Los Angeles herald., 1908-05-31
FLOWERS CAST
ON THE WATER
IMPRESSIVE CEREMONIES AT
VENICE PIER
FLORAL TRIBUTE PAID TO OLD
NEPTUNE's DEAD
Sailors, Knights, Soldiers, Civilians
and Pretty Maids In White Scat.
ter Blossoms on Rough Waves
of the Pacific
Special to The Herald.

| Special to The Herald
VENICE. May 30.-From thousand
hands there fell today upon the troubled
surface of the Pacific countless thou
sands of blossoms cast in memory of
the nations myriad of dead who sleep
in the silent depths.
There had marched down the Wind
ward pier at noon, when the guns OF
the u. S. cruisers California and Ten
nessee were causing Santa Monica bay
to reverberate with the national salute,
a remarkable company of men.
A battalion of marines and sailors
from the war vessels, lying mile or so
off shore, were in the parade represent
ing the young manhood and strength
of the nation today. In it, too. We're
three score men who once were the
boys in blue" representing the lighting
power of the nation in the time or Its
direst stress. In it were civilians, SOL
diers. uniformed men of the knights OF
Pythias, younger men who volunteer to
hazard their lives in saving other
lives members of the local government
and civic societies, and groups of white
clad girls to whom had been assigned
the duty of carrying the flowers that
had been put together in punches,
wreaths, crosses bouquets and in all
tered on the waves.
The parade came from the Venice
auditorium, where patriotic exercises
were held and where 5000 voices were
raised in singing the Star Spangled
Banner when the first gun of the ma
tional salute echoed on the air, ana
before the last of the twenty-one guns
was heard twenty-one minutes later
the soldiers, sailors and civilians stood
respectfully in perfect alignment at the
edge of the wide pier to pay their
tribute to those who lay in the earth'S
most expansive cemetery-the Pacific.
Every available inch of room on the
pier was occupied. Men and women, old
people and little people, We're present;
AS soon as the sailors were allowed
to step out of their ranks they gath
cred all the floral offerings and cast
them on the bosom of the ocean. A
few minutes later "taps" were sounded,
and the crowd gradually made it's way
to the land.
The musical features of the memorial
exercises were admirable There were
solos and selections by quartet com
posed of Mr.. and Mrs. c. Modini- Wood,
Miss Estelle Heartt and William
James Chick.
The whole parade was under the
command of Maj. w. G. Miller. The
knights of Pythias who took part We're
the first battalion OF tne IhlrQ resi-
ment. Co. 25, Los Angeles; Co. 32, Pas
adena; Co. 21, Santa Monica; Co. 40,
Los Angeles, and Co. A, Long Beach.
President H. B. Eakins of the Ocean
Park board of trustees was chairman
of the naval memorial committee, and
the program was arranged by Mrs A.
s, G. Forbes, who was too i'll to attend
the ceremony. The reception commit
tee was composed of Dr. j. M. White,
chairman; Abbot Kinney. r. A. Phil
lips. Charles Stilson, Dr. j. A. STAN |
wood, Ell. c. Mayer, II. Wickizer.
The floor committee: Mesdames j.
M. White. George Sibley, Fl. B. Eakins,
T. r. Taylor, A. Stutzer. w. A. Rennie,
Nathan Cole, jr., Ferd Wheeler, r. A.
Phillips, Abbot Kinney, M. M. Merry, |
Fl. G. Mayer, Egelhoff-Rundel. c. H.
Ritchie, Charles Stilson, J. G. Mclean.
TT. Wickizer, T. A. Hartley, Alice III. |
Randall. Hester T. Griffith, William G.. |
Warner f. r. Tenny, J. A. Brown, c. |
III. Bouck, e. B. Browne. Harnish |
Bouck. Lorin Springer, Gala ]. West |
fall. Messrs. F. X. McCarver, t. r. |
Taylor. r. r. Tenny, Prof. J. A. Brown,
J. NJ Hoziea.
The flower girls: Fern Wildey, Letha
Crane. Edith Stone, Leona Brown, Cor |
DELTA smith, Jennie Smith. Bessie
smith. Geraldine Jennings Paula Mac
Gibbon Bessie Holdzkom. Margaret
Hunt, Alleen Phillips. Lillian Phillips. !