Clearwater Republican. [volume] (Orofino, Idaho) 1912-1922, 1917-06-01
Memorial Sermon.
By F. D. Muse.

BY r. ~. Muse.
] am debtor both to Greeks and
Barbarians, both to the wise and
foolish-Rom. IA.
Memorial Day is given special
significance this year because Of world
events. The speaker has special
interest in the day because three of
his fathers brothers were sellers of
the Civil War, and his father was in
the government service. His wife's
father was a veteran under Harrison
of the 10th Indiana, and her grand
father was chaplain and recruiting
officer. An uncle also was Civil
War veteran. In the present war
each has a cousin, officers in the army
and navy. However all are interested
in the day.
We all are debtors to the past.
Theold proverb says: There is
nothing new under the sun. - This is
certainly true in regard to the ele-
ments Of things. mult:tudinous var
iations, developments and applications
but the fundamentals have always
existed. Steam and electricity are
not new forces. They have existed
ever since the creation of heat, mois-
ture and electricity, but their modern
application is new. So also the fund
amental facts and truths are not new,
but there arise new ways and new
conditions under which they must be
applied.
All progress is dependent upon these
facts. Closely associated with this
is the other great truth that each
generation is dependent upon the pre-
ceeding generation for truth, forces
and facts. No one generation could
accomplish much in the road Of pro-
gress if it were.left to discover and
work out for itself the various ap-
plications of forces and truths.
Suppose at the beginning of ou, lives
we had lost record of the modern
reaper, the steam engine and electric
ity, would we not today be in the age
of pruning hooks and stage coaches ?
Possibly some man would again
discover power thru the boiling ket-
tie or again catch the lightning on his
kite string, or maybe ages would pass
before some genius would apply these
forces. We are certinly debtors to
the past for what we have and know
of these great forces and are building
upon the work Of the others.
Paul says II am debtor both to the
Greeks and Barbarians; both to the
wise and unwise. And again so is
fulfilled the proverb, one sows, an
other reaps.
There is no more prominent fact in
the worlds history than that of the
debt we owe to the past. There is
scarcely thing today of any value
whatsoever that is not the product OF
years and sometimes even centuries o.
toll, wrought into the higher forms o.
thought and invention by the toll, tbs
tears and the patient perseverance o.
former generations. This, indeed, il
as true of our institutions, both gov
ernmental and educational, as it il
true of science and invention. TIL,
rights of man, the question of SLAYER,
or human liberty, the rule of the PEG
pie or the divine rights of the king
are questions as old as the human
race.
Ever since the days when the child
!, ren of lsreal rebelled against thu
: bondage of Pharaoh and the grea
emancipation Moses led them out o
Egypt towards the promised land hav'
9 slaves been rebelling against tyrant
. and fighting for the cause of human
liberty and looking forward to SOM
8 promised land of freedom.
In the early days of Rome the en-
shaved people seeded and camped Of
! Mons sacre, the sacred mountain, in
struggle for their rights. The strug
gle had to be repeated by the peopl
in one form or another for, ages befor
the Roman republic was formed
Every country in the world, almost
!, has had to struggle with the question
in some form or other
Our fathers in England fought man
. a hard fight for freedom. The dom
inant race question had to be settle
with every invasion of their land an
= even after the coalescing of the tw
races, the Angles and Saxons, into tn
Anglo-Saxon race the old questio
had to be fought over again unit
). Magma Charta was granted fror
y which sprang their present rights as
free people.
So, too, on the continent of Eur
). ope the rights of the people or tn
i rights of TIE fue6a lord, the over
}, lord and the divine right of the hig
% lord. the king, was contested on man
9 battle field The same question
being fought there today. Is
i "hoch der Kaiser, or ..hoch da
;. volk?" Shall the Shall the peopl