The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1919-04-24

1 phrase and fOrmallty in order that he
might speak more effectively from
the promptings of the heart to those
with whom he was formerly associat-
ed in the relation of fellow-townsman
and neighbor. He said in part:
This occasion is one of sadness and
gladness. We are sad in the loss of
two young lives which gave promise
of ripening into full-fruited American
manhood that would have done credit
to our school, our city, our state and
our country.
I'VE are glad for their action. their
lives and their deaths. They cast lus-
tire upon their parents, their friends.
their native land. its teachings and
its institutions. They have shown
that the flame of duty, loyalty and pa
triotism burns as brightly in the Amer
ican youth Of today as it did in the
days of those who heroically brought
it forth, and whose descendants later
preserved for us this mighty. free re-
public which for more than 100 years
has been beacon of hope and prom
of the world.
ut would be idle for me to attempt
to tell you in detail of the lives and
splendid and manly qualities of Lieuts.
John McKinstry and Harry Wray. You,
their neighbors and friends, knew
these qualities far better than I do.
They were of that fiber which has
made America what it is. and will con-
tinue to be, il their heroic sacrifice
was not in vain. They fought and
died that civilization might not perish
from the earth and that the institu-
tions and traditions of America might
be gloriously upheld. 1t is for us who
remain to worthily regard those bless
ings for which they suffered, fought
and died.
Their quarrel was not one between
men, not one between armies, not one
between nations alone; 1t was quar-
rel that went deeper than any genera
tion of men; a quarrel emphasized by
the autocratic institutions OF Germany.
dominated by ruler who claimed his
power by divine right and the accident
OF birth, as distinguished from the in
stitutions and traditions OF this coun
try, where all power is derived from
the will of the governed and each man
under the Constitution is guaranteed
the right of life. liberty and the pur-
suit of happiness. The struggle was
not ended when the armistice was
signed, nor will it be ended by the
signing of the treaty Of peace. for
there will still remain abroad in the
world the spirit of autocracy, and a
still more dangerous thing, the spirit
of anarchy. Unless kept in subjuga-
ton either is dangerous to the main
tenance and growth of liberty under a
form of government such as that with
which the people of this country are
blessed.
1--WE should not forget that govern
ment has ever been a matter of slow
growth and that the civilization and
the liberty we enjoy here in America
are the elimination of the struggle OF
all the peoples of the earth from the
beginning of time to the present hour.
and that what has taken mankind
thousands of years to develop can be
lost in day IL we of the present gen
Grafton are recreant to the trust re-
posed in us by long line of heroic
ancestors who. in their day, trium-
phantly bore aloft that symbol of our
country's honor, its freedom, its JUS
tice and its promise of liberty to all
the oppressed people OF the earth:
that fairest emblem of all the world,
which for more than 14D years has
proclaimed to all nations Of the earth
that beneath its far-fung stars and
stripes dwelt a free. untrammeled and
liberty-loving people. When asked to
change our national Constitution, that
great document under which we have
lived SO happily and prospered SO mar
velously, let US pause and ask our
selves solemnly and prayefully
whether the change be for the better
or the worse
Mr.. Dawson closed his address with
TIE following peroration: "All honor
to the boys who fought under the
Stars and Stripes. May they ever re-
member that it is the emblem of their
country's faith; the symbol Of a people
born with q desire for liberty; cham
pioning the cause OF Justice for all
and that it has throughout It's course
stood as the migbtiest force for good
that the world has ever known.
when we look upon our flag. as we
do today, we should see more than
the emblem itself: we should behold
the nation and its people behind It; we
should feel the very heart throbs OF
100. .000.0 900 OF free and liberty-loving
Americans. It is 40 years since It
was first flung to the winds of heaven,
as an invitation to all OF the down.
trodden of the world to come and cast