The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1916-05-26
MEMORIAL DAY

n T rs quite interesting to compare
the photographs Of the young vol
unteers who went out In the six
ties with those taken today. One
can scarcely recognize in those ill-fit-
ting uniforms the men who today will
commemorate the deeds of valor Of the
comrades gone before. They were as
royal . set of young fellows as ever
took up musket or handled a sword in
defense Of civil liberty. They still
wear the blue. some of them, and they
look their best on Decoration day.
There Is badge on each breast. The
hand has grown feeble, the hair Is
turned gray, and with irregular foot
steps they follow the band and the
childrea Of the schools, all bearing
bouquets to the graves Of their fallen
comrades.
It Is not tho procession that marched
down to the battle front away back
yonder in the long ago that We behold
today. It is but remnant of that
mighty host: but for . half century
they have been keeping the folds OF
the old nag bright and the graves OF
their unforgotten heroes green, and
reminding . new generation of the
horrors Of war, of the beauty of patri-
otism and the fidelity of the old guard
for each other. It IL the epic of the
unforgotten years. 1t is the incarna-
ton Of memories that have grown holi-
er a. the years have sped away. They
have dropped out, ono by one. from
the blue files of the living with the
badge upon their breasts and liberty's
emblem around them. Beneath the
green mounds, and the fragrance Of
immortelles they await tho roll call
on tho eternal morning.
II In the bright afterwhile, some
chronicler. with more than mortal pre-
science, were to write the achieve
ments Of the men who today occupy
the place Of honor in our ceremonials,
there would be found written some
thing like this: The greatest service
the men Of '61-65 rendered to their
country was not merely the preserva-
ton Of an undivided nag. but in hold
ing before our nation from year to
year in this beautiful service the glo-
rious ideals of civil liberty, and the
awful cost at which these national viz
tues are maintained. 1t was one thing
to preserve the Union, it has been an
other thing to keep before the oncom-
ing generations the principles which
have been embedded in shot and shell.
This has been done by the Grand
Army Of the Republic in a way to call
forth the admiration Of humanity. II
there 10 ono thing more than another
that has burned the love of freedom
into the soul Of our young manhood
and womanhood, 1t has been the May
day tramp, tramp of tho veterans,
bearing their memorial wreaths to the
graves Of their patriots dead. It is q
sight calculated to cause even the most
stolid to admire the principles which
have been embalmed in sacrificial
blood.
The tears Of the blue and the gray
have healed the wounds of fratricidal
strife. There are monuments to each
that are sacred and holy. Today the
same stars look down upon each, the
Same nag IL beloved by all, q united
country Is our mutual heritage. There
10 no hatred in the veterans hand
grip nor enmity in his salutation. God
has made his blossoms to bloom over
unmarked graves and has filled the
old trenches with lilies of tho valley.
Wild vines Chamber over ruined ram
parts and the cannon Of war, beaten
by the storms of half hundred years,
stand a. mute mementoes in parks and
city squares, memorials Of tho valiant
years, which, II 1t please God, will
never come again.