The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1902-05-29
INDIANA'S HoNeRED DEAD!
Address of Commander Ell Torrance at
Dedication Of Soldiers and Sailors
Il ~
Monument.

sailors Monument, Indianapolis. Inc
Commander-in-C Chief said in part:
I'm tones of endearment we sometimes
speak of the Stars and Stripes as the
old flag but it is not old as the years are
numbered: nevertheless, in the brief span
of its existence it has shed more light
upon the world, emptied more dungeons
and broken more shackles than all the
flags of all the nations since the morning
stars sang together.
I'm the grand procession of the heavens
one star differs from another in glory. but
the stars that illumine the flag are of equal
grace and dignity. and as hard to wrest
from their appointed place in its field of
blue as are the planets from their ordained
course.
This magnificent monument under
whose shadow we stand this evening
speaks various language. 1t stands for
the sum of all our achievements. Although
no names are inscribed upon it, it COM
memOrates the heroism and devotion Of
each and all of Indiana's sons in the cause
of liberty. 1t represents SacrificeS-sacri-
fees SO great that they cannot be com
puted. 1t represents the scattered graves
of our comrades who died in defense OF
their country, and will forever bear testi-
mony to their devotion to cause which
they loved better than their lives. 1t
living, quickening their sense of duty,
stimulating their patriotism and making it
impossible for the memory of such Sacri-
fees to perish from the earth.
1T will stand long after we have passed
away, to speak with persuasive tongue
to generations yet unborn, educating them
in all that pertains to the safety, prosper
ity and perpetuity of our country, and in
spring them with an exalted patriotism
n n n hn lafa
of her institutions.
But lips more eloquent than mine have
spoken the lessons of the hour, and this is
neither the time nor the place for me to
dwell upon such tempting themes. 1t is
enough that all men now speak the pa
triot's praise. OF the soldiers of the civil
war it has been justly and elofuently said
that without their valor, their devotion,
their victories, the new world had been
found in vain, and in vain had the pill
grims come, and in vain had the Revolu-
ton been fought, and in vain had the Gov
eminent been founded. They had given
new meaning and new power to every
progressive achievement of history. Their
laurels make the laurels of every former
hero more unfading. and their victories
have given fresh value to all the victories
of the past
I'VE who have survived that wondrous
meridian of life. We have reached the
Autumn time of life, when vain ambitions
and useless strife cease to fret us, and al
though the knowledge that our race is
well-nlgh run gives an undertOne of sad
ness to our fellowship, nevertheless it
stimulates our affections and lifts us up
on mount Of TRANSPORTATION where voices
are heard and visions seen that are unut-
terable.
hn CT hn hn Of
sculptor and poet each in his sphere, will
tell in part the story of the great war, but
all combined will fail to fully set forth the
glory Of the Union soldier or adequately
recite his deeds of valor and self-sacrifce
in the cause of universal liberty.
while we boast, and rightly so, of our
democracy, nevertheless we come of royal
lineage. We have the divine right not of
kings, but of comradeship with the good
and the great of all ages. We are part
of the great army of freedom, and our
work has been but continuation of that
of the patriots of the past. The triumph
of our Revolutionary fathers was q con-
tinuation of the struggle of the patriots of
Runnymede, who, 800 years before, wrest-
ed from the hands of King John the i'm
mortal Magma Charta, and the work of
those sturdy, liberty-loving Englishmen
was but the outburst of freedoms torch
unquenchable flame on the plain of Mara
then. We are the survivors of an heroic
age, and have proven our right to com
mune with the purest patriots Of all the
ages.
with youthful ardor We faced the
wrathful clouds of war, with patience we
marched and hungered and watched, with
fortitude we suffered from wounds and
disease, and with heroism unequaled in
4 Ixo lr ~ ii h., g
tivity until 100000 of our comrades per-
ished-nO, not persisted, but attained i'm
mortality that the Nation might live and
freedom be given to an enslaved race. The
faces and forms of this myriad of martyrs
are as familiar to MS at this evening hour
as on the sad day when the farewells were
spoken. and while they cannot come to lis
we can go to them, and this hope is both
a solace and an inspiration.
"Once we marched with eager steps AT
the call of the immortal Lincoln, singing
I'VE are coming, Father Abraham, 300, 900
strong and now we find our steps quick
ening with the old-time ardor as we march
down to the final fording place singing the
same song of the olden time, we are COM
ing, we are coming. Father Abraham but
in softer cadence and in ever diminishing
until at last the song shall cease
never again to be sung by mortal tongue.
Anu uoW, my CoIiIdutS, us your COIl-
the time has come for me
to pass the loving cup. We used to drink
from the same canteen, but now from a
golden cup-a loving cup-and as it is
passed around the hand trcmbles, the voice
quavers and the eye mOistens, but all is
transmitted into joy as we realize that an
Union is worth the broken bodies
and shed blood of all our comrades. We
rejoice that kind and ndulgent Provi-
dcnce has heightened out our lives to be-
hold this joyous day.
I'VE are grateful for the tender regard
in which we are held by loving and pa
triotic people. We are thankful that we
We're privileged to bear an humble part in
the duty and glory of redeeming the Re
public. We believe that liberty is divine
gift and that in this Government it
has it's highest earthly manifesto
ton. We believe that Gods Overruling
hand has directed the affairs of this Ma
hour. We believe that Washington was
inspired of God. That God breathed into
him enough of the divine to lift him above
his fellows and used him to fulfill his di
vine purposes. Ia
I'VE believe that Abraham Lincoln was
an inspired man, and that he lived and
moved under the immediate guidance and
direction of the Almighty. We believe
that Ulysses S. Grant was n part of the
plan of God, and called of him to do a
special work. This faith makes the past
glorious, indeed, and spans the future with
a rainbow of promise.
"ADd now, my comrades, it is the hour