Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1904-05-26

the pale face of the youth and won
drous ray kindled his glazing eye, as
he said, General, didn't lead them
straight?' MY boy" said the gener-
al, with gentle pressure of his hand,
you acted valiantly, you did all it
was possible to do, you did your duty"
A bright smile played around the dy.
ing youths lips, his glazed eyeballs
turned back from the threshold OF
death, and flashed Thanks" his heart
but once throbbed and forever grew
still! Shall we not keep Memorial
Day for such as he?
But besides the men who wore the
blue and marched under the flag there
were other patriots. They we're those
whose fingers piled the needle, and
whose hands moulded the dough, and
whose pens indicted loving words to
boys who were nobody's sons, for
they were orphans--the women Of our
country. These whole-souled women
did not know anything of country or
cline or language. They only knew
grand humanity, and that all were of
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one great and loving Father. And so
they sent letters to young men who
had no mothers, and exhorted them to
be good and true and brave, and ever
to do their duty. u
| And so we commemorate the men
who did their duty and the women
who taught them.
/ Alas! that the ranks of the veterans
4 are being thinned by an ehemy none
can conquer in this life-death. And
of those who remain the once elastic
step, and 1.-the limbs, and blue coat
/ have changed. The elasticity is gone,
the litheness has vanished, the blue
has faded, but the courage is still
there, and the patriots heart throbs
proudly as of yore.
The goth of May is observed In the
southern states as Memorial Day."
when the graves of Confederate sol
diers and sailors are also decorated
with flowers with imposing cere-
monies. In recent years there has
been happy commingling of the men
in Blue and the men in Gray on these
solemn occasions. This is as it ought
to be-this is as it shall be. When
the causes of the fierce conflict and
terrible slaughter, the wrecked homes
and ruined lives, the weeping widows
and wailing orphans, the broken-heart-
ed mothers weeping for their sons be-
cause they are not, and strong men,
fathers, with the joy-spring of life
broken in their hearts, are realized,
surely the olive branch of peace will
bring concord and union beneath the
weeping willow and dropping ash, and
brothers meet brothers in peace, and
higher, nobler, holier patriotism will
come forth like pure gold from the
refner's furnace.
Patriotism may not be the highest
virtue of the human soul, but it has
the most intimate relation to the cause
we commemorate And, then, patriot
ism in America is different in kind
not in degree only, from that OF other
} countries. Patriotism, as it has pre-
) vailed in the old world, has been the
: curse of mankind. There patriotism
meant to hate your neighbor on the
other side of the river-to oppose. rob
and slaughter the men, women ant
children on the opposite side OF thu
: boundary line, for the aggrandize
t ment of the ruling classes--to presen
. the bodies OF the common people" al
D a target for the arrow, the sword, tn,
8 spear, and the bullet--to bring mourn
d ing and sorrow and poverty into thu
a cabin of the oppressed peasant ant
g the room of the toiling citizen for thu
i honor, power and pelf of one mani
!. call the wholesale murder of men
e made in the image of God, glory an
r the legalized murderers, who revele
S in carnage, slaughter, rapine and lus'
i patriots! But America has taught tn
Il world a patriotism of another kind
. broad as humanity and co-extensiv
i with the globe. 1t has let tyrants an
; oppressors know that the poor hav
Il rights and the rich duties, and tina
8 downtrodden peoples who have show
!. themselves worthy of independence
. shall not be exterminated, through r,
II lentIess hate and cruel wrong, by firt
q and sword, and famine, and the pest
! lence that follows in their train.
" witness whereof let Cuba testify, thu
i. q strong nation, whose patriotism
d. humanity, can and will right th
q. wrongs of the weak, though they ma
II have q differently tinted skin.
h This is the patriotism we celebrai
Al today, that lis symbolized in the ia
IL that floats above us, is emblematize
Is In the solemn functions OF CONNER
4. Grafton, when we strew garlands i
n flowers on the graves and encirc
s. with halo of fame our patriotic dea
It This is patriotism, indeed. when at u
e call Of duty two millions OF the cou
aa try's pride leap forward to preser
. the Union or to die-this is the patl
a otism we wish to preserve and tran
nr nit this is the patriotism we desil
n our sons to emulate this is the Go
given patriotism Of humanity whit
can never die! TO preserve intat
whole, and undivided the constitutio
nation, and country beuueathed by Il
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