The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1912-06-07

IoofiOW VI Tic tuOuSut tudt ou SFCty
occasion like this there are faces that
will be missed on the next Memorial
day; that the Old Guard is daily melt
ing away; that taps must soon sound
for the last survivor who shouldered
a musket for Father Abraham" and
that it will only be little while un-
til We are forced to say of the Grand
Army what Theodore O'Hara long ago
said of the vanished veterans of the
Mexican war:
On Fames eternal camping ground
Their silent tents are spread,
And Glory guards with solemn round,
The bivouac Of the dead.
Very often have felt that the busy
generation of the present is too for
getful of the old soldier; that it does
not treat him with proper considera-
ton and respect; that there Is dis
position every now and then to look
upon him as numbering the ground,
like the barren fig tree; to unblush-
ingly demand his vote, but totally de-
ny him any voice in council; in a
word, to forget that the sacrifice
made by men like him is exactly the
reason why we boast of a free re-
public today. lido not like that men,
tai and moral attitude. 1t reminds
me of the heartlessness of Sir John
Falstaff, who was good commander,
but with no more feeling than a key
of nails. 81 have led my rascals
where they are we'll peppered," he
says, "the most of them are done for,
and the rest are to beg for life at
the towns end" A Russian poet and
soldier who had once fought for his
Car, and who felt the neglect and
studied Indifference with which he
was treated, tried to express his feel
ings, but to avoid being charged with
treason he was obliged to resort to a
bold, beautiful and rather remarka-
BILE metaphor. He turns his battle
, Scared face to the blue dome above
him and cries out:
} 20 Heaven, heaven, thou poor old
soldier.
The sun is a copper medal on thy
breast,
And the clouds, the ragged clouds
which thou drawest about thy
bosom,
These are thy torn and tattered reg
imentals."
| 1t is possible that there are pres
ent today some of the younger gene
ration who fought in the Spanish
war, or in the Philippine Instruction.
If so, then / would say to them:
Whenever you meet an old soldier of
the Grand Army, salute him, even as
you would have saluted your own
commander. Above all things, re-
member that while you may be just
ly proud of your own martial exper-
fence, the scenes in which you were
an actor can never be compared with
the tremendous scenes through which
he passed. AS far as you can, be
kind to him. Make his path easy.
Give him a seat when he would sit,
and stand up yourself. He has earned
more than he will ever get, and there
will be no danger of your OVERRIDING
things in the matter of courtesy, at
tention and personal comfort. What
is more beautiful than to see youth
and strength paying Difference to old
age? And what can be more lovely,
what can be more holy than the spon-
taneous manifestation of regard and
affection for the gray haired man who
fought to make you the free citizen
which you boast yourself to be? If
you have not chosen philosophy of
life, let me suggest one, taking it out
of an English poet who was once
much read, but who is now not read
at all. Here it is:
Life is more than the quick round
of blood. 1t is a great spirit, and a
busy heart. We live in deeds, not
words; in thoughts, not breaths; in
feelings, not in figures on dial. We
should count time by heart throbs.
He most lives who thinks most, feels
the noblest, and acts the best"
And now soldiers of the Grand Ar
my, bid you farewell, and in doing
so, salute you.