The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1907-06-07

ness To every controversy there is a
right side and a wrong side. III truth
triumphs. progress follows. If wrong
admit that the civil war was settled
right. Had its outcome been wholly
different from what it was, we should
not now rank first among the nations
of the earth: our ruler would not then
have been the peacemaker of the world
nor would it have been our task to
wed the Atlantic to the Pacific in the
Edward d. Baker. uttered in dramatic
circumstances in the senate chamber
on Aug. /, 1861, has come true. Speak
duty of the men of the hour and what
would be the result if they performed
their duty. he said: IF we have the
country. the whole country, the con-
will return all the blessings of a we'll
ordered civilization. the path of the
country will become a career of great
ness and of glory such as. in the olden
time; our fathers saw in the dim vision
of the years to come"
The future is largely shaped by the
shells on the hills of Nashville and
elsewhere is blooming now ing the glor-
les of the oHt of ndania
gressve and strong. And time has
tempered the animosities engendered
by the war which is well. Goodwill
toward one and all is essential to the
greatest measure of national well-being
and growth. 1 may not feel as keenly.
perchance the wrongs done and injuries
suffered in those days as do those OF
gle: but 1 have pondered some on the
philosophy of life and have come to the
conclusion that it is infinitely better to
forget and forgive than to foster hate
Filled as be our minds today with
remembrances of the martyred dead. !
cannot help saying that I wish they
ferent god from that of Mars. War is
always wicked. and has for it's chief
object the destruction of human life.
1t matters not what it's cause may be,
life. my friends. is the most precious
thing that we have. 1t is the vital,
mysterious force that moves the uni
verse Without life. our bodies are but
Jumps of unconscious clay. Hence is it
that it is so dear to us all. Let but
the skeleton form of death stalk be-
fore US, with with his scythe flung over his
our all to have banished from our
sight the unwelcome vision. When the
inevitable confronts us, we bid fare
well to friends, and submit to the sur
geons knife, as last resort with the
expectant hope of having stayed the
growth. of insidious disease. So sweet
is life! And yet are we thoughtless
enough at times to permit ourselves to
be, beguiled into following and applaud
ing the worst of ambitious men who.
upon one pretext or another. would
and fill the land with suffering. agony
and woe in the name of war. 1t ought
never be justified except in defence
Sf eoentr Noble oe %sn # of
sary to fight to protect our country
and our homes. I wish that the code
of international ethics were such that
H. - IL
other should thereby forfeit the respect
and good will of all the other nations
on earth. Then, we should have less
of the thistles of war and more of the
not restore single life that has been
stilled by whizzing bullet or struck
down by murderous sabre It's useful
o ova is anS So acs f its ability
reaved mother. a widowed wife, some
fatherless children perhaps, complete
the picture which ends in a shroud.
for the. dawning of a brighter day.
Hence, let my message today be: As
We approach the graves of our dead
tionate remembrance wrought by low
ing hands and moistened by fearful
eyes-.let us hope and pray that over
the living may ever hover the gentle
dove OF peace, sweet symbol of life,
And this leads me to say: That if
we owe a duty to the dead we certainly
owe a much greater to the living. The
in eulogy or need of material aid. They
cannot hear us. they cannot see us.
today The latter can both see and
praise and whatever of bounty we have
to bestow. 1t is well enough to build
monuments to the worthy dead; it is
living. Since we exalt our souls by
recounting the virtues of the heroic
dead, let us not by any conduct or
act of ours betray any meanness of
in flesh.
In other lands customs have prevailed
among the people to assemble in the
spring time and strew flowers upon the
toms has come our Memorial day. 1t
gives concrete expression to one of the
noblest attributes in the nature of man
love and reverence for the dead. This
vast outpouring of our people today has
a meaning-a deep and profound one.
Vaior and patriotism are cultivated by
ality among the free. Patriotism speaks
a common tongue. Because we are
free, we march under the same ban
ner. Because we are patriotic, we un-
all this that we are willing to lay aside
our labors for a day to worship at the
shrine. of the heroic and the brave.
hhs is the Mst meanng n of all this
from the best impulses of the human
heart.
The burdens you are bearing, my
veteran friends must soon be transfer
red to younger shoulders. Whether
you will or no. your forced retreat is
coming. The last link that binds the
present to the civil war will, in the
each recurring year, there will be few
er and fewer of you till, at last, one
only will linger behind with his brass
buttons and coat of blue, the cynosure
OF all eyes. This lends emphasis to the
fact that the time has now come for
the younger generation to take charge
OF the exercises of this day. We are
willing and glad to do this; for we feel
that by honoring you we at the same
into the minds of the young a love
and respect for those virtues in man
which make for good citizenship and
worthy men and women.
You may feel proud of the fact that
you did picket duty when liberty and
union were at stake. You may also
rejoice to know that as members of
the Grand Army of the Republic you
are helping to perpetuate and keep
vital those virtues of patriotism and
bravery which animated you as SOL
diers in the field. Your living presence
must perforce inspire in us a spirit of
Fraternity, make Loyalty to country
shine respondent and Charity throw it's
protecting mantle DER the faults of
all.
Nor should we forget the heroines of
the war.
Not wishing that a speech into which
another man has put his wit should go
out wholly as my own, / desire to
make acknowledgements bara tho