Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1905-06-16

made an army, they are making 1t APP
pear a navy, and they have made what
is more than either, they have made a
nation"
The battle of Gettysburg on July 3,
1868, rolled back the war into the Con-
federate States. Then came the year
of Grant and the beginning of the end.
Sherman's ride through Georgia drove
the rebels back. "On to Richmond"
was the cry and finally on April, 1865,
Lee surrendered to Grant. How chival
rous and tender were the parting words
of the courageous old Virginian as he
parted from his soldier boys who had |
been so devoted to him. eve have |
fought through the war together. |
have done the best | could for you"
The Union was saved and slavery was
a thing of the past We may doubt the
wisdom of all the reconstruction legisla-
ton especially that of giving the fran
chise at once to the negro without train
ing and preparation. But it is by utiliz-
ing mistakes that nation rises to the
measure of its opportunities.
Can we refuse to honor the heroes of
that period? Shall we reserve the ex
preston of our esteem and honor until
after their death when we deem it
sufficient to cover their caskets with
flowers? Shall we grudge them and
their families pensions to secure them
comfort in declining years as a very in
adequate substitute for the bread winner
of the family? We know the pension
system has been abused, as have all
things human. Let us try to rectifv
the abuse but not seek to do away with
the lawful use. The men who fought
and bled in the first half of the sixties
were our representatives. Vermont did
not fail in her duty Only one state
sent a larger percentage of its popula-
ton to the field. Ten per cent of the
population of the Green Mountain State
were enrolled in the army of the Union
Should we have expected anything diff
ferent from the sons of Vermont and
defendants of the Green Mountain boys
fellow citizens of the heroes Of Ii, Ethan
Allen and Warner? The Vermont boys
won glory for themselves and their
State on the field of Gettysburg. Stan
nard's rear attack changed the future
of the day. 1t was the verdict of
general who knew whereby he spoke
that the vermont boys always fight
we'll"
Comrades of the G.. A. R. your ranks
are thinning fast; soon the last soldier
who fought in the Union ranks will
have been mustered out of the army of
time to stand before the presence of the
Great Captain Of our salvation. Will
your memory fade away: A thousand
times no! Every Decoration day we
will strew your graves with fragrant
flowers and call to mind the events of
those DAYS and tell our children the
story of how you saved your country S
honor. The granite shafts which are
erected in so many of our towns Will
immortalize the memory of the soldier
boys who went from their quiet seclu-
sion. By the generosity of one of our
, citizens Middlebury will now be re-
} deemed from the reproach of having nc
/ monument to her soldier boys who went
from college, store, office and farm foI
: dear country's sake.
"Rest comrade, rest and sleep,
The thought of men shall be
AS sentinels to keep
Your rest from damage free.
Your silent tents of green
We deck with fragrant flowers
Yours has the suffering been;
The memory shall be ours
One word more. The contests of the
past are ever repeated in the present
, Does there not come to us from those
days of carnage and strife the lessor
of the beauty of simple self-sacritice:
, There is need of this lesson in an age
like ours of grasping greed and avarict
and an inordinate desire of self accu
a mutation when the phrase of the al
+ mighty dollar has become an accepted
a one. Life must be measured by wha
a person is and can do for others: mo-
. by what he has and can make others dc
I for him.
Allied with this great lesson is tina
, of the value and need of simple mora
| courage in the matters of daily life
The words spoken to Joshua, the brave
! soldier of old, come down across the
a ages to us, "be strong" The men whC
figured as leaders in the civil war were
f strong men who believed in their prin
q ciples and were ready to follow them t.
{ logical outcome despite OF conse
, Quences.
! Poor old John Brown, laugh at hin
as you may, call him senseless fanatic
, he by that attack on the arsenal of Har
g per's Ferry on that quiet summer after
n noon with his eighteen men showed tn
courage of his convictions and although
f his body lies amouldering in the grav
a his spirit went marching on through
a every battle of the conflict until tn
n bitter end. Lincoln was strong maI
n not afraid to express his convictions an
fearless in carrying them out when Occa
sion demanded Grant was tittingl
Is nick-named Unconditional Surrende
~ Grant since he knew no other way c
% treating with rebels. Nor were ther
~ wanting strong men in the opposin
le ranks. Robert E. Lee, courtly an
- chivralous as he was, and Stonewa
70 Jackson were men of strength an
ie9 power. The need of the world to-da
- is strong men, men who can see til
y right because their hearts are pure an
who are not afraid to do it when tn
u vision is clear before them.
m WANTED men. not systems fit and wls'
n Not wealth in mountain piles,
l. Not power with gracious smiles,
4. Not even potent pen-wanted men
,e Men that can dare and die,
NJ g. . h.,