Elko independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1915-current, 1915-06-01
MEMORIAL DAY.
(By Judge c. c. Goodwin)

With increased solemnity Memorial
day will this year be ushered in. 1t
was instituted and set aside in our
country originally, to decorate the
graves of the sacred dead who had
died in war.
The people of the different sections
of our country had become Sc estranS-
ed that a conflict had been inaugural
and a fearful war which lasted four
years had been fought through; the
issue being whether the union and the
free government which the fathers
had planned. should continue. OIL
should cease TO exist.
Under the abrasion of hat war -four
hundred thousand men. the best and
bravest of the nation gave their lives.
The decree, written in blood and
tears, was that the great hope OF the
world should not be blasted, thai the
MO should not be dissolved; that
free government should not perish
from the earth" .
Then the thought came, too. that,
maybe, what had happened had been
"hi' ~ I" "AS"'i II" Ao4No PO"
err: that what was intended was to
teach our nation that a great national
wrong was a debt, 4 debt bearing in
terest and that every such debt had
30 be fully paid. principal and in
Ierest.
Then came the thought of the dead
who had died in that bloody liquida-
ttrn n,I ..- h-tL
sides, through their tears. said: Sure
ly brave men can give no higher proof
OF their sincerity in a cause han TO
die for il. let us garland alike the
graves of h Blue and the Gray"
1t was in that way that Memorial
observance has Eeen n strong factor
in healing the wounds made by the
war. and covering the scars that were
left from ii.
This year the thoughts of all men.
consciously or unc~onsciously, are Busy
contemplating the tremendous tragedy
in which nearly all the nations of Eu.
rope are actors, and the muititudes
of the. dead who will not be given
even graves that friends can bedew
with tears and dress with howers. and
iie sorrow of IL all makes q shadow
oh our fair skies and upon the hearts
Of n,en. 1t is the deeper because of
the belief that if the greed of com.
mercialism and the lust of power could
be eliminated from the war beyond
the seas, nothing worth quarreling oy-
er would be lef!, and hence there car
BIZ no compensation for the mighty,
sacrifices; unless. indeed. the awful
Cataclysm undermines some thrones
and dispells the claim that kings are
hedged about by rights divine.
In$our country, by common consent,
MEMORIAL day has become a day on
which to dress the graves of all our
dead with lowers. Those graves have
increased very fast during tile past
two years of men who had long been
familiar forms on our streets and who
had for Il long time been strong actors
in the life and progress of this city.
1t is q practice with some orders TO
once a var hold a memorial service
for their dead and one feature of the
ceremony is to call the roll OF the
names of the dead of their order who
had died during the previous year. II
we in thought initiate that custom
tomorrow and call the names of those
citizens who have recently died and
who it was hard to give up, the sun.
light will be dimmed by our tears.
for smany. of them lived such lives
here, that to give them up is Il last.
ing sorrow: &C true were they, so
strong and brave; so high their pur.
poses; so effective was their work;
50 blameless and SO self.sacrifcing
their lives; so leaned upon were They
by their fellow men; so inspiring their
examples; so needed were they.
The day is a sacred one. While the
graves are being dressed, draped flags
ard solemn music will be in order, to-
gciner with the pathos of that elo-
quence which is born of reverence
and sorrow and gratitude for exalted
services nobly performed.
Maybe in the ether above the graves
the old shining ranks. invisible to
mortal eyes. will be watching. the
muffled drums. soundlcss here, will
be rolling. the phantom flags will be
waving and the old captains watching
and listening rs the wireless of eter-
nifty carries upward the i~nvocations
and the music OF a grateful people.
-N~D-