The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-05-27

Kansas
Delivered the Memorial Hall.
Il have been authorized ~ gov-I
ernor.. said the state executive In ad-
dressing Commander Harrison. to
invite you at this time to accept from
the state Of Kansas, as commander
or the department OF the Grand Army
or the Republic. this Memorial build |
icated by you to the noble purpose
for which it has been erected
In q brief and fitting response Com |
mander Harrison accepted the monu-
ment erected to the memory Of the
veterans of Kansas. He told of the |
fight for appropriations, the long !
months Of hard work, and expressed |
the appreciation OF the old soldiers |
for the states remembrance OF their |
efforts in the war Of 81.
Colonel HaFrfsOn,s Response.
Commander Harrison's brief re- |
Spouse to Governor Hodges, was a. |
follows:
governor, in the name of my COM |
rades of the Grand Army of the Re-
public, department of Kansas, in the |
living within the borders of this great
state, and in the name OF every pat |
riotic soul that breathes, I thank you, |
and through you, the generous, pat
for this splendid Memorial building.
Its magnificent walls OF pure white
marble are more eloquent than articu-
late speech-its very silence Is i'm
words of man. for it assures my COM
rades living. that my comrades living
and dead, are held In sacred memory
by the great, patriotic. hberty-loving
people of Kansas.
.aThere can be no doubt that the
honor paid my comrades here today
will make better American citizenship,
that will perpetuate through all future
generations the Union OF the United
States of America.
1.-THE chaplain will now return
thanks to Almighty God. the giver OF
all things, for this magnificent Me-
mortal to our comrades living and our
/ comrades dead"
And Then Came Commander Gardner.
| Following the department command
Comma nder-in-Chie Washington Gard
ner delivered the dedicatory address.
His speech, which was the distinct
feature of the weeks encampment and
dedication ceremonies. received the
most considerate attention from the
thousands of men and women who
packed Tenth avenue and Jackson
street, facing Memorial hall. and
crowded back on the state house lawn.
! AS the national commander-in-chief
of the Grand Army of the Republic,
| Commander Gardner was selected as
| the logical man to deliver the dedica-
tory speech. The applause and noisy
demonstration which followed his in
PRODUCTION. indicated that his selection
was popular with the old soldiers of
Kansas
Commander Gardner said in part:
| Gardeners Address.
IT count myself fortunate to share
with my comrades and fellow citizens
| in The dedication of this memorial
building. structure OF enduring ma
| terial, massive proportions, classic de-
lsign and chaste finish, which is to
stand through the centuries, as we
hope. q visible expression of the ap-
probation and gratitude Of this great
state for her heroic sons.
! while VIC are not unmindful Of the
brave men whose blood stained your
soil in the early struggle for territorial
freedom, nor Of those who, in later
years. carried the national flag he,
yond the seas: or the gallant sons OF
Kansas who did SC much to bring
peace in the Philippines and who now
comman,t the American army in Mex
we have to say to the war that pre-
served us as a nation.
War That Preserved . Nation.
! "Of that war we do not purpose to
dwell upon the patriotic uprising of
the people at home or of the unsur-
passed courage of the soldiers in the
field, but rather upon some of the is
sues involved in and some of the ques-
tons settled by the war. Foremost
among these was the construction to be
put upon the constitution. The con-
vention which framed our constitution
accepted series of compromises in
order to secure its adoption and COM
promised upon the Interpretation Of it's
provisions.
That which came nearest proving
fatal in it's ultimate and logical effect.
made the reserved rights Of states a
condition precedent to Its ratification.
when the Civil war closed, the great
| constitutional question was settled for
i ever. We were all in deed and in truth
an indestructible union of indestructi-
bic states.
Slavery was another important issue
involved in the war. When the war was
over, slavery as an issue in the United
States, was dead.
A Government Conceived in Liberty.
Another great question involved In
and settled was whether our form Of
government or any form of govern
ment conceived in liberty and dedicated
| to the proposition that all men are
created equal could long endure.
MY Comrades. God graciously has
prolonged our days until we see by
sight what Lincoln saw by faith when
he said, The mystic chords Of memory
stretching from every battlefield and
patriot grave to every living heart and
hearthstone all over this brave land
will yet swell the chorus Of the union.
| when touched, as they surely will be
the better angels of our nature
I'VE behold great united, prosper
GUS people standing on the threshold
| Of fifty years of domestic peace with
abiding self-confidence, loyalty accept
ing the responsibilities that await
| them.
kansas dedicated this noble monu-
ment as an ever present reminder OF q
glorious past. May 1t serve to inspire
the coming sons and daughters of this
great commonwealth to unwaverfng
fidelity and devotion to a future filled