Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1905-05-31

The War With Spain.
After years of peace and prosper
ity, the fair name Of our country was
once more threatened, and our men
were once more called upon to go to
the front, and we are glad to be able
to say that Fergus county sent forth
her brave men to defend and uphold
the honor of our flag, and it is with
pride that We today honor these sol.
diers.
But all the honor must not be Civ
en- to those alone who we're at the
front, for there are many men who
were never in the thick of battle, but
who worked and sacrificed their labor
and their fortunes for their country.
Neither must we leave out the women
+ who cheered and encouraged their
fathers, sons and husbands to battle,
and in the meantime working and
striving at home, and bearing the sus.
pense OF uncertainty which oft-times
is worse than the real experience.
And, most of all, we must not forget
to give due credit and honor to those
| women who nursed and tended the
sick and dying and eased their pain
and suffering by their ceaseless care.
"As we turn the pages of history
we read how nations have grown,
prospered and flourished, then fallen
and decayed; and we know of Greece
! and Rome, once great; now all that
remains is history. And from this we
find that it was the want of social
purity and patriotic spirit in the peo-
pie. No nation can ever become great
er than the men and women that make
up that nation, and may we ever sup
port those principles upon which this
| republic was founded, and may the
stars and stripes ever float over the
land of the free and the home of the
brave"
After the address, the audience
arose and sang America" and an.
other selection by the band brought
the exercises to a close.
The Procession.
Marshal Burke and his aides i'm.
mediately formed the procession in
front of the opera house, and it soon
moved down Main street, making
quite an imposing parade. The line
reached from the opera house to the
court house. Following the band came
the Grand Army veterans, fourteen of
them stepping along proudly in their
blue uniforms, while number of them
rode. They were followed by sixteen
veterans of the Spanish-American war,
also in uniform, under command of
Edward Foster, with A. W. Stoddard
as aide. Then came in mayor and
city council, followed by the fire de.
partment, the fire ladies making
splendid show. The Eagles, in their
full strength, came next, followed by
Elks, and the Knights of Pythias, 40
strong. The Red Men were also very
strongly represented. The labor un.
ion was largely represented, and the
members made fine showing, as did
the members of the miners union from
Kendall and Gilt Edge. A number of
little girls, carrying flowers, came
next, and were followed by the ladies
of the decorating committee. Scores
of vehicles made up the end of the
procession, every citizen who owned
a carriage or buggy apparently being
in line.
Crowds Of Spectators.
With so many in the parade, it
seemed as though there would be none
left to view it, yet Main street was
lined with people as the procession
passed on it's way to the city Gene
terry, where the graves of the dead
heroes were decked with flowers, and
salutes were fired bya squad of Span
ish-American war veterans.
The growth of the decoration day
custom was well shown yesterday at
both cemeteries. Not only were the
graves of the dead soldiers decked
with flowers, but many others, and
the silent, hallowed ground was every
where made beautiful with blossoms.
The Committees.
The committees that had in charge
the various features of yesterdays
observance were as follows:
City council-Aldermen Frank E.
Smith, Harry c. Brown, John Laux,
and Morris Sloan
General committee-Alderma F. E.
Smith, chairman; Albert Pfaus, Span
war veterans; Alex. |
Branson, civil war veterans.
On decorations-Hugh Wagner, |
Marshall Huffine, Albert Pfaus, Mrs. |
George Wiedeman, Mrs. J. D. Waite, |
and Misses Mary and Kate Reed, of
Gilt Edge.
On conveyances-Alex Van Ider.
slime.
To mark the graves-Alex. Branson.
On firing squad-Ed. L. Skinner.
Marshal of the day, Marion Burke;
aides, H. Schnick, John Harrington,
George Gordon, Edmund Wright and
Walter Knight.
Decoration Day Notes.
The Ritch family had representa-.
tives of two wars at the opera house.
Col. ]. B. Ritch, of Charlotte, North
Carolina, is a confederate veteran,
having fought through the civil war
as an aide on the staff of General
J. E. B. Stuart, the Sheridan of the
south, while J. B. Ritch, his son, serv.
ed with the Montana regiment in the
The knights of Pythias decorated
the graves of departed members OF
that order at the city cemetery. and
Hon. o. w. Belden made a brief and
feeling address.
The firemen and their "masheen"
we're conspicuous feature of the par.
ade and attracted much attention.
Prof. E. O. Busenburg marshaled
the little girls. who carried flowers.
and they made pretty picture as they
passed through the streets.
The veterans of both wars were
applauded as they marched
INTO the opera house.
Postmaster Albert Pfaus worked un.
to make the exercises sue
cess, and was kept busy right to the
end,
Mayor Pinkley has never passed as