The daily sentinel., 1907-05-29

0
they march, making their one effor
of the year in memory of the horrit
days of the war. gray haired, limp
/ ing remnant of the once grand arm!
whose thousands upon thousandi
passed in review in Washington wheT
the civil war was over.
Bearing up bravely, holding alof
with trembling hands the tatteret
| battle flags, only one now where one,
there were scores. "all that is left o.
| them" noble old armyi
The sight of them dims the eye
grips the throat. Who of us is callous
as not to grant a silent tear in theil
honor as, now only a tiny fraction Of
the parade where once they were its
| feature. they go limping by?
"Only a few times more for them,
we say to ourselves. "Of those few
aged veterans some will surely be
gone next Memorial Day"
Haven't you felt 1t as you have
seen them. So few years ago. it seems
that the Memorial Day parade con
sisted of. first the Grand Army, a
strong. bearded procession of men in
the prime of life, and then as an in
cident only, the village band, the fire
and hose company, the Common
Council sc.
Now the parade is:-First. the To-
cal military company, strong and
shining in new uniforms; the band,
with its glittering brass and blaring
music: the village dignitaries. some
mounted on prancing horses; the To-
cal secret societies in brilliant re-
gala, and last fraction of the
whole. the limping. gray remnant, n
few marching a few in carriages
noble lesson in patriotism to every
boy of this landl
It is, indeed the most pathetic
sight in the world.
Many other sensations crowd in
upon MS who witness the parade and
the display of the fast thinning ranks
of the veterans of the civil war. And
with the pathOs and patriotism. it is
undoubtedly the most appealingly
tragic day of the entire year.
Memorial Day, though legal holi-
day in every state except Idaho, is
essentially devotional. There is no
national law on the subject. Its gen
esis was as picturesque and touching
as any story ever written in the his
tory of the people. We are all crea-
lures OF sentiment but in the South
It flourishes with the same abund
auce, color and perfume as the wild
jessamine which spreads it's generous
sunshine over miles of the shady
Carolina roads After the war. when
the remnants of the army in gray
came back to their desolated home
steads, some of them soon to die from
/ the wounds and the hardships and
/ join their fellows already inferred
| in the village cemeteries, a day was
chosen to decorate the graves of those
who had passed out on the last long
march.
II was a day consecrated to tears
and tears make holy the good tC
which they are offered. These veter
ans in gray marched to the cemeterie,
and held services over those who
slept there To those who had liveC
| for generations serene. kindly an,
4 warm hearted lives. this was some
1 thing poignantly tragic. despite tn,
beauty and reverence with which the,
Il gave II Vestiture. In the hearts o
gray haired men and women in tn,
South the recollection of these firs
decoration ceremonies fingers ever
more enduring than the memory o
war, One left a scar. the other tn,
pure white of santification.
Most fittingly was spring chosen
the time of resurrection, when natur
was awakening to new life and deck
ing the earth with floral glory
Spring, the time of sunshine and bir,
song, when the whole heart of natur
wells with great happiness; sprin
was chosen as the time to remembe
the gallant dead. So beautiful. S
impressive were these early cere
monies that soon they were copie
: scatteringly in some Northern state,
and though they were held on dit
terent days. all of them were held i
the spring.
General John A. Logan, then con
mander of the Grand Army of tn
Republic. issued an order on May ;
SS6, fixing May 80 of that year fo
the G. A. RS service in decoratin
the graves of its brethren IL is prof.
able that this particular day wa
chosen because it was the date of tn
discharge of the last Union voluntee
of the war. And now. born of low
sorrow and anguish, this service. b,
gun in the Southland is unifie
into great national ceremonial
Now that the war is more tina
four decades in the past one witness
: es on Memorial Day the silent TRACED
of the celebration. In the beginin
= it was the men who had gone throur
the hell of battle. who. with the
. torn battle flags and standard
proudly led the procession. How Il
hearts of the watching multitud,
/ filled as these men marched by. VIII:
cheers filled the air. what hand sla
pings and the waving of handke
chiefs and flagsl In the great citie
peopled by hundreds of thousand
and in the humble villages of Il
land, the same thing was enacted.
1 These men stood for the greatne
OF the nation. They all were hero
who had suffered their lives on Il
altar. and the uniform was the syI
Dol of their greatness. But year aft
| year their numbers have become lie
and less. And herein lies the traget
1 of II. The professions today a
marked by spicl and span citizen Sc
] diers. who swing smartly behil
bands. But these pass by and lea