Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1900-06-05
PLEADS
ForGreater Reverence
Of the Nations s Memorial
Institution.
Should Not be a Spec
tacuIar Event.
mo Free People Needs to be
Amused"
An Akron Young Lady Discusses an
Interesting Topic.

To the Editor of the Democrat:
read the extract from the Gcrmania
in your issue of Saturday, June md.
together with your endorsement Of the
sentiment ser forth, and it seemed to
me that some one should speak for
the despised minority.
| fear il is true that. in Akron, the
people who made our Memorial day
are greatly in the minority, and i'll the
natural course of things, will grow
fewer with each year.
But that should bc no reason for
preventing the original purpose of the
day: on the contrary. the survivors
should be more than ever careful not
to let it be forgotten that this day is
kept in memory of our dead, who died
TO save the Republic and maintain
the principles of the Declaration of
Independence. How should a funeral
be celebrated? With spectacular par
AIDES. with noise and hilarity: To
whom does the place of honor in the
procession belong if not TO the Grand
Army, the chief mourners, the nearest
living relatives of the honored dead:
1t is we'll enough that our Fourth of
July should be turned into Satur-
malta of cannon, firecrackers, and
beer: it may help us TO forget the
swift declepsion of the sentiments of
that day. The American Republic
may well abandon her Independence
day when politicians of every party
unite to break down every ideal rep
resented by it; but the memories or
our dead we might still be permitted
to retain. in spite of the cry that we
owe something to the living" SO we
do. and how can we better pay the debt
than by teaching them reverence for
the heroes and institutions which made
our country honored and beloved:
1t is only in the decadencc of re-
public that the cry arises: Give us
bread, and the circus
1t was an autocrat of the worst type
who proposed to "Gild the dome of
the Inyalides'' No free people needs
10 he amused; the dances of tine slave
ceased when lie became man.
IL Akron Is so unfortunate as to
have a majority of her population com
posed of people incapable of under
standing the real meaning of our Me-
mortal day. we must remember that
every manufacturing town of rapid
growth has to assimilate Il great deal
of crude material and instead of pan
dcring TO their desire for noise and
spectaclc teach them how TO keep the
sacred day fittingly. and so, help
them TO become truc Americans.
trust you will give this place in
your columns, Mr.. Editor, l feel very
deeply the danger of losing our hold
Oh the past, with its hallowed memoir
les. and blood-bought iessons,-and by
past | do not mean the last three
years. but those days of nearly half
n century ago when Memorial day was
first instituted and one of our noblest
poets said:
II with uncovered head salute the sacred
| dead,
Who went and who returneth not.n
nd again:-
"No age was e'er degenerate.
| Unless men held 1t at too cheap rat
For in our likeness still we shape our fate
am emboldened to ask this favor
of your justice and generosity, the
more, that many others have spoken to
me. as | have written here,
Yours Respectfully
NJ. A. CUSHMAN,
122 South Balch st., Akron, ..
Marquis, piano tuner al the Empire