The Minneapolis journal., 1901-07-31

sreSs Ny Men' VINO, IN the early days or 1861,
offered to the contemptuous and sneering
south, by two-thirds vote of both houses
or congress, an amendment to the constitu-
ton forever fastening slavery upon the coun-
try The graves Of the men who opposed
this shameful amendment deserve to be kept
forever fragrant with flowers.
President Lincoln began his administra-
tion with moderation. He was, however,
firm in his determination to enforce the laws
and restore the union. He never faltered in
this purpose. In his message to congress,
called in special session in July, 1861, he
said: lit might seem at first thought to
be Of little difference whether the present
movement at the south be called secession
or rebellion The movers, however, well
understand the difference At the beginning
they knew they could never raise their trea-
son to any respectable magnitude by any
name which implies violation of law. They
knew their people possessed as much of
moral sense, as much of devotion to law and
order, and as much pride in and reverence for
the history and government of their common
country as any other civilized and patriotic
people. They knew they could make no
advancement directly in the teeth of these
strong and noble sentiments. Accordingly,
they commenced by an insidious debauching
OF the public mind. They invented an in
genious sophism, which, if conceded, was
followed by perfectly logical steps through
OF the union. The sophism itself is that any
state of the union may consistently with
the national constitution, and therefore law
fully and peacefully withdraw from the
union without the consent of the union or Of
any other state The little disguise that
the supposed right Is to be exercised only
Tor Just cause, themselves to be the sole
judge of its justice, is too thin to merit
any notice. With rebellion thus sugar coated,
they have been drugging the public mind Of
their section for more than thirty years, and
| until at length they have brought many good
men to willingness to take up arms against
the government the day after some assem-
| blage OF men have enacted the farcical pre-
tense of taking their state out Of the union,
who could have been brought to no such
thing the day before. Our popular govern
ment has often been called an experiment
Two points in it our people have already
settled-the successful establishing and the
successful administering of it. One still re-
mains-its successful maintenance, against a
formidable internal attempt to overthrow it.
The president desires to preserve the gov
eminent, that it may be administered for
all as 1t was administered by the men who
made it. Loyal citizens everywhere have the
right to claim this of their government, and
the government has no right to withhold
or neglect it."
The first shot fired at Sumpter electrified
OF union men. The greatest governmental
problem the world had ever seen was pre-
sented for solution. / shall not rehearse the
heroic deeds of the war of the rebellion.
From ancient times monuments have been
erected to commemorate great events and
great men. We only strive to perpetuate
the memory Of events or men whose influ-
ence have contributed to the betterment of
mankind
The men whose dust lies in this consecrated
spot came from nearly every loyal state of
| the union. The were in the battle of Pitts
burg Landing and fought in the trenches
around Vicksburg. They participated in the
disastrous battles of Bull Run and were with
Mcclellan at Antietam, Burnside at Freder-
icksburg and Hooker at Charlottesville
| They witnessed our defeat at Chickamauga
under Rosecrans, and were in the victorious
campaign of Grant around Chattanooga They
| stood in front of Pickett's charge at Gettys-
| burg and shared the glory OF Thomas army
at Nashville. They fought at Winchester
with Sheridan, marched with Sherman to the
sea and passed through the bloody Wilderness
| campaign with the army of the Potomac.
They were with Farragut at New Orleans and
in Mobile bay and on every sea where the
! gallant sailor added renown to the dear flag
| for which he fought. What rich heritage of
glory!
Fearful Cost of the War.
| Nearly 100000 union soldiers and sailors
died during the war The Confederate losses
were very great, but not so large as ours It
| is difficult for the mind to comprehend fully
! the awful reality Of these figures. They stand
| for tears and suffering and death. They rep
| resent shortened lives, blighted hearts and
| shattered homes. These men waged war nei-
ther for spoils nor glory. They fought not
| to make slaves, but to free them. These SOL
diers and sailors on land and sea, never dis
heartened never faltering, fought on and on
! until every human being beneath the folds Of
the flag they carried was free and the union
restored. Liberty was made national.
For Those Who Rest.
| If one were asked to enumerate the heroes
| OF the civil war, he would naturally think OF
! some prominent general. While Grant Sher-
man and Sheridan, Thomas, Sedgewick and
Hancock rendered transcendent services at
great crisis in our history, yet their sacrifices
were less and their services no more valuable
than those of the private soldier. How apprc-
pirate, then, that we should select to typify
our ideal, this private soldier in bronze,
standing grim and determined, awaiting
duty's call!
The private soldiers knew the issues in
volved in this war. They were intelligent
men. They were citizens before they were
soldiers, They had homes and left them to
follow the old flag In order to preserve the
nation President Lincoln paid tribute to
the intelligence of the soldiers in one Of his
earliest messages to congress, in which he
said: There are many single regiments
whose members, one and another, possess
full practical knowledge OF all the arts sci-
ences and professions, and there is scarcely
one from which there could not be selected
president, cabinet, congress, and perhaps
court abundantly competent to administer
the government itself"
The men who lie buried here had all the ex-
periences of war except death. They saw the
Tighter and darker sides of a soldiers expert
ences--camp life and prison life. They saw
the end of the war-the restored union and
the exalted flag. A grateful country appre-
eiates the work of the union soldiers in the
civil war. Many generations have come and
gone since the revolutionary period of our
history, and yet no generation has had more
| appreciative conception of the great work OF
the revolutionary heroes than the present
So it will be with that grand army that saved
the union. Neither years nor distance will
dim the luster of their deeds
| In the thirty-six years since the close of the
war, our passions have had time to cool and
our prejudices to soften. Our country Is re-
united and prosperous We are largely the
creatures Of circumstances. Heredity and en-
vironment contribute to make us what we
are Had we been born in the south we
might have been Confederate soldiers We
can afford to forget some things, but we can
| never afford to forget the great moral prinei-
Piles involved in the war of the rebellion BY
disparaging these, we dishonor the memory
OF our dead and cheaper patriotism.
For Those who Rest.
| So, my friends, we dedicate this beautiful
monument to the memory of the brave union
soldiers and sailors who lie beneath its shad-
ow and those who in the years to come shall
be brought to this quiet resting place. There