Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1902-06-03

ing to the q. A. r. ritual and a prayer
was offered by the Rev. f. A Pease and
the band discoursed patriotic mnssc,
after which Atty. A. L. Kreutzer, orator
of the day, made his address, which
was in part as follows:
We meet here today upon this sacred
ground, dedicated to our beloved dead
in memory of the men whose deeds OF
valor and heroism were househoi5
words and whose sacrifices for the pres
erFahon of the Union are and | hope
always will be an inspiration to the
generations to come after you to stand
by the Government and the flag in time
OF conflict such as you took part in and
in which this country of ours is engaged
in today"
The circumstances under which these
memorial services became necessary
are still fresh in the memory of all.
They gave rise to the greatest outburst
of patriotism the world has ever wit
messed, History affords no example
to equal it. The great heart of the
nation was touched by the poisoned
arrow of rebellion, but the spirit of
revolution became quickened. The
great passion, called patriotism, which
aims to serve ones country and to main
tain its laws and institutions, became
infamed. Mighty armies gathered,
great battles were waged, vast treas
urers were extended, many precious
lives were sacrificed, but as gold is re-
fined by fire, so the nation emerged
from the conflict, purged of the dross
of slavery. All honor to the father
land made this grand result"
The dead we see not, but the tens of
thousands OF marble slabs which mark
their resting places are testimonials to
us OF the later generation; they speak to
US through the maze of years of duties
nobly done. What are these lessons
worth Are we to profit by their ex-
amples There can be but one answer.
Existence is constant struggle. New
duties and responsibilities are upon us
and as you bore manfully the burdens
OF war, and have rendered cheerful
obedience to the demands of the times,
so we as living descendants of that
patriotic stock, must meet the obliga-
tons of the present. While your boys
are fighting battles in foreign land for
the glory of our country, we, who re-
main at home, are confronted, with
problems, that are equally as important,
that effect the homes and tiresides of
every individual in this great country,
which seems to me require the highest
patriotism, craftsmanship and loyalty
to the flag for which you fought, and
for whose preservation, thousands have
suffered death. These problems are
commercial and industrial. They are
vital to the very existence of our Demo-
cratic form of government. The finan-
cial question, the tariff question, the
labor question, the great trusts and mo-
noplies, that are being formed every
day. all these are living questions.
Questions that reach the homes and fire
sides and the life of every citizen
Questions that require the most careful
consideration They cannot be settled
by armed forces in battle arrayed The
smoke of the battle or the laundering
of cannon viii not help to their solution.
The lessons of the past, the projects of
the future all unite in contest, care and
circumspection in their consideration.
1t is therefore our present duty, as
patriotic citizens, living within the
shadow of the great war, to take to the
solution of these great problems the
utmost that good wisdom that honor
and foresight can suggest"
II have simply touched upon these
problems to impress you that today as
well as thirty-five years ago, it is the
duty of every parent to inculcate in
the bosom of their off-springs such 10y
atty and patriotism as will aid them in
hours of trials and tribulations, to solve
the difficult problems that may be pre-
sented to them, and to inculcate that
spirit that will give due regard and
respect TO the surviving members of
that great army as they are entitled to,
because it will be only few years be-
fore they will all have passed away.
We consecrate anew this day be-
cause of the newly-made graves scat
tered throughout this and foreign
lands. Graves in which lie sleeping
the stalwart forms of the bravest SOL
diers of the best and no6lest country
on the face of the globe, soldiers of the
Spanish American war. When the
call came for troops to battle for. an
oppressed people and for humanity, it
found the sons of the old warriors who
fought for the Union thirty-five Years
ago, as ready and willing to sacrifice
life, limb, home and mother. as we're
VIC IdtucTS OclOTc AUSu. Oub Ol InIS
county and city marched as brave a
company of soldiers as ever faced an
enemy. This spirit of patriotism that
actuated the fathers in 1862 was again
manifest in 1898. With flags flying
and drums beating, one hundred and
three Young men left your homes and
tiresides and entered the service of
their country OF this number four
are today sleeping peacefully in their
green little tents, and their spirits are
holding sweet communion with the
thousands of other soldier spirits who
have gone before, and are dwelling in
that spirit land Four homes in this
city and community are surely conse-
Grating tais day anew"
The exercises concluded were the
most successfully carried out of any
arranged for Memorial Day program
in recent years, and the number of
people who visited the cemetery has
Jeen variously estimated at from 5000 to
5000. There were quite a few in from
the country who had loved ones buried
in the Wausau ce5letery, and though
there were noexerclses of any kind in
the forenoon. the morning hours were
spent by people in decorating the
graves of departed oses.