Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1903-06-05

of the deathless liberty for which they
fought And the flowers which we
strew on their graves should remind us
that the soil wet with the blood of
patriots is that in which the sons Of
patriot sires are yet to fruitify."
! Mr.. Hooker traced the central
thought of liberty from its earliest in
ception in the German woods, hun
dreds of years before Christ, in the
overthrow of the Roman empire, in its
rest and security in Switzerland, in the
meeting of the Latin and Saxon races
in Britain's fog enveloped islands,
down to its elimination in the signing
Philadelphia, and the foundation of a
new government. A government found
ed upon the natural equality OF all men.
He showed how far the thought Of in
dependence was educational in that up
to that time there was no French re-
public, there was no constitutional
government in Italy, the franchise had
not been extended in England, there
was no Mexican republic, and slavery
existed in Brazil. The internal con-
fict which grew to a close at Appomat-
tox in 1865 was not less important, not
less far reaching, not less impressive.
In every town and hamlet lies the dust
of our heroic dead, but around about
us on every side are the undying evil
dences that their sacrifice was not in
vain. This land is made temple of
liberty, slavery has been banished for
ever, but We can never safely relax the
vigilance that those brave men inaug
urated on the banks of the Potomac
and Mississippi until the ideas for
which they died have become endur-
ingly fixed and embodied in the en-
lightened forms of individual and ma
tional life. -
Mr.. Hooker did not forget the boys
Of 9s, who went forward to give the
starving poor of Cuba food He spoke |
Of the freeing of the Filipinos, prac
tically Spanish slaves, and said this |
government was giving them by de-
grees, as they are enabled to under
stand it, education and happy future.
"Quite recently that brave Vermont
er, Col. Liscom, of the 9th regulars, !
on the doors of Tien Tsin, |
gave another Vermonter, Titus, of Ben
lington, an opportunity to plant on the |
walls of Pekin that grand old flag which |
,ver speaks in the language of Patrick
Henry, Give me Liberty or give me .
Death. >" Closing the speaker quoted
rom Longfellow -
"Not in vain the distance beckons
Forward, forward. let us range,
Let the great world spin forever
Down the ringing grooves of change
Till the war drums beat no longer,
And the battle flags are furled,
In the parliament of men
The peace of all the world
A song by Mr.. Brasor and My |
COUNTRY, 'Tis of Thee by the au-
Iience ended the exercises.
Afterward the procession formed in
ront of the town house, the band, the
scort, the veterans, and the march
ras taken to the soldiers monument
I the Common, where prayer was Of
cred by Rev. Mr.. Osgood. Then came
he return march down the street to
Prospect Hill cemetery, where the
raves of the soldiers dead were deco
ated. Members of the Relief corps
rent ahead in a special car, loaded
nth baskets of flowers, and the march
ng veterans carried small baskets of
lessons. At the cemetery Rev. F. W.
lewis offered prayer, and the graves ,
,ere lavishly decorated, detachments ,
ding to both the Catholic and Morn
1gside cemeteries. This concluded, ,
ssembly and taps were sounded. Rev. :
!. X. Marvin closed the exercises with
enediction.