Connecticut western news., 1916-06-01
MEMORIAL DAY
Continued from First Pagel

| SONeTuIneDb OI IOTCe.
 Tracing the history of the naCion's political events down to the moving ! causes of the great conflict in which 1 the old soldiers present had performed service, the speaker said: "There had been lurking for a hundred years a danger which was smOuldering in the fire of time. The states were each jealous of their respective rights, and the argument was advanced that as the states had voluntarily entered the Union, they might as independent sovereign states, withdraw from that Union. This was not a doctrine be- longing to the South, TOT New Eng land, a laggard in the war of 1872, had threatened to withdraw. Slavery was not primarily the cause of the Civil War, although it brought to the test the issue of whether this nation was a federation of states that might with. draw at pleasure, or an indissoluble Union.''
 The first great principle of Abraham Lincoln was, not to abolish slavery, but to save the Union. The speaker sketched the series of debates between Lincoln and Douglass, and dwelt upon the vital significance of the question propounded by Lincoln, and to which he insisted upon an answer-the ques- tion which cost Lincoln the United States senatorship but defeated Douglass for the presidential nomination two years later. When, in November of that year, 1860, Lincoln was elected, the people of the South, convinced that they would have to fight to preserve the institution of slavery, and deter mined to test the right of independent states to withdraw from the Union, at once began preparations to withdraw, and by the time of his inaugur9 tion, in March, 1861, secession had made formidable progress; the Southern Confectionery had been actually estab- lished, with Jefferson Davis at its head, without hindrance or obstruction from the general government, owing to the doubt held by President Buchanan concerning the governments power to "coerce a sovereign state." The South was preparing for war; the North was unp1 apared-and yet Lincoln hes ,tated, hoping to preserve the Union, even through the perpetuation of slavery in the states where it lawfully existed. The firing on Sumpter, however, lit the flame which was to determine whether this was an indissoluble Union.
 And so the great issue was fought out, and more than 800, 900 men gave up their lives, fighting for what they believed to be right. The abolition of slavery was simply an incident of that struggle; the emancipation proclama- tion was a war measure. And while today we rejoice that because of the great war the curse of slavery was Ie- moved, vet we must first of all pay tri- bute to those who wore the blue, be. cause the Union was preserved, and once and for all it was decided that these states of the United States would stand or fall together.
 "The Revolutionary War gave us our freedom; the Constitutional Con. vention gave us a government under constitution, and it remained for you men who fought from '6I to '65, to determine once and for all that the government under the constitution was an indissolable Union."
 The speaker dwelt forcefully upon the necessity ot properly meeting the problems with which we have to deal and shall have to deal-the American ization of the thousands of foreigners coming to our shores. America is "the great melting pot" There is the pos. sibility of grave danger, if we neglect to educate these aliens ill love for the American flag and American ideals, of hn fai Inn of I,o tn lt away their love for foreign countries. They must learn that they are to be true Americans; they must be of us and with us, and realize that America is for Americans. This is the problem from within. The problem from with out is to be met with preparedness. We want peace-not peace at any price, but peace at the cost of preparedness. Refer. ence was made to the "train band' days of our fOrefatheIs, an3 the system of compulsory readiness of the old days, when the country actually had more men capable of bearing arms than it has today. We ueed new spirit of patriotism and system of universal service. The idea that universal train. ing would detract from the industry of I1S udIIOu lS ulSpIbNeu III lHe Cdse OL Germany, which leads the world in industrial achievement. The disincli- nation of men of wealth and leisure to perform service is to be deplored. We should remember that Homa fell, not because of enemies from without, but from corruption within. You veterans did something for your country; we of ! a later generation should ask ourselves, What have we done? We trust that when you shall have passed on, and we too, the custom of observing Me- morial Day will be perpetuated.
 At the close of Judge Lockwood's address he was heartily applauded and the meeting ended by the audience try ing to sing two verses of "1he Star Spangled Banner"
 Club Certificates.