Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1919-05-31

Planned little home for two that never
will be done
Little town, you gave them all,
Rich and poor. and great and small:
Bred them clean and straight and
strong,
Sent them forth to right the wrong.
Little town. their glorious Death
Makes you kin to Nazareth!
In Arlington National Cemetery,
just across the Potomac. from Wash
ington are some of the great lessons
in American history. l wish every
American boy and girl. man and wor
man could visit that beauty spot Of
America. In that cemetery. within
the shadow of the Lee Mansion, is g.
great monument on which is inscrib-
ed these words: Beneath this stone
repose the remains of 1925 soldiers
whose bodies were gathered from the
fields # Bull Run and the route to
the Rappahanock. Their remains
could not be identified but their
names and deeds are recorded in the
archives of their country as Of its
noble bands of martyrs
Today about that stone are masses
and masses of flowers Gathered
about it is perhaps the President of
the United States, Senators and Con-
gressmen and members Of the diplo-
matte corps of foreign nations Near
at hand the great Marine Band is
playing it's sweetest dirge. A little to
one side is a little band Of bent old
men and on their breast I see a
hadge and on their hats l see the
words G. A. r. What picture is
there my friends.
And tonight, when the last visitor
has wendell his way across the long
bridge to Washington. and the sun
set gun has reverberated from Fort
Myer out over the Potomac, and the
stars come out l love to think that
the spirit of the father of his coun-
try. whose mortal remains rests be-
side the river at Mt. Vernon, just a
few miles below. commune with the
spirits of the preservers of the coun-
try of the boys resting there of the
war of 1s61-1S45
And what of the late great war
the world struggle. the catalicism
of the world. which coming like an
earthquake and which is like unto
it-when the world crust Slips and
readjusts .itself-tris earthquake of
governments and types Of civilizs =
ton. in which the elements and
constituent parts are in the process
of Observation-Disclosures one nation
and groups Of nations pitted against
each other go back to the primitive
to gain the mastery. What was this
in which we were participants and
about? The time was when we may
not have known. in 1914, when the
staying Of a prince W somG nlen.be-
Vt The royalty, and tine case thereof
did not appear to interest us or
concern us. But the clouds rolled
away and we see the issue as 4 pill
lar Of fire by night and cloud by
day. 1t was. members Of the G. A.
A.. the issue for which you fought.
and either offered or gave your life
the freedom Of man-enlarged from
an issue within our nation to a world
issue. the outcome Of which shall
determine the worlds history--the
principles Of liberty and justice for
all.
And our nation has paid in in
creased measure for it's negligence
to follow the principles of the allied
orders Of the Grand Army-prepared-
ness. For down through the years
since the Civil War these orders
cried out prepare. prepare. prepare.
and the multitude for Il time cried
peace. peace, and there was no
peace.
We belonged in this war They
are our principles-more ours than
any nation on earth. for we fought
for them as pioneers when the
world war had not pierced the ma
tons Of the world. The issues of the
world war caused the Revolutionary
War. and Independent of the insol-
ent insults Of Imperial Germany we
belonged in it in the very nature of
things.
We witnessed. ladies and gentle
men, the attempted crucifixion of
civilization and Christianity and we
could not evade our responsibility
If we would and the American peo-
pie would not II they could.
Listen, ladies and gentlemen, to
the prophecy Of the German war
lords to the German people. If we
use our submarines unhindered. we
will tarve Great Britain within
three months. and We will make
poaro by the list Of April. Now.
Germany felt sure OF this. Germany
sa;ri that if she could sink all the
food on the sea she could easily die
tate the terms of peace to France
and Great Britain. because they
could not feed themselves except
from across the sea. AS long as
the seas were open, Great Britain
would not suffer for want of food,
because sic would get it from Can
ada. New Zealand, Australia. South
Africa. and the midas, and so on.
But close the sea, sow it with sub
marines. sink every cargo Of food
that is on the sea. and Great Brit
ain would starve before four months
Germany said if We can accomplish
this we will make peace and we will
dictate our own terms. The pro-
hlem was, could she do it? This was
the big problem. Let us see our at
titude. let us look at it from the
standpoint Of Germany for a minute.
Germany promised another thing to
her people-promised by the Kaiser.
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