Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1902-06-06
OUR MARTYRED DEAD.
FITTING EXERCISES IN THEIR MEMORY
LAST FRIDAY.
Rev. E. T. Mathison Delivers a Feeling Ad-
dress at the Services in the Auditorium I'm
pressive Exercises at the Soldiers Monu-
ment and the Cemetery Unusually Large
Contributions of Flowers.

Contributions of Flowers.
Memorial day was tittingly celebrat
ed in Brattleboro last Friday, and tn
exercises seemed more solemn thar
! ever on account of the decrease in tn
number of living heroes who took par
in the struggle for the preservation 0
. the union and the increase in th'
number of graves marked by small
American flags and the simple inscrip
tion, "Cnion Defender. -
Members of SedgwIck post met at G.
\. X. hall at 5 80 in the morning an(
a delegation went to West BrattleborC
to assist in the Memorial service
which were held there at 10 a. m.
Graves of departed veterans in the diff
ferent cemeteries there were decorated
and the delegation returned to Brat
tleboro shortly before noon. At !
o'clock the veterans met again in G.
\. X. hall and were escorted to the
Auditorium by the First Regiment
band and Company |, Vermont Ma
tional guard The exercises proper be-
gan at o'clock with a selection by
the band followed by a prayer by Rev.
+. f. Marble. Frank H. Brasor then
sang "A solo and +. H. Putnam read an
ode which had been written for the oc-
casion. Commander Nash made a few
brief remarks to the members of Sedg-
wick post and the address of the day
was given by Rev. +. T. Mathison,
rector of St Michael's Episcopal
church.
The first of Mr.. Mathison S address
was devoted to the consideration of
I tIa upIarlt-ip,r yIpinpi t,1aS ioh
prompted the civil war and the far
which the war was fought He paid
! feeling tribute to the bravery of the
soldiers of the Confederate armies as
we'll as those of the Union forces and
then turned the thoughts of his hear
ers to some other consideration of
what the war did for the country out
side those which are obvious. On this
theme he said in part:
The civil war gave our people lesson
in the size and resources of our country.
As the Northern youth whose knowl
edge heretofore had been almost coter-
minous with the hills which bounded
his narrow valley, travelled day after
day southwark and westward, his
known earth seemed to enlarge and
then as he met the barriers erected by
the Southern armies. he could not but
realize that away and beyond these
must be other lands 10 furnish and sus-
tain forces all but equal to his own.
And at the close of the long conflict,
the bronZed young veteran went forth
to hew out for himself a home in the
more distant but richer portions of our
land and with sword turned into
ploughshare, with the same persisten-
cy and patience learned at the fore
front of the battle. now in the van
guard of civilization hosts took large
part in the subduing of the prairie
states.
The civil war was prolific in great
men. 1t all but created them. Ire
mendous responsibilities sobered, and
vast opportunities inspired to success |
full effort Grant, our greatest com
general, was so produced.
Men rose from the ranks with astound- |
ing rapidity. The best men, urged to
it by the crisis, offered themselves for !
every place. All aristocracy save that /
of individual merit passed away.
Henceforth through every department I
of our life the nobility of prompt and !
and to this recognition is due the .
greatness of this present American .
people.
We are gathered here to think of,
and do honor to the memory of the de-
parted. Vast in their number are they,
and glorious achievements
The great thing is not the dead but
the things for which they fought and
died, those eternal principles of right
and justice which alone form the foun-
dation stones of a permanent and ben
Efficient government. Those martyred
dead stand as emphatic witness to the
dangers that threaten from mistaken
of right and justice. And
you, who have looked upon the car
laee of the oft fought field, know, bet
Ter than | can emphasize, the fatal
character of judgments errors. You
lave seen men fight harder, endure
onger and suffer more for principle,
mistaken though that principle may be
han did ever Selfishness or personal
ambition.
In view of this is the labor of the G.
\. h. finished: To ask that is but to en- I
Iuire. Is our land no longer menaced I
" false theories of right? Is that {
plendid prestige and influence so fair
y won now no longer to be needed,
md the driveling old man be com {
,elled to tell only of what he has in
ines gone by accomplished? Or is
.lorious past to prove but an excuse for !
useless, an idle and discredited fu- {
ure. No. my very eyeballs seem to
ontract with pain at such sorrowful
respect. | see my country threatened :
" many dangers. Greed and spite
i've evidence of their mighty workings
d the struggle that goes on ceaseless {
V twixt capital and labor. Even into '
ur peaceful distant village comes evi- {
ence of the exactions of the mighty s
rusts and industrial combinations. |
md who is there can forget that since I
'e last assembled the champion of
olitical heresy has lifted himself in G
D prominence in our midst. That. no a
hoicer blood has ever vet flowed upon Y
merican soil than that which fell be @
Dre the onset of the hosts of anarchy, v
ID by the hated Czoleosz. That blood 7
I'd crown of martyrdom upon the brow n
our late president warns of a con- :
let which is mighty though hidden. r
.ow his face ever stands before us, "
aim and confident whatever hap e
ened! The very embodiment of good n
der and wise government: the lncar- o
alton of self control and conscious pow 9
:: the representative of the dignity o
I'D majesty of the government by A
lie people and for the people. > And CT
le more he becomes in the imagina- a.
on representative of our nation, the \
ora ICaa b,- foil stand aS n yvarpipor I q