The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-31
Taft Makes Memorial Day Address at Arlington
 National Cemetery
THE PRESIDENT IS
 AN ENEMY OF WAR
Heart Touching Scenes As the Aged Men Who Once Were Enemies Join Tn Mutual Memorial
 Services

Washington, May a.-Under the shaded arches of the Arlington National cem tery, President Taft spoke today, not
 much as the friend of peace. but as v.
 enemy of war. Thousands of vet D
 tramped the hot asphalt of the e
 streets, crossed the Potomac and true.
 the dusty roads to Arlington to hear the President speak. Thousands of others l came in automobile and by street car and
 when MT. Taft with Secretary of War
 Stimson came whizzing up to the vine | covered amphitheatre there were fully
 10000 people in the seats and crowded
 about the speakers stand. It was proba- l bly, the most impressive and most largely
 Washington has seen.
 Far be 1t from me-" said the President, Ito minimize in any way by these sug- gestions the debt we owe to the men I buried here, who carried on the success I full struggle that resulted in the abolition
 of the cancer of slavery. and which | seemed ineradicable save by an awful 1 slaughter of the brightest and bravest
 and best of the nations youth and man l hood.
 T shall not stop to discuss whether it
 might have been possible to accomplish the same great reform by milder meth ods. Whether that be true or not, the l supreme sacrifice of these men who lie about us, in the cause of advancing humanity can never be lessened or ob- scured by such suggestion. But the thought at which would but hint this
 morning is that even in the hallowed presence of the dead, whose ideals of patriotism and love of their countrymen 1t needed war to make everlastingly ev ident that we should abate no effort and should strain every nerve and avail our
 selves of every honorable, possible device to avoid war in the future?
 'I am blind to the aid in creating stur- dy manhood that the military discipline we see in the standing armies of Europe
 and in the regular army Of this country furnishes nor do 1 deny the incidental
 benefits that may grow out of the exi- gencies sequelae of war But when the
 books are balanced the awful horrors of far outweigh the benefits that may be traced to it..
 Avoid Another War
 Let us leave this beautiful city of the national dead, therefore, with the deep est gratitude to the men whose valorous
 deeds we celebrate and whose mem ories we cherish, with the tenderest ap- preciation of the value of the examples they set, but with 8 determination in every way possible consistent with hon esty and manly and national self-restraint to avoid the necessity for the display of that supreme self-sacrifice that we com memorate today in them."
 It was not so long ago, the President said, when as insult by one man to an- other in the same social class could only
 be wiped out in blood and it took more moral courage to avoid duel than to fight one. But we have progressed away from the idea he said.
 'If that be true now why may 1t not be true in the near future of nations?
 Why will 1t not show more patriotism and more love of country to refuse to go to war for an insult and to submit to the arbitrament of a peaceful tribunal than to subject whole people to the misery and suffering and burden of heavy cost of a national war, however glossed over by the excitement and ambitions and glory of a successful conquest"
 Atlanta, Ga., The blue and the gray Tn many cities and villages Of the far south
 joined today to honor the memory of union soldiers who were killed and buried on Dixie battlefelds. Exercises consisted principally in decorating the graves, speechmaking and unveiling of tablets and shafts
 One of the principal events took place at Andersonville, Ga, where exercises were held at the National cemetery un- Nf t1,a Ar,,,x, rf the Republic in Georgia and North Caro- lima and the Womens Relief corps. Flow CTS and flags were placed on each of 13. 722 graves Mrs. Isabel Worrell Ball of Washington, D. C., made. the prin cipal address tablet to the patriotic
 work of the women was unveiled at Prison park.
 ceemtery at Marietta Ga. near here At Mobile a big delegation of the Confeu- | crate veterans helped their one-tine en- emies in decorating the mounds. Blue and Gray Mourn Together | Mobile. Ala, May 3o.--The men who wore the grey of the Confederacy to- day joined with those who wore the
 blue of the federal government in the
 sixties. the days whicn trieu' man souls in paying tribute to the dead or
 the union army, lying buried here. in the National cemetery. Daughters of | the Confectionery were there, too, join l irc with the daughters of the union | soldiers in the programme Of song ana story and of ceremonial services for | the dead The occasion was the annual observance of Memorial Day in honor | of the men of the army of the north whose bodies were laid to rest on | southern soil. Short talks were made l by veterans of the union and Confed- erute armies. The big delegation Of Confederate veterans assisted in decor
 ating the graves.
 l Knoxville, May 30--Memorial Day services were held in this city today
 under the Auspices of local posts of the G. A. R. This morning on the Ten
 nersee river bridge an address was de- | lIvered by Commodore Valentine Nell
 son of the United States navy, and | flowers were sstrewn upon the waters | ir memory of the naval dead. This afternoon at the United States Naval
 cemetery Rev. c. B. Waller, D. D., of | this city delivered an address in mem
 ory to those who had fallen in the army
 SC rvce The exercises were attended
 by hundreds of veterans and citizens,
 including many Confederate veterans.
 Nashville. May 30.-Memorlal day ex- ~~~~~~~~~~~>~
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