Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1903-06-03

ward, such a meagre pittance of salary
as was the case in the great war of the
rebellion. Surely no one should
suggest that it was for money that
men enlisted, for the poorest among
them could easily have doubled the
$l3 month which was paid our en-
listed men, had he stayed at home.
1t was rot for the glory of men,, or
any man, for Americans had no special
Idol. 1t was for something greater
aud grander and more noble, it was
for pride of national supremacy, to
have nation of states, a new princi-
pie of government, the experiment OF
men governing themselves, a govern
ment OF the people, by the people, and
Tor the people, perpetuated. For this
they braved the heat and dust of
Southern climes, the swamps and
miasma of foreign states; the loath-
some prisons of Libby and Anderson
vile, and the terrible privations of
hunger, sickness and starvation; and
those who lived longest suffered most.
10 those heroes who fell at the sud-
den shock Of the cannon. or the quick
blow Of the bullet, and the piercing
Shrek of the shell; to those whom the
Death Angel singled out in advance to
die in honor, came est and relief from
duty. For them we bring flowers to-
day and sing anthems. They have
gone to their eternal home beyond
the sun, and to them we are building
''halls of flowers" and revere their
memory.
But there are those to whom death
did not bring that relief which is often
welcome to the waiting sentinel, to
those who have watched and waited
through the long dark night, those
who have shared forced marches and
endured their prison fare, received
their shock and their wounds and out
lived them; those who mingled honor
and cruelty, honor for their bravery,
but cruel as it follows them with a
lasting pain, and an everlasting re-
mlnder that once they were we'll, once
they were young, once they were he
roes, once they were made much of
and promised more, and now when
they are old with the fruits of their la
Dor all secure to you and me, nation
saved and made glorious and prosper.
Gus and rich and magnificent has eth
forgotten them. or neglected their nee
essities Let US hope and trust that
the implied contract, a contract that the
nation is bound by, when it is settled
with its defenders, that will be carried
out in it's fullest terms. 1t is empty
mockery TO bewail the fact that there
is too great surplus in the treasury
while the unpaid debt to crippled, sol
diers hangs as a menage over liberty
loving people. Liberty means value
TO any government. 1t means credit.
1t is not the land of nation that
makes it wealthy, nor the climate, nor
the fo' ests, nor the mines, for these
you find in great abundance in Mexico
and the South American Republics; it
is not those things, but it is the kind
of laws. the safety Of institutions pre-.
serve0, the model of every government
that makes value and gives credit to
nation. The experiment Of free
government had been twice tried, but
never so fully as with US. and had it
failed in this country it would have
meant the death of the idea, or at
best it's postponement for generations
to come. The American soldiers of
the great Civil war preserved and
fostered free government upon this
earth, and they are the founders of our
present greatness, yet these men are
often tramps, many living in destitute
circumStances, too proud to beg and
too brave to murmur. Decorate the
graves of the more fortunate brave
men, cover them deep with flowers,
for they deserve it, and the day will
surely come when the enlightened
conscience of the American people
will demand for you, the survivors of
your dead comrades, compensation for
the longer service and suffering you
have endured.
It is not to be presumed that the
ceremonials Of today should make the
same impression upon you all, or
create the same mental picture in fan
cy Of everyone. To the wearers of
the blue it means a retrospect, going
back to the many scenes that brought
the tears to the eyes of women; the part
ing of husband and wife. of mother
and son, and the goingaway to the dis
tant wars, perhaps never to return. To
the younger generation it is wonder
full page Of history, a school of in
struction in patriotism. And it is in
this that the great value of an institu-
tion of this kind lies. Teach the
young the meaning of the flag, tell
them how their fathers and forefathers
gave their life blood for it's preserva-
tion and honor. Tell them how when
the first shot at old Sumpter cut down
the American flag, the stars anG
stripes sprung aloft throughout the
land. Tell them of the wonderful
outburst of patriotism, the rolling of
drums, the waving banners of the pray
er meetings turned into councils of
war, and Of the school houses turned
into recruiting stations. Tell them
how the men Of '61 started in with the
old fac at Gettysburg to celebrate the