrow and Of woe
To hearts that loved the heroes lying low.
Thus passed it on still spreading DER the land;
A moving spectacle sublime and grand,
Till famed .Antictam loud its triumph pcalcd
And Gettysburg the final issue sealed.
What varied scenes the soldiers life might fll
The march, the camp, the bvouac and the drill,
The sudden call to meet the fierce attack,
The hurried rush TO drive the foemen back
The shattered ranks, the broken, wild retreat,
The thrilling victory, the sad defeat.
To force a way across guarded bridge,
Or climb the height of Missionary Ridge,
To face cntrcnchnents on the rugged slope
With all the bravery Of forlorn hope
Or Though the swamp. or, over tangled grass
To push with vigor through the mounted pass
Or, take his stand upon the open plain
And die that freedom DER the land might reign
How sad to sec a gallant soldier die.
With no kind hand to close his dropping eye
Will. no soft voice to whisper in his car
That one dear friend. a comforter, is near
To place his head upon tender breast
And smooth il gently as he sinks to rest.
he, too, may long tor parent, wife or child.
While life still Gibbs in some unbroken wild
Or in the field, where thousand, round him lie
In deaths embrace, not fearing there to die
His thoughts will reach the homestead far away
Where dear ones hunger for the coming day
When they shall hear his footsteps at the door,
Rush to his heart and part with him no more
The light is fading and his eye grows dim,
And, now, he knows that home is not for him,
\ parting sigh, gasp and all is DER.
The soldiers eyes are closed for cvcrmore.
What are the trophi;s OF this Civil War?
What broughtest thou, o Soldier, from afar?
A parchment rendered by martyrs hand.
"Proclaiming liberty throughout the Mnd:"
A written law, signature that gave
Emancipation to the hapless slave.
This is thy glory, this the Nations pride,
Won by thy valor--justice on thy side.
Nor less Is ne tnc nero OF lnat time,
Who from the deck within 4 torrid cline.
Faced shot ard shell from fort and battery
And held his place lill death had set him free;
Lived not to hear his country's loud acclaim
For him whose brow would wear her wreath OF
fame.
Nor are We slow to praise, nor, yet, too late
This work OF art we fondly dedicate
To gallant deeds. to those of land and sea
Who bore our flag aloft to victory.
Thank God these clark and bloody days arc
DER
And North and South are one forevermore
That Blue and Gray fraternally unite
As foes to wrong, invincible in right;
That peace has won more victories than war
And love is still the Nations guiding star.
JUDGE DARTES ADDRESS.
Judge Alfred Darte. of Wilkes
Barre, who is past department COM
mander of the Grand Army of the Re-
public, was then introduced. He de-
clared that he realized the day was toe
chilly to expect an audience to listen
to lengthy address, and therefore
only spoke for 4 limited length of
time. He described the day when the
news came TO this part of the state
that war was on between the North
and the South. He told of the rush
OF the young men to enlist in the army
and vividly described the grim entry
of the rugged Pennsylvania militia
into Baltimore, every mans hand on
the trigger of his weapon, ready To
fire IT the first manifestation of hos
tility. He continued.
God knew that our cause was right and II,
gave MS victory. 1t was worth the terrible los
oi lives and property, for we proved that il
this country capital doesn't own labor by freeing
the slave, and throwing down the broken shack
les OF millions Of slaves This monument tell
that the Declaration OF Independence has beer
upheld.
1t tells too, that in this country there IL Nc
such thing as class, The poor man oi tilry year
ago is the rich man of today, and IN. llel
mans son OF today may be Il paupcr, fifty year
from now.
And now, II the nation is worth saving, tin
old soldiers who preserved il are worth saving
and every old veteran who needs pension
should get il, and be afforded II comfortable
livelihood. I don't say that he need ne bogrdc,
at the Jermyn, but the government ought Il
look after him and let him end his days il
peace.
SAMPLE, OF ALLEGH GHHNY,
Hon. Thomas q. Sampled Allegheny
| another department commander of thu
Grand Army of the Republic, was th'
! next speaker. He was greeted Will
cheers and loud cries of "How are you
Tom?" and began his talk by say'ns
that the people of Lackawanna coun
| ty had honored themselves in erect
ing the monument. and had not onl,
done tribute to the old soldiers, bu
to the entire county. He said it wa