Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-12-06
the mists and clouds of ignorance, the
star Of truth and hope.

the mists and clouds of ignorance, the
| star Of truth and hope.
| Life Leased Possession.
life is but a leased possession. Lit
tie can the living do for the dead. Yet,
/ in this hour of reverence our hearts 60
out upon the wings of hope and prayer
to meet those who now rest in temples
| of eternal silence There are some
/ whose sun went down before the day
was closed, cut down in the hour of
! useful activity ere they saw the frui-
| ton of their life's endeavors; and 9th
| ers. who survived the heat of the day
and attained the given length of allot-
ted life. Today the great heart of Elk
dom throbs with love and hope in equal
shares. In this golden hour of recol-
lection our sentiments are not confined
by the horizon of local self-interest,
but are coextensive with the realm OF
thought. We add our tribute to those
who have wandered, and who, like YES
sells adrift, have found their own and
unknown mornings. We honor them
all. and for them we scatter a wilder
ness of flowers, sweet tokens of re
membrance.
Continual Reverence.
"Eulogies and flowers are for the
dead; but they cannot know the fra
GRANGE of the flowers we bring, flowers
which fill our world with beauty and
perfume. Their ears do not hear our
words of grief. And yet this splendid
gathering, assembled by the impulse of
&c n
lifted faces, lit with joy and aglow
with kindly sympathy, assure me that
the purpose of this hour is not in vain;
and, as the awakening sun foretells
the ardor of the summers day, this
present evidence bespeaks the continu-
ed reverence which fast gathering
years will pour upon these sacred
rites.
| What is life, and why is death?
These questions have dropped from the
| lips Of all who have come and gone.
| Throughout all time men have ap-
| preached the graves of the fallen, there
| to learn the mysteries of life ard the
secret of death. The centuries have
witnessed countless efforts to discover
| the land beyond this mortal sphere,
| bat there is no Columbus of the grave.
| Science. and philosophy have been i'm
plored to solve the riddle of dissolution.
/ but the light Of progress beats in vain
| upon the darkness OF the tomb. Mil
/ lions of generations have risen for a
/ brief period of life and hope, and have
/ passed TO other scenes. Their forms
! of dumb, unconscious clay have not
wasted away, but have mingled again
with the loan of earth. Science teach
es that matter is indestructible. May
we not, then. believe that the life
/ which dwelt within the potter's clay
has not persisted, but has returned
! again to the potter from which it
! came?
Faith Dominates All.
From the time that two plus two
| began to make four, men have been
! actuated in love and hate, in their de-
sires and motives, by an indescribable
something which we call faith. 1t is an
| Unborn hope, which, like a strand let
down from above, stretches out and be-
yond the circle of our earthly environ
ment. That the sun will reappear upon
/ the morrow; that hoary age will follow
/ yOuIuS LHdl u6dIu Is our uQIdll1uB O9S-
tiny; these fragments Of accepted truth
are but logical presumptions gathered
from our earthly experience, and ever
put mans faith to the proof. To sup
pose that life terminates at the grave
is as absurd as to infer from a frost
in December that the garden will
bloom no more. If this faith were not
a part of mans Utmost being, 1t would
be useless for you to cherish longer the
memories of the departed, and folly
for me to recall the virtues of the
dead.
Death Not End.
1.-THE progress of society, the preser-
Walton of order and the practice of
moral principle are due to a conviction
born of faith that death is not the end
and all of life. 1t is the general belief
in the existence of God and the immor
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