Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-06-02

-A'' 'eitiN was loos IOI LiS tlt
ment of comedy was not lacking wher
the so-called Sherman bummers'
came struggling past. some on foot ant
others mounted on mules or condemn
ed horses, carrying chickens, pigs ant
vegetables.
And there was sorrow. There were
aching hearts. But Overshadowing ev-
cry private grief was the poignant
memory of the nations great and re
cent loss. Less than six weeks before
the martyred Lincoln had breathed his
last. 70 thousands IF the boys in blue
who loved and worshipped him. there
must have come the thought that his
great. patient. kindly spirit was how
ering very near them on that day,
breathing its approval of the words in
,scribed on strip of canvas along the
front of the Capitol: The only national
debt we can never pay is the debt we
owe the victorious Union soldiers
Veterans of Seth Williams Post! Let
me repeat those words which adorned
the Capitol on that gala day in 1865:
The only national debt we can never
pay is the debt we owe the victorious
Union soldiers" That was true in 1865.
Is it true today? Yes, unless your
conduct during all these years. and the
corduct of that great organization Of
which you are a part, has been SO ut
terly unworthy of your glorious past
rs to cancel the nations debt of graf
tude. For l say to you that in all
these forty-four years you have had
your own duties to perform. obligations
to be faithful to, standards and ideals
to live up to. Have you made good?
That question deserves an answer.
First of all, at the close of the war,
the nation was confronted with the
problem Of your retirement to private
life. The disbanding of a great army
is Il mighty and momentous taSk-a
task often fraught with menace to the
peace and good order of the conlnun-
tiles which are to absorb it. Does war
tend to make men brutal? Does it Gre
ate in them love of strife? Does the
rowing, changing life of the soldier
the rough sport and haZing OF the
the unnatural excitement OF
the battlefield, render them restless,
and reluctant to resume
the quiet pursuits of peace? If the army
is purely nercenary, history answers
YES. But how was it when your great
army of men who were fighting for
a principle melted back into the mass
Of the people? BY the 18th of August,
1863, Gal 900 men had put off the blue
uniform. and by the middle of Novem-
per over 100000, and all without a mo-
mcnt of disorder or shadow OF re-
luctance II has been we'll said that
YOUR forces dissolved like the SHOWS
Of winter under the genial sun. leav-
ing The face of nature untouched ana
the handiwork of man undlsturbed:
aot iniuring. but moistening and fruc-
tifying the earth" We are proud or
Won for that 1t was love of country
that sent you to the field, it was hero
ism that kept you steadfast IN ACTON.
and it was patriotism and good citizen
shin that permitted us to absorb you
into cur civil life without shock or
friction.
But YOU had other duties-a duty to
1our living, duty 10 your
lead What have you done for the
living? In 1866 you organized inc
Grand Army of the Republic under
he watchwords of Fraternity, Charity
md Loyalty No mere empty words
hose You have held forty-four
rational Encampments. Great names
navc been written in your roster OF
officers In caring for the SICK anu
needy veterans and their dependents
you have expended millions OF dotlars.
And though you have been a mighty
actor in the enactment of legislation
luc to the saviors Of the nation, you
,arlv and emphatically refused 70 pc
degraded into a mere political organl-
.ation. At the national Encampment
n 1868 you Incorporated in your
Declaration of Principles a statement
hat this association does not design
d make nominations for office, or .o|
Use its influence as q secret organlza
ion for partisan purposes. and ~
$50 YOUR Commanders in-chief Cen
raj John A. Logan. said in his annual
address,: POLITICALLY our object is moi
o mingle in the strife of parties, but
" our strength and numbers to b"
die to exact from all recognition 2!
pur rights with others Loyalty AMI
idclity Ia the laws of your country i%|
written into your Constitutions and il
1 prime article of your faith. 1t Isl
said that for three hundred years
,fter the battle of Thefmopylae every
HID in the public schools of Greco"
VAS required to recite from memory
he names Of the three hundred mar
YRS who fell in defense of that Pass.
You, too. have stood for the education
If youth in the lessons of patriotism.
You have stood for corporation with
he various. societies which are
auxiliary to your organization You
have stood firmly for a proper respect
and reverence for the flag. In your
forty three years of service you hav"
proved a great, moral force in this
country. standing for high ideals
holding aloft the torch of liberty ami
patriotism, and feeding its fame BY
worthy actions. That torch burned
brightly when without dissenting
vote Congress appropriated fifty
Millions of dollars for the Spanish
War wherein the boys in blue and
gray c.asped hands and confronted a
common enemy, and the country re-
joiccd to see those who had stood face
TO face standing heart to heart.
You have done much for the living.
What have you done for the dead
This holy day is your answer. You
i,,,Jc II >o,,rS HD an ORDER of Genera