The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1901-09-13
Delivered at Dedication
Of a Monument
APPEAL FOR PEACE
Made BY Gen. !. r. SHERWOOD
Historical Review Of the
True Mission Of
Monuments.

| Gen. I. r. Sherwood, formerly of
Canton, delivered a classic oration at
Lorain, Ohio. on September 2. at the
was a veteran soldiers appeal for peace
and historical review of the true mis-
sion of monuments. The address fol-
lows:
We have met to-day, beneath these
serene September skies in this bustling
lakeside city to dedicate soldiers
monument We are here to applaud
the valor and pay devout tribute to the
memory of our soldier dead. All in
chivalry. all that is inspiring in her
oism, all that is religious in love,
should animate our hearts to-day, as
we dedicate this monument to the mob
lest of human trinities, justice, valor
and patriotism. We are not here to ap-
plaud war. We are not standing on the
door sill of the Goth century to deny
that our Christ, the only Christ of the
20 centuries, the doctrine of peace and
the universal brotherhood of man. 1t
is the genuine spirit of Christian chiv-
airy that this monument commem-
crates. spirit which is of God, for 1t
runs through savage and civilized man
alike.
We have in Ohio at Marietta and
Newark and at various points on the
river Mississippi memorial mounds be-
meath which is buried some hero of an
age enveloped in mystery and beyond
our ken. But three-fourths of CEN
tury ago some of the Indian tribes in
the valley of the Mississippi performed
funeral rites that came down from the
age of the mound builders. The Indian
chief, Red Bird, chief of the Omahas,
called his chiefs about him when dying
and like Jacob of old gave commands
for his funeral These commands were
literally obeyed. The dead warrior.
decorated with eagle plumes, was car
ried to one of the highest cliffs on the
Mississippi and mounted on his white
war horse and in the presence Of the
whole nation was buried in a memorial
mound. Each warrior covered the
palm of his right hand with vermillion
and stamped it's impress upon the white
sides of the war horse. Then the chiefs
gathered tufts of sod and the living
steed and his dead rider were buried
from sight and high above the, lofty
tumulus that covered the warrior's
eagle plumes, cedar tree was planted
so that his fame and name should be
forever green. Buried there with mys-
tic rites that the chief might enter the
vanhalla of the gods in the far-off hap
py hunting grounds, borne by his bat
tie steed. In this monument to-day,
we link no mystic journey to the land
of light We erect it, we dedicate ii
to typify the strength, the valor. the
manhood of the boys in blue-from 81
to IS. We dedicate it in a Christian
spirit to the unselfish and all-absorbing
patriotism of heroic age.
The oldest histories make mention
. of monuments to mark the scenes of re-
markable events. A heap of stones
was set up at Bethel by Jacob to mark
the spot where he had seen the vision
of angels ascending to heaven. A sim
liar monument was built over the grave
of Rachel. The earliest names of sculp-
tors are found in the old testament.
They run back to dates 1900 years be-
fore the Christian era. The sculpture
found at Carnac, a portion of Thebes
on the eastern side of the Nile river
bears inscriptions 100 years before the
birth of Christ, or contemporaneous
with Joseph in Egypt. The Egyptian
mimic Of Gods mountains. The great
pyramids of Egypt were built to mock
the mountains made by the Divine
hand.
The origin of sculpture Is unknown,
but 1t doubtless arose from desire in
the heart of man to hand down to pos
terity the models of the great. the her.
oic and the good. The Greeks of the
| ha mi acta Of N
ture. The 'heroism of soldiers, the gen.
ius of oratory and the lascivious beauty
of women were their themes. The
priests in the temple of Jupiter at
Athens were cut into the eternal marble
because they were athletes of remark
able physical beauty. In the great age
of Grecian art human figure was o
poem. To-day, trust humanity is
greater than the physical man. l hope
we are done with the naked Venus and
the NEUROLOGICAL conception of true art
and true national glory. The great
present, with its growing zeal for hui
manity, with It's strong winged soul
of prophecy, with the heart of con-
tinent throbbing with the blood beats
of a realized brotherhood of man,
should claim our highest endeavor.
The powerful chest. the splendid tor
so, the irresistible arms and limbs Of
the statue of Hercules was the Greek
youths highest ideal of manhood. With
nineteen centuries of Christian civili-
zation behind us, let us hope that the
American youth of to-day has higher
and better ideal. That there is couch
ed sentiment in this dedication to-day
above the strength and beauty of bone
and blood and muscle up into the alti-
tudes OF humane and moral achieve
ment. The mission of this monument
is to commend valor spent for human
betterment. 1t should be both patrio-
tic inspiration and historical symbol.
While the old soldier gazes upon this
monument and while memory is new
again with his bivouacs and battles
he will not fail to remember the sfeet