The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1912-05-31
TEN of government for an English
Aristocracy or a Russian Despotism?

|
But whatever your estimate may be
army of men, who with a prophetic
vision saw the glories Of these days,
and crowding into battle, brought
back and restored the Union, des-
troyed slavery, opened gateway for
and enthroned labor. These men
who came back from that dark wave
of Rebellion, bearing on broken arms
and leaning on torn and lacerated
breasts the bleeding form of the Re-
public; and established her feet
upon the steady rock of constitutions
al government and civil liberty, based
upon the universal equal rights Of
all men before the law, more than
ployment and accepted in exchange
the privations and hardships in
cident to camp life and the tented
field. More than a million school
boys gave up their states and arith-
metics in exchange for the musket
;ud cartridge box, and thus from
million homes they came, onto two
thousand, five hundred and seven
ty-four battle fields went, and carried
the old flag to a glorious victory, at
a cost Of forty-five thousand slain in
battle, forty-nine thousand who died
of wounds received in battle, one
hundred and eighty-nine thousand
posure incident to camp life, one
hundred and sixty thousand made
prisoners of war; Of which number
sixty-one thousand perished in rebel
prison pens.
Such, my countrymen, was the
character and career that laid three
hundred and forty-four> thousand of
Of bravest and best into a premature
and common sepulcher. But the
crowning of this soldier Of this army
of splendid achievements was the
last victory that he won, not at Get
tysburg, not at Shiloh, not at Chic
amauga, nor AppamatoX, but it was
the victory over himself. When the
armies of the confederacy were
conquered, when they had packed
canons, and stacked their muskets
and lowered the stars and bars; when
they had come out in line and stood
with folded arms and bowed heads,
6efenceless in the presence of our
victorious legions; when the sister
states that had so wantonly and so
Lcruelly reyolted against the govern
ment Of their fathers, defeated, dis
appointed, aye!, broken hearted, lay
the PROSTATE and bleeding suppliants
before mighty legions, then came the
supreme test of the great soldier.
What shall we do with our con-
Quered foe?" And here, as on
thousand battle fields, the American
soldier proved himself the master.
What did he do? Listen! He threw
down his arms and Immediately dis
banded his army, he reached down
and took these PROSTATE. erring
brothers by the hand and raised them
up; forgave them grandly, heroical
ly, ne forgave them the crime of trea-
son, which they had committed, he
reclothed them in the dignified habil
ments of American citizenship, and
then, voluntarily surrcndering all the
advantages gained in battle he reen-
tered upon this new era OF citizenship
upon basis OF absolute equality,
, with these men tAat he had defeated
in the most unholy war, and the
/ greatest conflict OF modern times.
My countrymen: 1t wes the last
act of war; IL was the first act of
peace; and it was the establishment
and crowning glory of his immortal
ity.
"It is often asked: What shall be
the final destiny of the soldier?' All,
comrades and fellow citizens, the
soldier never dies. EIe is an immor-
tality. He may fall out of the ranks
: he will-becoming tired and weary
with the burden OF life, he will lay
down and sleep but he will not die,
his name shall stand upon our muster
rolls, and the marvellous greatness
of the things he did for God, and his
/ country, and for Humankind, are in
delibly engraved on historys pages
with an iron pen, and laid in rock
forever.
Too much cannot be claimed for
the character and quality of the Am
erican soldier citizen. He was at
once patriot and hero, that de-
serves we'll of his country. 1t would
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