The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1904-05-26

should seize the opportunity to chase
the elusive dollar to its lairp You
have heard the people shout until they
were hoarse when Hop Malt's celebrat-
ed beer-drinking beauties passed by;
you have heard multitude represent
ing all classes, the rich, the poor, the
cultured and the uncultured, laugh at
the antics of the donkey boys as ii
they had inhaled laughing gas to fit
themselves for this special occasion;
you have heard ribald songs, vulgar
CALCULATIONS, obscene and sacrilegious
remarks;-have you heard anyone say
aught that would impress upon you
the soiemnity befitting this day, and
the memories and reflections it ought
to bring to us2 You have seen six
young women dressed in the very lat
est fashion by one Of the leading mil
linery establishments of this city, pa
rade their physical charms before an
admiring multitude; you have seen an
old man dressed like Uncle Sam car
rying musket with fixed bayonet, and
suspended from the bayonet a huge
link of sausage, and suspended from
the sausage large piece of cardboard
with the butchers name on it in large
letters;-have you seen anything that
reminded you of your duty as citizen,
or of the noble thoughts and deeds,
the struggles and self-denials, the i'm
passioned words aud prophetic warn
ings of the mighty spirits who con-
ceived and brought forth, and in sub
sequent times defended, and for the
time being at least, preserved, form
of government most conducive to the
welfare of a liberty-loYing, enlightened
people? If stranger from some 9TH
or world were tosyisit us today, could
he, from what he sees and hears possi-
bly, conceive thegidea that this day is
set apart in honor of the dead who
gave their lives that the nation might
live?
ut is true, he would have seen the
old soldiers in line; he also would have
seen the wagons loaded with flowers;
but he certainly would have reached
the conclusion that they formed the
least important part of the procession.
Look around you. You see farmers
and miners from the country and the
neighboring towns by the thousands.
Every saloon is full of people, drinking,
gambling, swearing, or in some other
way amusing themselves. Many will
return home tonight in state of
beastly intoxication. Every place of
amusement is filled to the doors; every
body seems to be impelled by some in
visible, irresistible force either to make
or to spend more. We have only time
for two things: business and pleasure,
and we go to extremes in each. We
are so busily pushing profits or pleas
ures that we have in large measure
shifted the responsibilities of self-gov-
erning citizens upon the shoulders of
political bosses, and men whom we
would not tolerate in our homes, whom
we could not introduce to our wives
and daughters without feelings of dis
trust and misgiying, against whose ex-
amples and blighting influence we
would warn our sons,-men of this
stamp, men without honor or honesty,
and not few, but a goodly number of
such men-take leading part in our
municipal, state and national affairs!
Our forefathers who struggled through
many long, weary years to drive tyran-
ny from this richly blessed country,
ever remembered, and were duly inn
pressed by, the words of the Prophet
of Liberty, whose words of warning
are almost forgotten, or if not forgot
ten, have at least lost their meaning.
Eternal vigilance is the price Of liber-
ty' just as much today as it was hun
dred years ago, but we, who inherited
liberty, prize it lightly, ard if not all of
us are willing TO sell it for mess of
pottage, it cannot be denied that many
do sell it for q few paltry dollars, and
oh, the pity! some sell it for drink of
whisky. EveEfhe words of the great
est American spoken at the dedication
of the battlefield of Gettysburg, awak-
on no emotions. stimulate no senti-
ments of true patriotism. His words
will be read today in thousands of cem-
eteries, over the graves Of the dead,
and to the living, but not one in ten
will heed them, or try to fathom their