The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-05-31

'S|SSSSSSSSS<SSS%SSSS SSSSS<SSTSSSSSSSSSS
developed our Republic beyond the an
ticipations of statesmen and even the
dreams of sentimentalists, and poured
its accumulated products into the
Twentieth Century, in which the Pa
cific, under the rule of the Powers,
American, European and Asiatic that
lcontrol the world, is to be the theatre
of such advancement as will exceed the
combined records of all previous ages.
| The War of Independence, followed
by the Federal Constitution and the
multiplication of self-governing States,
had left the most vital issue between
the two sections of the Republic I'M
settled. 1t involved the question of the
perpetuity of the Union. The confront
| ing populations represented the best
strains of race the highest intelligence,
| the most determined and sincere con-
victions. 1t was inevitable that the is
sue should be settled by war. and the
end of that war was equally inevitable.
The Union was essential not only to
our own country, but to the world. It
was for the world, as well as for our
selves, that, consciously or unconscious
Iy. the. resources of the nation We're al
most drained in the struggle to pre-
| serve our institutions.
The Civil War developed greatness
that was equal to the opportunity. Of
Lincoln, the central figure of the gov
eminent, it may be reverently said that,
las Washington was the Father, he was
the Redeemer, of his country, which,
under his administration, sealed by his
death, was purged from its original sin
and cleansed from every element that
retarded its consolidation. But, to
adopt the chief idea in his matchless
grafton at Gettysburg, an army of free
men was the only instrumentality
through which, out of defeat, reverses,
sacrifices, the lavish outpouring of
patriotic life, the final triumph could
have been secured.
This is not. however, the time to re-
capituIate either the details of the Civil
War or of the national progress of
which it was largely the cause. Strike
out that conflict from history and how
far would civilization be set back
Where would humanity have been to-
day if the Army of the Republic had
not existed? To this question there can
be but one answer. 1t would still have
lowered in indecision on the edge of its
most important movements and the
sovereignty OF man IllSI1L nave SUM
into the blackness of night.
You are few in number, veterans here
assembled. There may be a few only of
your comrades in the Territory. There
are about twenty graves of veterans in
this cemetery, to which a very few may
be added, whose Wondering bodies are
scattered through the other islands of
the group But you who live are
ipt0 I,n fb,.a Of
ress and have seen the ascendancy of
the civilizatio you helped tomake, even
in the latest accession to the front ma
tional rank. When, in 1866, the first
post of the Grand Army was establish
ed at Decatur. Illinois, what existing
intelligence could have predicted the
events that have been unrolled like a
panorama before your eyes?
There are no dead soldiers of the Re-
public. All live, some on earth, others
in the realms above. They all possess
two immortalities-the individualized
immortality of unending existence and
the immortality of their works and in
the heart of grateful mankind. This is
not a Requiem over the Dead but the
Festival of the Living. Let The flags
wave and let the exquisite tints of
flowers adorn the spots where, in the
sacred name of patriotism, the physi-
cal remnants of American manhood and
of American honor have been deposited.
But let the hearts and the souls OF
Americans cherish the veterans who
have assembled and the veterans who
vet remain. in undying memory, as the
loftiest expression of appreciation and
of love.
The organization of the Grand Army
of the Republic should not be perpet-
uated. It should be left intact until its
last member responds to the roll call
of the Almighty. There. in the dim
sphere of continued life. the veterans
of the Civil War, who have put away
their mortal cerements. await their
comrades. And, when the Grand Army
is finally dissolved. and the last veteran
floats through the ether to join his de-
parted brothers. may his departure be
surrounded, not by the shadows of
fear and ignorance, but by the shining
halo of a purified country and of
perfected citizenship,
The man is noble and his fame folds in
The orb o the earth
ROLL CALL OF THE DEAD.
And then came the roll call of the
dead. This is the list as it was read by
John W. Francis. Adjutant:
G. w. Munson, a. N Y. nifty
Geo. Shipley, Surgeon Q. s. y.
Edward Harris. B, 3rd y. Y. nifty.
Jas. w. Ramey, 90 Ohio Vols.