The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-06-03


song.
The chief feature of the exercises was
the address by Hon. w. A. Funk. This
was we'll prepared, as all of Mr.. Funk's
efforts are, and was listened to with
the closest attention 1t was fine ad
dress, and The Free Press publishes it in
full, as follows:
Honorable Commander, Comrades and
Friends: Another year, bearing its
measure of joys and pleasures, and its
burden of sorrows, has winged its way
to the realms of Eternity, and we have
again met to do honor to the memory of
the fallen heroes of our country. To the
regiments and battalions of the mighty
dead, whose ranke are yearly and month
ly increasing, by new recruits taken
from the wavering and decimated ranks
of the living heroes of the war.
Three years ago, I had the honor to
address you on Memorial Day. At that
time, I dwelt largely in recalling the
scenes of blood and carnage, and the
experiences of camp and march and bat
tlefield Those scenes and experiences
which we who were too young to share
them, recall as visions and as dreams,
but which, in the minds and hearts of
you who marched to the music of fife
and drum, and fought at the call of the
bugle, shall remain as vivid realities
until Life's scenes are ended, and you
scale the walls of Paradise.
Today I shall speak but briefly OF
camp and field and weary march.
have thought it best to spend most OF
the brief time allotted to me, in recount
ing some of the issues leading up to that
great struggle the correct and
just settlement of which, meant far more
to our country than the freedom of the
slave for they affected the welfare Of
our whole country, north and south, and
our whole people down to the remotest
posterity. By that war, aside from
the question of slavery, there were set
tied questions which had troubled oul
people and our statesmen for generations
Questions and principles of state and
national government, all too vaguely de
fined by our organic law, and all tot
greatly distorted, to serve the ends Of
politicians and re-eaters, in later years
especially in the matter of states right:
and human slavery. So vague was the
law as to those disputed issues that IL
the years Immediately preceding the war
both sides quoted the constitution as
favoring their contention; when as 6
matter of fact, there was very little IL
! that document to sustain either side OF
the disputed issue of slavery extension
and some others. The fact is, the fran
ers of the constitution of thu
United States were obliged to PRACTICAL.
ignore that question. Both north AM
south could readily agree upon the ces
sation of the African slave trade; blu
the American slave trade was quit
a different matter. African slave trad
Tor importation of slaves into the Unit
ed States), was to cease after twent.
years. To compensate the south for thi
loss of a great business industry(?), i
was provided that in the enumeration
of citizens for representation in con
gress, three fifths of the slaves shoul'
be counted for that purpose. That is
on basis of white population, the nortl
and south should have the same rati
of representation in congress. In ad
dition to this equal representation, tn
south should have an additional repre-
sentation on the same basis or ratio
computed upon three-ffths of the slav
population in the slave states. In som
of the states, this additional representa-
: ton was greater than the representation
based upon the white population. An
this additional representation was found
ed upon the enumeration of a people
without citizenship, without political, SO
cial or moral rights, and which the su
preme court of the United States, unde
a partisan rule, declared to be mer
chattels, without the right to resent dis
honor or to defend life of limb. 1t wa
this enormously increased Representative
that in the antibellum days, enabled tn
south to block national legislation, o
to shape it at will, and forced the mort
to many humiliating compromises.
In the slavery question, the fathers o
our country evidently felt there was no
much to fear The Mississippi, it wa
supposed, would be the westerly bound
airy of our nation and our country. Slav
cry was to exist south of the Obi
river and be prohibited north of it. I
already existed in all the territory soutl
of the Ohio, and was made no worse b,
the formation of a national union AM
the adoption of a constitution not ma
terially changing slavery conditions. Tn
statesmen of that day could not forese
the requirement by our government, o
the territory constituting the might,
empire lying between the Mississippi ant
the Pacific ocean.
As that territory came into our hands
the. great Louisiana purchase, Texas
California and the Oregon country
opening up possibilities and avenues O.
industry and wealth, never dreamed o.
by our forefathers, then the question o.
LII, u. II