The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1914-06-04

|
Veterans, Women of the Relief Corps
and Daughters, of the American Reyo
luton, or, in other words, ] nigh
well say, friends and neighbors, for al
such esteem you all most highly. II
this connection desire to include thu
little kings and queens of every
household represented here on this Oe
casion. What ! mean by the littlI
kings and queens are the children, foi
they ale the monarchs of our homes
the autocrats of the dining-room, the
pride of mothers heart, and some
times the terror of grown-up sisters
when their sWeehearts come around
The little boy of today will be the
hero of tomorrow, Possibly l am look
ing into the face of some little boy
Who will some day preside over the
Gestinies of this republic, or per.
chance that of some bright-eyed little
girl who will some; day sit as royal
Queen among the possibilities allotted
| her sex. AS for the little ones, they
are to. me as tiny feathers, plucked
| from the wing of love, and dropped
into the lap of sacred motherhood.
Last year We appropriated $25, 900
flor the support of the Children's Blu
| reau. This bureau was presided over
by Miss Julia Lathrop, with such dis,
tinguished and beneficial results, that
this year we increased the amount
nearly skiold
| came to Iowa in 1S49, a barefoot
lad of eight summers. BY accident,
gold had been discovered, in Califor-
mia. My father said that distance
did not lend enchantment to him, but.
Peter-like, he said: "On this prairie
will build my home" But father
and mother have been gathered to
their eternal rest, and if | am permit
ted to follow on, and enter the gates
ajar," and do not find them there, |
do not feel that such a place would
be heaven to me.
! ] am standing today almost within
the shadow of where / not only spent
my boyhood days, but grew to man
hood. This, the state of my adoption,
has been my home for sixty-five years.
When Fort Sumter was fired upon ]
entered the Union army for three
months, and that proyerbial, old gen.
tleman, Uncle Sam, took so kindly to
me that he kept me four years over
my time, or, in other words, COM
rades, remained on the firing line as
long as there was an enemy, in front,
flank or rear.
During the last thirty years | have
Travelled and traversed forty-one
states and territories of this great
constellation of ours, and everywhere
i have gone, | have climbed, as it
were, to-, the topmost peak of the
highest crag and cliff, and there in
scribed in burning capitals the, name
of IOWA, and then pointing with
pride said, There is the brightest
gem, in. the galaxy of all the states"
Iowa sits as a royal queen in the
sisterhood of a reunited Union; Iowa
is the land of fair women and brave
men; Iowa Is the colossus of the
great Northwest; the products of her
fields, mines and workshops are feed
ing and filling the arteries of trade
and commerce leading to the markets
of the world. The difference between
Mahaska county and Oskaloosa is,
the former is the glory of the state,
and today the latter unfurls to the
breeze the emblems of Old Glory.
To me an occasion like this, in a
great measure, Is an hour of sorrow,
a .never-ending day of mourning. The
length, and breadth, and depth of the
wounds and scars occasioned by the
Civil war are as a poisoned arrow,
the shaft of which has pierced the
heart of every true American citizen
The Great Architect of the Uni
verse commanded that we. remember
the Sabbath day, to. keep it holy, 9TH
erwise | would honor and revere Me-
mortal Day as the most sacred of all
days. The Fourth of, July is our natal
day, as 1t was on this occasion that
our nation was born. On that day
determined men met in Independence
Hail, and there resolved that all men
were created free and equal, endowd
with certain ilalienable rights, these
being life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness, and for the accomplish
ment of these ends they pledged their
lives, their fortunes, and their sacred
honor. The Fourth of July we cele.
brate-Memorial Day We consecrate.
Today, by reason of the renewal of
old associations, together with the
formation of new acquaintances, I
feel that | have. very high concep-
ton and appreciation. for the senti-
ment so beautifully woven into song
by the poet when he said, There Is.
no place like home" 1t was my priv
ilege not long ago, while in the old
Georgetown cemetery, at Washing
ton, to stand beside the monument
that marks the last resting place of
John Howard Payne. There is in
scribed on that granite shaft these
words: ....s,.s.r .
Sure when thy gentle spirit fed
\ To realms beyond the azure dome,
! With outstretched arms Gods an.
I gels said,
Welcome to Heavens Home,
/ Sweet Home"
And then these words came before
my. mental vision: The heroism Of
warriors may vanish before the sun.
light of progressive ages. the chiseled
efforts OF the sculptor may crumble
into dust. and find undisturbed repose