Mower County transcript., 1904-06-08

WEDNESDAY JUNE s, 1904
of battle. You heard the bugle call ad
vance or retreat Y ou saw the: flag sho1
3 |doWn-thenSupa again, tattered and torn
7 its shreds waving in dim shadows il
the smoke. Stained i. with; blood, o.
grim with dirt you follow the glorious
standard. You saw your comrades
fall dead or wounded. If your com
mander fell you did not lose heart o.
hesitate. When Hector fell the TrojanG
ran. When Achilles fell the Greeks ran
Not SO you. Whether on hillside or i1
valley you pressed on, your eye on the
flag, your mind alert, to the moves and
counterm moves of the enemy's position
Your head clear to discern how to act
-FOUR aim steady aud effective. Your
movements firm or hurried as the tide
of battle occasioned. If compelled tC
retreat you did so under fire with order
and discipline. Always watchful fol-
the opportunity to turn and snatch vic.
tory from disorder. On the march you
moved with spirit, camped with caution,
plcketed with care, protected yourself
from the inclemency Of the weather,
and ate what you had or went without
food without murmur or with a
hearty swear, blotted out blythe record
ing angel 1 hope, at the delayed COM
missary. TO day as we see the old flag,
the emblem of our hope as the cross is
! ofsour faith, we blend our joy for the
peace of this earth under its folds with
our desire for the peace of heaven un-
der the sign of the cross. 1t is the flag
Of our fathers, made potent by great
deeds on land and sea. 1t is the flag OF
nation erect, unshackled, extending
its borders and it's blessings, a flag that
has lifted mankind an6 changed the
mastery of the world. 1t is the flag
that from Lexington to Santiago on
Llama; from the Constitution to the
Brooklyn on the sea, has lead this ma
tion through war and peace through
panic and prosperity-thro domes-
ticsand foreign wars and entanglements
to become a power not only for good
to itself but exerting an influence felt
world wide. To the noble women Of
this land whose silent loyalty bore the
pain of parting as mother, wife, or
sweetheart from dear ones, who can
measure'the heroism Of theil suffer ings?
On the field of battle-in the hospital
everywhere like an angel Of mercy she
met every circumstance with de-
votion and love that crowns her with a
halo of nobility and purity that words
cannot express. TO honor them we
honor ourselves. It is fitting to speak
of the Woman's Relief Corps who have
by their acts of noble charity done so
much to relieve the sorrows and suffer
ings of many an @old soldier who by
reason of old age or disabilities coming
from wounds or exposure in the army
have been incapacitated from doing
manual labor and whose young days
: were given to service so that they were
prevented from accumulating a COM
potency to give comforts in their de-
elinIng days. TO day their willing
ha1ass- have prepared many a wreath Of !
flowers for the graves Of your dead.
None can do it SO tenderly, none re,
ceive more heartfelt your respect. And
now Members of the Grand Army of
the Republic, and Citizens of Austin
Cicero said "Republics should become
immortal by continually perpetuating
J their youth" Let us all then at the
shrine of pure patriotism renew our de-
votion with heart full of love for the
inetfable blessings we enjoy and which
were made possible for us by our Sleep
ing heroes, whose memory as sweet as
fresh gathered flowers we cherish, by
lovingly placing the flag they served
and loved at their grave. And to you
that will soon pass away, may you feel
to day that you have to sustain you in
that hour the honor of a grateful people.
may say in the words of Pericles "For
the love of honor is the only feeling
that never grows old, and in the help
lessness of age it is not the acquisition
of gain, as some assert, that gives great
est pleasure, but the enjoyment of
honor" and to that hour may your life's
daily shuttle glide wound full of threads
of kindly care.
Veterans, as you again assemble, as
the golden clasp of friendship is strong
er, your holy c0mradeship knit closer,
your roll call becoming less may you
feel that out of your sacrifices, out of
the prison pens, the hospitals, out from
the trenches, the rifle pits, the battle
fields, the countless graves, from so
many tears, so much blood, has arisen
in the beauty and majesty of strength
and liberty government OF the people
whose influence and glory will survive,
fresh in eternal justice, noble in its
conduct, immortal in greatness, imper-
ishable in it's civilization. May you all
feel your efforts in the preservation Of
this land. This land you saved is alive
with the busy hum of industry. Large
cities, prosperous villages and thriv-
ing hamlets are springing up all over
it, new states have been born and hand
in hand we work out our grand destiny,
not of conflict but of peace, not of
bitterness but love, not of chains but
affection, the present and the future
spanned by the bow Of perpetual glory,
peace and promise.
New Sleeping Car to Worlds Fair.