Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1916-10-27
WORTHY HERITAGE IS
LIBERTY'S GUARANTY
John L. Kennedy Gives Patri.
otto Address at Banquet of
Sons of Veterans.
G. A. R. COME AS GUESTS

What sort OF fathers would we
have chosen had we been permitted
to choose?" This was the question
which John L. Kennedy, republican
candidate for United States senator,
asked the members OF Henderson
Camp No. 1 of the Sons of Veterans
and their friends, who gathered for
their annual banquet at the Paxton
hotel Wednesday night.
Continuing with his toast. he said
mot one of us would have chosen
father lacking in courage, for there
is no real man without courage. II
we could have selected our mothers,
we would have chosen courageous
mothers, and women OF conscience.
That man who is the son of a
heroic and courageous father and a
courageous mother has one of the
greatest heritages that can come to
any man.
Knew How to Fight.
"Such mothers and such fathers
were the parents of the members
gathered here tonight. They knew
what it meant to cast aside all the
ease and pleasure of peace and home
and to go and fight that the nation
might continue to live. l came to
America to get the benefits of these
things for which the liberty boys of
rs fought, and which the boys of 81
battled to preserve. The soldiers of
the revolutionary war, and of the
civil war, and of the war with Spain,
fought not for America alone, but for
the benefit of the whole world. From
these wars, and from the sacrifices
OF these brave men, benefits will &C
crue to all humanity throughout all
time"
Mercer Views the Record.
The evening was one of patriotic
expression throughout, and the ban
quet hall was gaily decked in stars
and stripes, and at each plate fluttered
a diminutive American flag. Follow
ing the dinner Dave H, Mercer, for
mer congressman from Nebraska,
who acted as POSTMASTER, called at
tention to the fact that there were
gathered there descendants of men
who fought with Washington and
Jackson, and men who had fought I'M
der Lincoln and veterans of the war
with Spain. He stated that it was
the Spanish-American war that had
given America its place among the
nations of the world, and that this
place meant new duties from which
America could not withdraw, for to
do so meant to sacrifice that which
the boys of '76 and 81 had died to
give to America.
Howell for Spanish Vets.
R. B. Howell, whose toast dealt
with the Spanish war veterans, told
how he offered his services to his
country in 1898, and how he was as
signed to the United States ship
Prairie, which became the flagship OF
the squadron at Havana. He recalled
the spirit of '76 and 81 and 1898 and
wondered where that spirit was to-
day. He spoke of the present day as
the materialistic, prosperity-loving
age.
Chaplain ]. NJ. Leidy, who was re-
jected when he offered his services
for the present war with Mexico
spoke on the local Sons of Veterans.
Mr.. Leidy said he bore a grievance
against his doctor for making it i'm
possible for him to go to the front
and serve there today.
Boost for Organization.
Deploring the waning of patriot
ism and the dearth of the spirit
which moved the patriots of the past
to give their lives for their country,
and yet recognizing the importance
OF an honorable peace, L. w. Hague
of Minden, division commander,
spoke at some length on the work Of
establishing camps of the Sons of
Veterans in Nebraska.
Asking for the protection of Amer
leans everywhere, and the dignifying
of American citizenship, Captain c.
E. Adams, veteran of the civil war,
and member of the Grand Army of
the Republic, told of the sacrifices
of 81 to IS, and asked that the sac
rifices of that time might not be
made in vain.
Jonathan Edwards, who was a vet
eran of the civil war from the terri
tory of Nebraska, told how from
very small population a large num-
Der of men appeared who were will
ing to give their lives for their coun-
try and were not too proud to fight.
G. A. R. Quartet Applauded.
An tically-applauded fea-
ture was the singing by the Grand
Army of the Republic quartet, which
consists of w. H. Russell, D. M.
Haverly, John F. Staley and Emery
w. Johnson. Miss Pearl A. Minick
was the pianist.
The total service of these four old
soldiers of the quartet in the civil
war was thirteen years. Mr.. Russell
and Mr.. Haverly were prisoners OF
war in Andersonville and Libby.
The committee on arrangements in
charge of the banquet and evenings
program consisted of L. M. Travis,
w. H. Hatteroth and c. E. Richter.
Before leaving the banquet room all
stood and sang America" led by the
e