The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1907-06-06
TINE 20 PENSION
EVERY VETERAN
SAYS GOVERNOR
Crawford DslIvers an Eloauen,
Memorial Day Address at
Aberdeen, S. D..

Aberdeen. $, D. June 1,-gM;s city
Observed Memorial day III becoming
E%saaneT, the occasion being graccl by
to. presence OF Governor Crawford, of
South Dakota. WHO made an excellent
address. He extolled the patriotism
and courage of the soldiers i'll eloquent
manner and declared en7phatically that
he time had arrived when every veter-
an of the war OF the rebellion who
could snow an honorable discharge
aAould be entitled to a pension suffi-
eieat 10 afford hin an adequate liveli-
hood IL That he be not subjected to
100 lnu&h RCD taps in the securing of
it. The attendance was very large,
hundreds coming from out of the city.
TIE governors address in full was as
follows:
Insucntia! Characters Of Men.
oeeas.c.s CT this character WELD a
mystic aud powerful influence ulon the
Ives ana character of men. They lead the
mind ana heart into regions of profound
$eat!nient and reflection; they bring be-
~ into the life Of the nation-fcr example.
patriot-sIn. citizenship, government, relig-
!oa, Liberty. traditions, Cherished ideals,
pefson2l and moral courage, het oism and
ei5-sdefi!ice Ihey caGae one TO pause
!ad review the changes that have come
alllng the short span of an average life
time, and TO reflect ulIon individual ex.
p~er.ence in its relations to the home, tho
t&falN, the state, and to the completely
q human affairs in general. They present
&c, the mind that higher and broader view
which lies beyond the environment of mar
rGW s~eiflShness and materialism and which,
p.iass one INTO closer touch and deeper
c2sions which awaken within us feelings
CT profound gratitude and reverence for
these who by sacrifice, service, ana loyalty
10 tlle past, secured to Us our great and
Invaluable inheritance.
TerInlt me 70 pause for a moment to
adoress myself to these living .wttnesses
whose presence here today is in itself
without the utterance of one single word
fore US.
Greatest Army of Citizen Soldiers.
When you. veteran members of the
grand army of the republic, march in rap
IDLY. diminishing numbers, in public view,
nehlhd the hag OF your country, and from
tiffe TO time follow a departing cornrade
to his last resting place-or upon these
PUBLIC occasions. when your little group
lakes aR,s,, It's place Of honor in a public as
sen~ablage-all recognize that you represent
the scattered and broken remnants of the
greatest army of citizen soldiers ever
marshalled for the defense of liberty and
constitutional government upon this earth,
We note that time, toll and privation
nave left their scars upon your bodies.
Upon your heads the tleeting years have
traced their going in silver locks. Upon
your faces they have written the graphic
story OF life. AS we read the tale thus
written and remember the thousands Of
your comrades who have been pillowed
in the bosom of mother earth, we love you
as Desdemona did Othello, for the dan
gers you have passed and we rejoice that
you have been spared to be with us this
day..
ST. More than fprtv ,.o i, .o ;~loal L
made sad havoc with you ana yours. Then
you possessed two of the priceless Jewels
OF lite-youth and health. You had en-
thlislas1n. You had hope. You We're self
reliant and u~ndaunted. AS you faced the
future, all life was buoyant and thrilling.
Great events were happening. You be-
Eeved in yourself and faced danger with
that courage which refuses to be con-
quered. You were the flower of the land.
Back Over the Winding Way.
Now you are old men and a great change
Iravei worn and weary, you are looking
back down the long and winding way over
which you AYE passed since then. You
changes time has made in your lives.
More thsn once, no doubt-the grim
reaper has taken away members of your
fan3ly circle. Friends of your youth are
dead and gone.
AS the shadows deepen and you face the
sunset, you are lonely and somewhat tired;
many OF you are not unwilling-perhaps-
to lay down the burden on this side of
TIE river and go to your long rect on
But each Of you has a proud conscious
ness, within him of having once offered up
his life-when life was sweetest-for his
country. You know that you have not
lived in vain, because, when life was full
of bloom and vigor, you placed it in the
hands of Abraham Lincoln to be sacri-
feed, il need be, for the cause of liberty,
so that government of the people, by the
people and for the people should not for
ever perish from the earth. You followed
this act of conservation with a faithful
service of your country in a terrible war.
This alone has secured for each Of YOU a
place within the ranks of the nobility. Not
| a nobility founded upon wealth, or fam
lily, or intellect, but a nobility founded
upon service to country, fidelity to duty,
conservation to patriotism.
Let me express to you this day the an
probation Of those who cannot claim cons
radeship with YOU; and the particular re-
gard of the younger generation which
fondly seeks to learn from your example
the highest lessons of civic duty. NAV Won
find consolation in the comforting tho,iebt
that you became by impact a part of the
yltalizing spirit that issues out of the very
your life was welded to its life in the
blood of sacrifice. so that it's glorious his
tory cannot be written without entering
who received an honorable discharge from
its service. You doubtless preserve that
discharge as a priceless testinloniai ana
your children and their Offspring in gsn-
~erations unborn will value it, il nnssibIe-
more than you value it
Entitled TO Supporting Pension.
The time has come when the veteran who
can present an honorable discharge from
s.rSn,e as a union soldier is entitled to a
the remainder of his days comfortahie
sust te an, without C any technical inquiry
and Worn out body is suffering, had their
enan tb oyer 1ie,d forty ! 7, years ago II exposure
1t is wrong and cruel to ask him n as-
sumo the burden Of COLLECTING such proofs.
dead. He should have the benefit Of ever
presumption.
1t is the wish of the people evervwhere
that the government shall be both iI,st and
generous towards the men who defended
II IN the darkest period of its eyistence
With these advancing years, YOUR abiiity
t to iss earn + has constantly declined. Your
tiers pertaining to bodily comfort sho1aId
not be mad a subject for qnibble nor long
soon when the power to be just to You vii,
have gone. "N
we all join in wishing that your re-
naming DAYS NAV be serene n ma froo 49,