St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-07-12

issssssl.s$
u
IN THE PHILIPPINES.
preference to the soldiers in all ap-
pointments; and the son of a soldier
came to their defense in this man
ner: "You, who were too young to
be in the army, soil your own souls
by complaining that the union sol
diers are now in your way, and by
asking: will they never dep
young men, half million OF
them, died when you were in your
cradles. Ten thousand of them fell
inside of IS minutes on the morning
of June 3, 1864, in front of Cold
Harbor, when the Army of the Poto-
mac made an assault all along the
line. Twelve to fifteen thousand of
them fell on June ~, 1864, in the
same month of the same year, all
around Kenesaw's bloody heights.
Many thousands of them died in
prison or in rebel hospitals, naked,
hungry, suffering, unloved, and
far from the dear folks at home.
Many other thousands of them to-
day hobble on crutches or flap empty
sleeves in the breezes. They are dy.
ing fast enough. Half million OF
them still live, but every one of them,
barring none, bears in his body the
mark. of battle or the germ Of dis
ease contracted while campaigning,
in order that this government might
not fade from the earth. But for
them there would be no government
for you to serve. nor to protect you.
Don't be in a hurry, younug men!
Don't be in hurry! These old vet
Grams are marching off of the field,
brigade by brigade, every year. Reg
iment after regiment is disappear
ing over the brow of the hill Of
time. They are marching away into
the valley of the shadow, right into
the river of death, bravely as the Old
Guard, at Waterloo. Don't be in q
hurry, young man! Don't be in a
hurry! The old soldiers are march
ing from the field, and they will
soon, all too soon for me, be out of
your ungrateful way. God bless
them. I wish they could live forever,
as their fame will live. Grant and
Sherman and Sheridan are gone
Thomas is in the Land O. the Leal.
Meade is no more. Gone are the
serried columns which stood in the
way at Gettysburg, Fredericksburg,
Atlanta, Chickamauga, Lookout,
vicksburg, Bentonville, and thou
sand other places, every one OF them
Thermopylae. Their deeds are
blazoned upon the history of more
battlefelds than your weak brain
can remember. They will soon be out
of the way: but while they are here
the republic will give them the pref
erence." ... ..~
These are the views of two ma
ture men; one of them born and nur-
tured in the north, the other in the
south They vie with each other in
honoring the splendid valor of the
American soldiers in the civil war.
The son of the south gives his need
of praise to the soldiers of the north,
as well as to those of his own Sec
ton. The son of the union veteran
now goes farther than he did in
his quoted tribute, and says: II am
not longer reluctant to follow Presi-
dent Mckinley in his policy of concili-
alton. 1 am not reluctant on this
Decoration day to place wreaths
upon the graves of the fathers of the
brave young men of the southland,
who are to-day carrying the flag and
unfolding it in the oriental tropics"
Whatever may be our views Of cur.
rent policies and deeds; whatever may
be the result of discussions and differ
ences; whatevermay be the outcome Of
the struggles of politicians and states
men; we can all view with pride the
one unmixed good of conditions; the
one paramount fact that in the
American army in the distant Philip
pines we see our reunited republic;
we see the sons of the veterans of
Grant and Lee, of Sheridan and Jack
son, marching shoulder to shoulder,
beneath our flag. Whatever of evil,
in deed or purpose, there may be in
the conditions which confront this
nation, there is pleasure, patriotism
and pride in the sight of American
soldiers from every section of the
republic, standing together before
the world, showing to all other ma
tions the complete realization of the
prophecy of Daniel Webster: Lib
erty and union, now and forever,
one and inseparable."
SMITH D. FRY.