New Britain herald., 1917-05-31

beautiful services of decoration by the
 children of the community who have
 scattered over the graves Of the dead
 the fragrant blossoms of springtime.
 And now we are gathered here to
 it all means. We recall what the
 fathers wrought in the days of the
 Revolution and what mighty work
 was accomplished by the men of '61
 to '65 and there springs up from our very souls spontaneous song of solemn gladness. We know that what we are rests upon the sacrifices Of the fathers; we know that what we have, freedom. privilege. wealth. oppor-
 tunity-was won for us by the heroic
 and prodigal self-sacrthce of the
 hosts of those who counted life as
 not dear unto themselves in order
 that these priceless gifts might be
 handed down to their successors
 Let me point out to you then, in
 view of all this, that the heart of the
 nations life is sacramental. Memory
 reaches back through the years and
 always it is sacrifice that stirs and
 inspires us. Property and life have
 been freely spent that the privileges
 we accept as a matter of course might
 be possible. The crimson tide has
 surged through the nations life and
 redeemed it. Memorial Day comes to
 be time, then, of sacrament. We
 remember the toll and the sacrifice
 of the past generations and we come and lay upon the altar of patriotism
 our sincere and devout gratitude and our thanksgiving to the God of Ma
 tions Tor the priceless heritage that is ours.
 But we are not only to think of our country in terms of memory to- day. we must also be inspired by the conviction that this is a land of . promise. By our side today we find a new organization, the Home Guard of Berlin. It's presence here Is proof positive that something has happened It is the evidence here in our quiet community that this great nation is at war. We are not at liberty today l merely to perform the sacrament of memory but we must project ourselves into the omfnous days that are im- ! mediately before. Behind us are the hills of dawn, made luminous by the immortal light of the Revolution an6 l the Civil war, but far ahead are the | dazzling heights of the noon-day of American Life and they must be scaled and won for democracy by the ! same spirit of sacrifice and devotion which marked the nations dawn. .sWould that I had words to utter the protest of my soul against the shallow optimism o6 our day, K an loptimism born of stirfeit of wealth
 and privilese.. The man, in the street
 is saying that this war does not con- l cern him particularly. that it. will
 come out,all right.and that he has no especial responsibility concerning 1t. What comptemptible dishonor to the fathers and mothers of the past is such an attitude. My brethern,, this war Is the immediate concern of every man of us.. There is no man of. such wealth; there fs no man of us all of such personal worth that the very best he has and is. can be any toe great an. offering to his Ecountry7 in this day of her distress. We owe a service to our country which we must faithfully perform. in the face of every obstacle. The future of our country is in the hands of its citizens. find no warrant any where for the blatant assurance that it shall endure till the crack of doom. It is for us, men and brethern, who are loyal to it's traditions, who are devoted to it's ideals and who love our country not because it is rich and powerful. but because it stands for ! Justice and liberty, to give ourselves and our means without reserve that tthis may be indeed the Land of Promise.
 "what shall we dor It is not 50