The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1906-05-31

the Wilderness, the shell torn
battlements of Petersberg and
Rlc b mon d, the desolation
wrought by Sherman S heroes
as. they swept from Atlanta to
the sea, the blood soaked sod at
Gettysburg, where those who
wore the blue and those who
wore the gray, rushed as fear
lessly to death as did the three
hundred at ThermopolB, the
WindroWs of dead on Antietem s
frightful field, the hopeless
charge at Fredericksberg where
Meayher's matchless Irishmen,
wearing the Shamrock in their
caps, sacrificed their lives on the
altar of their adopted country,
the torn and battered battle flags,
the manned and crippled rem
nants of the Blue and Grey, the
thousands Of nameless, unknown
graves all over the South bear
|.ghastly evidence of the ferceness
OF the struggle and the bravery
of the troops.
AS Americans, we are are just
~ proud of the heroism of our
soldiers who have borne the
battles brunt. But we must not
forget the unsel6sh bravery Of
those who persisted in the prison
pens. Oyer thirty thousand
heroes lie in honored graves, the
victims of starvation in Ander-
sonville and Libby alone. There
was no martial music, no com
rade's cheer, no waving of flags
to make them forgetful Of the
hour of death. Day after day,
beneath the burning southern
fsun, or in the gloomy prison cell,
with little hope of liberty and
food thatIworms refused 10 eat,
they faced starvation with a
fortitude unequaled in the history
of the world.
Members of the Grand Army
of the Republic, we owe to you,
and to your comrades dead, a
nations deepest gratitude. But
had it not been for others than
yourselves you could not have
accomplished what you did. I
refer to that great army of silent
sufferers who remained at home,
your wives, your mothers, your
sweethearts and your sisters.
While you were fighting at the
front, they were waiting anxious
ly for some report from the
battlefield. With throbbing
hearts and tear-dimmed eyes
they scanned the lists of causil-
tiles, uttering the awful cry of
agony as some loved ones name
appeared. They wrote you words
of cheer, encouraged others to
enlist, cared for the manned and
crippled that returned, while in
their loved ones graves they
buried their am bitlons, hopes
aud hearts. - -
: The enmities engendered by
the great Civil war have passed
away. The war with Spain re-
moved forever the jealousies
that fingered in the hearts of
some. The sons of those who
fought with Lee touched elbows
! with the sons of those who fought
with Grant, and led by Joseph
Wheeler-the noblest Roman of
them all-they conquered Spanish
cruelty, gave the struggling
Cubans liberty, and raised the
banner of. the Stars and Stripes
above the palm trees of the far
off PHILIPPINES. We will solve all
internal questions without resort
to arms. We will never need
raise Notifications except along
the coast. No flag will ever float
above our capitol save the
banner of the Stars and Stripes.
l want'to see all our citizens
receive the benefits of modern
civilization. I want to see the
homes of poverty made as pleas
ant as the homes of wealth. Il
want to see telephones in every
home: I want to see the rural
free delivery extended so that
those living in the country can
receive their mail each day that
they can keep in touch with the
markets of the country and take
advantage of the rise and fall of
the prices of the world. [ want
to see our flag of commerce
kissed by every breez,. l want
to see ourmerchant ships, laden
with American manufactured
goods, sail every sea and enter
every port in Christian dom.
This government is bound to
live. The great questions arts
ing from time to time will be sue
cessfully and satisfactorily |
solved. These school children,
wearing the national colors and
marching through the sand be.
hind the grizzled veterans of the
G. A. r.; these instructors teach
ing patriotic songs; these flags at
half mast; these garlands we
have laid on soldiers graves.