Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1914-05-26

ter than you knew you were not
only the saviors of the country
but the soldiers of liberty AND
whether consciously or unconsciously
| you were the servants of the most
high God. Charles Kingsly in his
lectures on the Teuton and the
Roman coined the phrase the 'Strat-
egg of Providence. That strategy
was manifested in the discovery and
settlement Of this continent, in the
| founding of the nation and never did
! it shine forth so conspicuously as in
| the Civil war. You carried on your
bayonets the destinies of an empire,
| the fortunes of untold millions yet
unborn and through them it may be
in future ages the destiny of the race.
Under the strategy of providence
you fought for human liberty. 1T is
true that many of you did not know
that you were lighting for liberty
and some did not intend to fight for
liberty. Congress passed a resolution
proclaiming to the world that there
was no moral issue in the fight, that
the soldiers like the statesmen were
only striving for restoration of the
Union as it was. How vain and i'm
potent was all his addiction of duty,
this remuneration of the vital principle
involved. How puny the attempt of
men TO seek to Illustrate the sublime
"stragety of Providence. How weak
the efforts of men to resist the moral
powers of the universe working out
the eternal scheme of justice.
Willing or unwilling you were in
struments in the hands of the power
that makes for righteousness and you
fought and builded better than you
1t is no wonder that the fighting
soldiers could not read the motto
which they carried upon their ban
ners. Grave statesmen in the Senate
could not read it. Ministers of relig-
ion whose voices thun dered across
the land could not read it. But there
was one man who could read it from
the beginning. One who could read
fiery gospel writ in Furnished rows
of steel and who could see deeper
than the fiery hotheads of Massachu-
sets the great issue of the conflict
and when the hour came he wrote
with his own hand the proclamation
of emancipation which has made the
name of Abraham Lincoln immortal.
/ And it was under his noble tutelage
that the boys in blue ''put it through.
1t is TO such men as these of the
Grand Army of the Republic that the
world owes the salvation of free
government. They fought and died
for humanity that humanity's institu-
tions might live. Men of different
creeds and nationalities, Catholic and
Protestant, fought together on many
hard won battlefield. For love of
country they poured out their lives
even unto death; the thirsty earth
drank it up, and by the grace of that
sacrament it is consecrated ground
forevermore. Henceforth this is
our common country, the common
heritage of our children and our chill
dren's children, redeemed and dedi-
Gated TO the sacred cause Of liberty,
civil and religious, by the blood of
men Of differing creeds and various
nationalities. Religious bigotry and
racial antagonisms are all foreign to
the genius Of this free land, and the
American people very properly resent
any attempt to transplant the noxious
weeds of religious and racial bigotry
to the pure soil of this free country.
This race of unequalled energy,
with all the majesty of'numbers and
the might Of wealth behind 1.-THE
representative let us hope of the
largest liberty, the purest Christian
| ity, the highest ciyilization-nill
spread itself over the earth, bringing
love, good will, and the reign Of
peace.
Archbishop Ireland in a noble
discourse said: We cannot but be-
lieye that singular mission is as
signed to America, glorious for our
selves and benefeent to the whole
race, that of bringing forth a new
social and political order based upon
the brotherhood of man securing to
the multitude of the people social
happiness and equality of rights In
that faith let US work and live and
strive and pray, and the day will
come, perhaps, some here win see it,
when our America will be the great
est missionary of blessing to man
kind, then shall she appear to the
wondering eyes of men Fair rs the
moon, clear as the sun and terrible
as an army with banners.
| Rev. w. H. Gould pronounced the
benediction at the close Of the adj
dress and the exercises were conclud
ed with singing Come Thou Founl
Of Every Blessing by the audience.
II C,xrr3af- fI4a -, fnll II L. ard T,o