Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-06-03

great measures Of reconstruction for the
peace. the happiness, the enlightenment Of
mankind throughout the world for gem
e'ations to come. The smoke of baltic
cleared away. and revealed world liter
ally shot 70 pieces. Whole nations were
reduced to poverty and the sordidness
which comes of famine, the beastliness
which reigns when every stcadying .nst-
tuition. every custom. every orderly chan
Hel OF industrial activity is swept away.
The people were sullcn and suspicious.
Here at homo even. the exaltation of bat
tie wsnod and factional strife, self1shness,
riniid!;y, the cry for Il SNUG little. safe
little. narrow little America begun TO lie
heard. Violence, suspicion, the schemes
Of avaricc. the war Of class against class
begin to loom large. Prices are high,
problems arc difficult, leadership is lost in
controversy, and real achievement and
progress along lines of true AmericaniSm
seem lost amid the confusion OK the
times.
You remember, you soldiers OF the early
sixties, how you emerged from the great
war. and the clouds Of uncertainty
seemed 20 closc In about you. Your great
leader had been martyred in the hour of
triumph. Prices we're high. The purchas-
ms power of the dollar had shrunken
almost beyond recognition. Labor was
icmoralized industry was out of JOINT.
The very Nctors in the gigantic struggle
were Impoverished And the problem OF
winning back the vanqvished to some
sort OF uarticua.;on In the life of the
Republic. while safeguarding the gains
so dearly bought seemed insurmcun table.
Government bonds tad deprecated, the
very President e: ~. United States had
to 90 ha)ch before tn. l2r of Congress
TO defend himsclf against impeachment
procv,<d'ng1. Tho var OF factions ragged
At NOME and abroad faitr in the govern
mant wds at the low eb6 Many of the
clost patriotic and far-seeny OF that day
felt shat the America % their pride and
faith, :he hope and liSh. Of tho wcr!d.
the object ~ 30 much daring and suffer
ing and sacrifice, WIS thing Of The past,
wreck upon the shoals of history.
Bur America was not lost. The brave
men who had died Cor Ter had not died
" vain. The men VINO rad 30 vaEeutI
defended her in The ..eW, the wou.en and
;ne- who mad SO stcadfastly done their
part dt home. and IN the factory and on
the farr, Aid not fail her in the trials
of wa,s aftermath. In patience IN
hlmbicness. in willingness to labor great
iy, they laid true the foundations OF the
reconstructed nation.
You remember now it was done. You
remember how the general, the idol of
his men, left the glamour and glory of
the camp to take up his new work upon
a humble pcddler's cart. You remember
how officer and private alike went back
to the filling of the soil to the dull
routine of office and store and factory.
You remersJer how great numbers poured
into the new West to master the I'M
tanned prairies whose productveness was
destined to feed the world. You remem-
Der the careful spirit of saving. the plain
living which brought back into being the
capital wealth which is the life-blood of
the peoples prosperity, and the era of
investment which extended far and wide
the railroads. the arteries of the peoples
commerce. You remember how the genius
of an ambitious and free people answering
the call of necessity brought forth in
vention after invention. until factories
fourished as never before, and the
forces of nature were harnessed to bring
cheer into homes and to carry the voices
of men over unimagined distances. You
remember the coming of the age of
science which taught US that in matters
OF home comfort, of sanitation, of
economic growth. of social welfare. a
man could not live to himself alone but
must act with others and for others as
social unit to achieve the greater re-
suits, You remember the fine spirit of
forbearance and patience and brotherly
conduct by which the vanquished portion
OF the nation was gradually brought
back to embrace the constitution and the
flag. The glorious history of the soldiers
of the Civil War is not complete without
the added story of that wars aftermath.
The saving Of America as a united ma
ton with free people and flaming ideals
was your work, your glorious accom-
plishment. And you did more. You
impregnated the younger generations
with your great spirit. You remember
how in later years when the business
machinery of the nation. began to grow
so overwhelming as to menace the life
Of the people, when the device of the
corporation, so necessary to the accom-
plishment of great undertakings and yet
SO new and so unrestrained began to
dominate the opportunity and happiness
of the individual, the spirit of the Civil
War heroes spoke anew for the supreme
value of individual liberty. of human
rights, of the dignity and sacredness of
free labor. through the voice of a man
of later generation, Theodore Roose-
welt. The glory of it all was that you
fought for vital and living ideals which
can never be outgrown and must never
be forgotten.
The America of to-day is not the
America of the sixties. 1t is larger. more
complex. made up of more divergent
elements and races. The place of America
in the world is not the place she held in
those far-off days. The world is smaller.
more thoroughly explored. more ex-
tensvely exploited. The ocean liner. the
! telegraph, the telephone. the ships of the
air, tie nations together as never before.
But the obligation of Americas mission
remains the same. The principle of human
rights remains unchanged. The principle
OF the dignity of labor remains the same.
The imperative 70 an unselfish. and far
seeeing, and courageous national ideal
is as imperishablc as when your COM
rades laid down their lives for their ideal
upon the backgrounds of Gettysburg
and the Wilderness.
You reracmber that old picture of the
Bivouac; the steel-engrs wing in the style
Of an older day which used to hang In Sc
many homes. Under the stars the rcgi-
! merits OF Sleeping soldierc; their arms
| stacked ana their flags furled while in
the ,,oavens pressed forward the spirit
| Of their dream. regiment on regiment with
colurs bying and bayonets fixed, charging
| triuyn plant to an unending victory. I'VE
are such stuff az dreams arc made of
| md our little lives are rounded with a
| slccp." Generations will come and go
| Problems Of tho present VIII be SOLVED
| and melt away. and new problems VII
| rise. But America the nation of The
idca! presses onward forever triumphant