The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1916-06-01
the people, by the people and for

the people, by the people and for
the people" shall not perish from
the earth. Our memory of the
great thing done by these men
and their dead comrades, whose
graves today receive shower of
blossoms. prncIaims as nothing
'lsc could the untruthfulness of
the claim that as people we have
los! our natiolalism, and are con-
tent to idly drift on the wave of
prosperity now carrying our ma
tion. unmindful of the rock on
which the waves may break and
cast us. No. we are a sensible peo-
pic. and our appreciation of these
things done proclaim our willing
ness to do them again and again
when occasion requires. There
are men in this great country Of
ours. of great learning who have
devoted years of their life to the
development of a spineless cactus
When success began to clown
their efforts, it was discovered
with the spines gone the plants
were no longer cactus. Gods
plant required that it should have
Spincs. So there are men in this
fair land of our who are attempt
ing ia develop a race of spineless
E"n. like the men who would make
over the cactus. They have had
some success, and only a few
weeks ago | heard all able bodied
young man of this city, a man of
American parentage, openly de-
''arc that even though a foreign
foe should invade our land and
!rample it under foot, with all the
worst consequences that might
come. from it. still would he re-
fuse TO lift his hand in her de-
Tense. Oh shades of Lincoln,
Grant and Sherman, and the
great army of the north lighting
for the right! Oh you who sit be-
fore me now, the survivors of the
fight! Oh memories of Lee and
Jackson and the great army in
gray that came from out the
south in defense of what they be-
iieved to be the right! You fathers
and grand-fathnrs of the present
generation, can such things be?
Tie splneless man is no longer Il
} nian. He does not conform to
Cots plan. Such one for his
} own comfort would desert his sis
ter ON the highway and leave her
I" the black ravisher. or withhold
, III" effort that would drive the
:"t> from the face of a crippled
: hi"li ~. Is this the spirit of our
land? For answer | point to these
ami you who do them honor. The
, mothers of these men did not
: raise them to be soldiers. They
>. raised them only to be men, and
. when the countrys call came they
gave them, and because of the way
they had been raised they were
) snund to be whole men, men with
: >p;nes. Other mothers raised their
. boys as some of our mothers are
raising Them today. and so these
went out and fought the country's
, fight for them as we'll as their
| own mothers.
"The great. open prayer of the
American people now is that no
.. other body of American men will
ever be called upon TO go through
what you went through; that the
pruning book will never be re-
shaped into the spear, or the pillow
share into the sword, that the
ground of this fair land will new
or be scared with trenches or
torn up with other than imple-
mcnts of industry, that iron hail
will never fall upon the cities of
this country as it has fallen on
those of the old world: that all
our apparent difficulties with the
foreign nations will be i'm the flu
ture, as they have I'm the past, set
tied by wise counsel, resulting fin
; ally in universal peace, and a
common brotherhood of man.
;, But that this people has come to-
state of mind that it wants to
incapacitate its country for self
: protection or the maintenance of
right ! deny. We hear mouthings
of desire for war and desire for
peace. No sane man desires any
: thing else than peace. OF all the
world and all its people. above all
others. men situated as am must
pray for the Dpare Of fhe cOunfry