Daily Kennebec journal., 1904-06-01
MEMORIAL DAY.
Continued from page ~

place Of soldier you have scattered
the choicest gems of natures bounty.
And thank God, that nature kindly
assisting, has decorated with flowers OF
her own planting every unknown and
unmarked spot of Southern soil where
sleeps the puIseless bosom Of unbreath-
ing dust.
But what Of those who live? Who
gave their health and the best years of
their lives to the service Of their coun-
try. Is 1t asking too much that the
name Of every man who served his
country and received honorable dis
charge shall be placed upon her pen
sion rolls: 1t would not be asking too
much and we, whose infancy heard the
call to arms, or who have only heard
the echoes since promise you, brave
defenders Of our heritage that we will
not keep silent while the soldier begs
and the nation boards her gold.
To us whom Providence has denied
the gracious privilege Of defending our
homes on the battle field, this days
ceremonies are peculiarly impressive,
but to you soldiers Of the Grand Army
Of the Republic, they are simply the
expressions of thoughts and emotions,
long familiar and still forever fresh.
We delight to dwell upon the past. We
arc proud of our soldiers living and
dead. Let us not forget the future.
May none think our country's future
secure. The billow is most beautiful
when about to break. The sun reaches
the zenith and descends. Nations like
men are mortal. The coasts Of history
are strewn with the wrecks of empires.
What to us appears most prosperous
may contain the seeds OF destruction
no martial host can conquer. This is
an age Of luxury. the age when sub
serviency to wealth and power beget
antagonistic classes, and go before
corruption. degeneracy and decay. The
conflicts with the sword may soon pass.
let us hope forever. The CONFLICT Of
ideas has just begun.
Every government Is established and
maintained by two principle forces, the
outer and recognized, and the inner
and unrecognized. Each force Is as
potent as the other in shaping the
destiny of a nation. AS the planets in
their tremendous cycles, and the stars
in their infinite wandcrinSs pursue the
course controlled by the silent forces Of
the Masters hand, so the silent and
unnoticed forces which shape the
opinions and form the habits of peo-
pie are as potent in determining its
destiny as any that are visible and
audible. Soldiers at home, put on the
invisible armor of truth and justice,
demand obedience to authority and
reverence for all law, and maintain the
purity of the ballot. Keep q jealous
watch over the encroachments of
power. firmly rely upon God and then
our republic will be impregnable.
Even from the silent graves of heroes
there comes to our ears the soft whis
per, Eternal vigilance is the price of
liberty" Shall our youths be fitted to
hcnorably discharge the duties of citi-
Zens? This question must be answered
by each one of us. Tell the children
what our country is and what it cost.
Tell them why the war was fought.
Bring them every Memorial Day to the
grave OF Il soldier father or a soldier
friend. Tell them how great and good
he was to die, that they might be
happy. Tell them what the Grand
Army of the Republic means. and re-
cite to them it's deeds of charity to
widows and orphans. Tell them why
each year Memorial Day is more sacred
than the last. Tell them how the ma
tion mOurned when Grant and Hancock
and Mcclellan died. Tell the children
these things, and when no cOmrade
survives TO leave on the hallowed
earth where patriots sleep, the little
flags, the violets and the teardrops,
these children will pay grateful tribute
to their nations dead, and teach their
children what 1t all means With cti-
Zens like these duty Will throw it's
gauntlet down to fate. and honor will
scorn to compromise with death rather
than permit one iota of freedom gained
by heroes in all the struggles for liberty
to be lost.
Veterans of the Grand Army of the
Republic. yours is a peculiar organiza-
tion, for as your members one by one
take their places in the silent chambers
of the dead there is none to fill your
thinning ranks. Yours has been a noble
work, is now a noble work. The lives
of most of you have already passed high
noon. already the shadows point back
ward. AS your members one by one
pass through the thin veil that sepa-
rates mortal from immortality, and
when it's parting folds have admitted
the last member of your order 1t shall
be our charge and our chidren's
charge. to be true as you have been
true, loyal as you have been loyal.
brave as you have been brave, and
hold and bear aloft the old flag with
all it's sacred memories as you bore 1t
through sunshine and through storm
from Sumpter to Appomattox.