The Mena weekly star., 1916-06-08

IlEltS. lHtS 4tuell llplu pau i- otism.
 am glad that we have come to that place where We are all under lone flag The probabilities are that If had been born i'll the South l would have gone with a musket on my shoulder, if reared in the North
 would have marched in the north crn army in defense of what l be- lieVed to be our rights. ! think l speak the truth when say that the people of this nation, in their strife, each fought for what they believed
 to be their inalienable rights.
 We can but dwell where our hon.
 ored dead lie in unmarked graves,
 and we are carried to Manassas, and 1 to Shiloh. to Lookout Mountain, and | to Missionary Ridge. and to Fort Donelson. and to Nicksburg. and to Richmond, and to the Cumberland Gap. the Shenandoah Valley, and | Gettysburg, and to so many other | places. and there are representatives from all of these places here, men | in the Northern army and men in 1 the Southern army lie sleeping hard by if not in the same trenches, fal-
 len in the struggle for rights, the in- alienable rights of mankind.
 The greatest and largest of armies
 ever raised, before this awful Fu- ropean war, was commanded by General Grant. And that great and l seasoned army has dwindled until 1 there is but a feeble remnant of that mighty host: and that feeble remnant will not be with us long at the rate they are passing away.
 I have the United States Pension
 office roll of deaths in 1916 For
 the month of January, 3,945 veterans ] of the Grand Army of the Republic
 were carried to their last home, widows 2.iSi total for the month, 6,i25. A pretty good army in itself. | For February. 3.632 veterans and 1 ?, i66 widows. making a total of 6.09S For March. i,056 veterans. 2,2S2 widows. total 6,33S. For April. 3.046 veterans, 1918 widows, total 1864. Total deaths of men iI.67S, of wid- ows. 8,747. making a great total of l 23.425 of the old soldiers and of the
 widows together. At this rate at the end of 1916 we will have lost by death from the pension roll. 70,275. 1 1t is reasonable to calculate that at i that rate. the same rate of mortality | during the four months. as large a per cent of the Confederate soldiers
 were horne to their last resting
 place. and that but a small remnant | of her mighty army will be left m a | few years, and all we will have will l be the sons and daughters of the 1 Grand Army of the Republic
 Looking backward from this dis ' 4at h1 rsa " Guf1 mate the invaluable service rend- cred by the boys who marched in defense of the Union. that inValua- | ble service. we believe. is recognized | by all persons. by all peoples. nv ev- cry citizen of this nation today What
 would have been the result as tO
 our national existence had the Con- federaey been successful in its ef- 1 fort to organize a government Of | itself? What would have been the result, We would have perhaps two or three. or more govern- ments south of the Mason and
 Dixon Line, and there would have been as much order as we may 1 discover by stepping across the Rio Grande and see what is taking place in Mexico, and the very
 same thing may be said of the North
 and East, which would no doubt have been under several govern ! ments, or perhaps We might have
 been joined to Canada and Great
 Britian.
 In unity there is strength and i during these times of war we should
 stand united. mighty bulwark in
 defense of the government estab-
 lished by our fathers. and We have
 sufficient good sense and the right
 kind of pride to require that the
 Congress of the United States shall
 make this nation. along her thous-
 ands of miles of seaboard. invul-
 nerahle to all armies of the world i We require that the Congress of the ! United States shall make Us safe
 from the mad monarchs of the
 world. who may desire to cross
 after this awful war and at tack Us, saying, Give us your New
 York, and your seaperts. We re-
 quire this. that we may continue ta carry on the grand and mighty work
 Tn the arts and sciences, in industry
 and in Christian graces that are so i necessary to everyone of us. We
 call for preparedness as a nation not for war. but we call for prepar-
 edness for peace. That's what we want preparedness for, so that any
 nation. or the combined nations of
 this world will not dare to march
 against the armies of the United
 States. 1t has been stated. and well too. that if this nation is prop erly prepared the combined nations of this world would not think oi attacking and conquering. and that IS the statement of one of the great
 English statisticians. who gave the figures and the sources of his facts We could carry on war for a hun
 dred years Here are guns, here IS powder, here shells, here is food
 and all right here on the ground I Sne doesn't need help from anybody we are sure about that God De