The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1912-05-31

rand mon. Fully tpu hundred thou
sand of these were la the army Of the /
Potomac tnder General George b. Nc.
Clellan. Another army commanded by
General Buell. was stationed no Louis
willie. Kentucky. and IL was In this de- /
partmeut that the first military move /
mcnts of the wear were begun.
Fifty years ago our eountrymen were
finally aroused TO the fact that bitter
and bloody struggle was before them
They knew IL was war, not parade. |
General Grant had taken Fort Donel. |
son. Early in the month of April Grant |
and Sherman operating against Gen
eral Johnston and General Beauregard
had fought the battle VT shiloh Here
the loss from killed, wounded and miss
ing were more than ten thousand men
on each side. Admiral Farragut had
entered the Mississippi and New Orleans
had surrendered
The battle of the Monitor and the
Merrimac had been fought. General
Mcclellan at the head of two hundred
thousand men had started the Grand
Army of the Potomac on its way to
Richmond. The Yorktown siege had
been successful The Union army
reached the Chickahominy ten miles
north of Richmond Norfolk had been
recaptured and Mcclellan IS advance
was in full swing. On the 3lst of May,
1862, the indecisive battle of Fair Oaks
dior Seven Pines was fought; General J.
esEa Johnston was severely wounded and
n the command of the Confederate army
oa fell upon General Robert E. Lee.
is'ot Fight to Finish.
a1sE rstef
7 Practically all the men who were to
\ win fame as leaders in the great battle
q, for human liberty had come upon the
stage of action. Even the preachers
of tfpeacelat any price saw that it
8 waSr alfight and fight to finish.
To veterans assembled here today to
place flowers of remembrance on the
graves of departed comrades, this brief
summary no doubt recalls wildly the
part you were then taking in the line
of battle, on the march or in camper
possibly at home chafng under the re-
straint of necessity or circumstances
that prevented you from joining the
army until later date.
To you, this day set apart for the
Nation to pay its tribute of respect in
honor of the fellow countrymen who
entered the hell of war that their coun,
try might indeed be nation of free
men, this day is full to overlooking
with cherished memories.
into this world after the battles had
been fought, after the peace had been
declared and the warriors had left the
field to literally turn the sword into
the plowshare this assemblage of com.
memoration has life, vitality and char
acter by reason of the lessons il
teaches.
To what purpose did your comrades
die on the field of battle2 What was
the gain to those who should come
after, that you and the comrades who
lie in the graves about us should put
life, health and home comforts on the
affairs of national sacrifice to establish
in this the greatest of all Republics
the principle of individual liberty re-
CARELESS of race or creed.
The flowers, this assembly, the flags
that deck the graves of the heroes of
our wars, remind you and teach us that
the people of this Republic do not for
get, though the "ingratitude of repub-
lies" for the living is proverbial.
OF that magnificent army of more
than four hundred thousand men as
sembled under the flag fifty years ago,
mere handful remains.
That war cost four hundred thou
sand lives.
Today practically ninety millions. OF
their loving memorial, and we are re,
minded that "gratitude is the fairest
flower that sheds its perfume from the
heart"
Point Moral.
AS we contemplate what these men
did, we naturally draw lessons that
apply to our immediate surroundings.
Every deed and every incident, ev.
failure; every step in that great strug
gle from which this occasion draw.
its inspiration; all things associated
with that war for human freedom
work into the text and doctrine OF
the American Gospel of Efficiency
FThe Flag for which the heroe.
fought, for which they died, is tn,
symbol of all we are and all we hop,
to be. 1t is the emblem of equal rights
1t means free hands, free lips, self gov
eminent and the sovereignty of the in
dividual. 1t means that all distinction
based on birth or blood have persisted
from our laws; that our government
shall stand between labor and capital
vbetween the weak and the strong, be
adtween the individual and the corpora
an tions, between want and wealth. an,
ri give the guarantee of simple justice t.
each and all. "
The individual American, if h.
would make the most of his free hands
if he would have those free lips ute
that WHICH hespeaks the greatest goo,
for himself and his fellow countrymcn
if he would reap the full measure o
benefit from the rights of self-govern
ment and the sovereignty of the indi
avidual, that free and unrestraine,
American must be efficient; he mus
"know how
All the ardor of youth, all the eN
perienee of mature years, all the fir
of patriotism, all the courage and low
atty of true heart are wasted an
heedlessIy sacrificed, if moral purpos
and high ideals are not backed by in
dividnal efficiency. This Is esneninll