The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1908-05-29
MEMORIAL
DAY
Not Entirely One of Mourning


AK EMORIAL DAY should not be
v regarded as a day of mourning.
Ava Symbols of grief used in con-
nection with the memorial exercises
all save the draping Of fiags-seem
out Of place.
The annual celebration of the fame,
the sacrifices and the glory Of the SOL
diers of the union is a beautiful Gus
tom, but the day was never meant
for a time set apart for lamentation.
The nation pays tribute of flow
ers, of song and words of praise and
appreciation to its glorious dead, and
1t is in spirit Of tender pride and
exaltation that the holiday should be
celebrated 1t has been mistake
to cover the day with crepe.
Certainly there must be sad hearts
on this day, but If Memorial day Is
made what it should be there Will
be brought to the widow and the ia
therless consolation and strength.
Comfort and wholesome thought are
suggested by the tribute of a whole
country to those who pledged their
lives for the land Of their love in Its
time of need.
Let us not put on mourning gar
ments and make a gloomy day out Oh
the beautiful festival of honoring the
glorious dead.
For how can man die better than facing
fearful odds
For the ashes of his fathers, and the al
tars of his gods?"
II you want to get the al inspira-
ton of the day, go early in the morn
ing to any of the Gods acres which
are ever around the dwellings of the
living. There, in the dewy quiet,
where there is no sound but the
songs of birds and the signing of the
wind in the trees, you will look upon
the graves where loving hands have
set the little flags which tell that
soldier sleeps his last sleep below.
Then, as the morning freshness
withers under the sun, you see the
forms Of men and women and chill
dren bending over the places where
their loved ones rest, and you will be
reminded that love outlives death. The
comfort of God comes to those who
set flowers over long-made graves.
You will, at last, hear the sound of
music, and so will be announced the
arrival of the Grand Army and other
veterans on their duty Of the day
The old men march to central place
and with bowed heads listen to a
prayer and then sing a hymn. The
voice of one, perhaps, rises in an ora
ton upon the heroes of patriotism.
Then the little procession starts upon
its Journey and visits every soldiers
grave, laying flowers upon the grass
so lately sprung from the sleep OF
winter. -
Yes, your eyes will be full of tears,
but they will not be the tears which
burn; not tears of misery and grief,
but those tears of universal, uplifting
emotion which make us all feel the
bonds of human brotherhood. Reno
waiting tears, that relieve the heart
and make it seem less of an enigma.
All day long loving hands bring
flowers as offerings to the memory of
the unselfish brave; on and on till
the sun sets tireless feet walk by the
decorated graves, pausins now and
then while a stroller reads a tribute
craven upon some stone, or notes the
offering Of blossoms on some other
,,,;so unmarked nOund
And when evening falls the level
rays of the sun lie, like a benediction,
upon the places where the love of
human hearts has heaped up the treas
ures of May, in tribute to the sons
and the martyrs of freedom.
The SOth of May is a day Of glo-
rious. inspiring remembrance, one
when. If tears are shed, they are only
tears which sanctify, without burden
ing, the heart.