The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-05-25
Because They Were Stead
fast in the Principles of
the Constitution
SAID REV. REARDON
TALKING TO VETERANS
Crandall Post Members Sa-
luted Flag and Then At
tended Memorial Services

Twelve veterans of the war between
the states marched from the quarters Of
r. b. Crandall post, No. 80, G. A. r., al
city hall Sunday forenoon down NORTH
Main street to the flag suspended across
the highway. The Grand Army mer
were accompanied by a deputation from
Major L. A. Abbott camp, No. IA, Sons
of Veterans, and after the customary
salute to the national standard had
been given, the post members and the
Sons of Veterans reformed and marched
to the Universalist church. where the
pastor, Rev. j. b. Reardon, gave a time
| ly sermon on "The Spirit We Honor. y
1t was Memorial Sunday and the sery-
ices at the Unyersalist church, as in
several other city churches, were Of a
character appropriate to the occasion.
The musical program began with an or
gan prelude, "Yiva / America" mil
lardl by Prof. w A. Wheaton, who also
played "The Star Spangled Banner"
! Key. The 0rpheus male quartet sang
4Speed Our Republic" (Keller) and "Re-
cessionaP (DeKovenl, and William In.
/ glis sang "Ihe Battle Hymn (Himmel
Rev. Mr. Reardon spoke as follows !:
ia good soldier of Jesus Christ IL
| Timothy 23.
1 Next Saturday the graves of those
who were brothers, sons, fathers, neigh
bors and friends in the days when peace
reigned are to be beautified with flowers
hn foe al nf
citation of the work done for home and
country in the hour of need. Before the
cry of war sounded, the men whose
graves will be decorated were engaged
| in the peaceful ayocations. No hire
lings were they, but patriots. With no
standing army but paltry police force
of $4,000 men, yet in that family strug
| gle in which the house was divided
against itself, 2,690,49l men, including
enlistments, were enrolled in the fed
eral army At the close of the war the
volunteers mustered out from service
hundred 1,l00,000 men. What need Of
a vast standing armyl Our common
pulse responds quickly TO any indication
of disease in the body polite.
Decoration day enforces several les
sons. In the first place, it is the express
sion of our common faith in the inherent
immortality of loyalty. We honor our
soldier dead because they were loyal to
the government and steadfast in the
principles of the constitution. Rightly
they held that the confederation of
states was not a mere o-pact of con-
venience, sort of free and easy mar
riage to be dissolved at will, but that
it was a holy wedlock, an eternal union,
bond holding too many interests to be
lightly severed.
"In the second place, Decoration day
testifes to 6lr common faith in and
respect for bravery, courage and self
sacrifice We decorate the graves OF
men who brayely faced death and be-
cause of this we honor them and their
surviving comrades. War is force,
bloodshed, anguish. death. AS a result
of that war in which these men engaged,
we have an established government that
no earthquake shock can move from its
foundation walls. Never again will the
question of the perpetual union of these
states be discussed. We have not only
an established government, but united
one as well. The motto of United we
stand, divided we fall is the motto of
all alike.
at is highly proper for us to-day,
therefore, 10 draw some practical les
son, as soldiers of Jesus Christ, from
the conduct of the soldiers of the rebel |
lion. The war was really conflict of
ideas and theories of iife-a battle for |
manhood and freedom for all men. The
people of the North and the South had !
two different ideas. To-day conditions |
have changed; war has ennobled labor |
in the South and has opened up old |
slave territory to possibilities of devel- !
opment which are just beginning to be
realized.
"There is another purpose which we
may learn from this and other wars,
which is this; That the way of conflict
is Gods way. 1t is the path which He
has marked out for the progress of man
on earth The conditions of strife and |
conflict. in one way or another, are nee
essary for mans best development The /
same law is everywhere in nature. The
Bible teaches us that the way of the
Christian is like that of the soldier
that he must put on the armor of God
and go forth and do battle. Like Tim
DJnNs ne 10 w pe d SpVu SOiuiti VI Jtoto
Christ The lesson which we are to
learn from this is the necessity which
there is for us to do battle in everyday Z
life for the building up of Christ's king
dom. The age of chivalry will never
pass so long as there is wrong to
redress or slave to make free.
'But we see that the good soldier of
Jesus. like the good soldier of the war,
owes peace better than war but will not
shrink from the conflict when it is nee
,ssary. General Grant was a man of
his description. / voice the true SOL
lier's spirit when ! say, Would to God
hat wars might pass away and the
,pirit of arbitrations make its way
throughout the world Let us believe
hat the time will come when conflicts
will cease, because God is God and such
5 His win.
Besides being lover of peace the
rue soldier realizes the fruits which
hould come of victory To make his
opponent his friend is the victory for
yhich the true soldier labors. Abraham t
lincoln was a man whose life and char f
cter we'll illustrate this principle. Let Y