Evening star., 1923-05-30
Leads Nation i'm
the Observance of
Memorial Day.
THOUSANDS ATTEND
RITES AT ARLINGTON
Mr.. Harding Declares
America Cannot Avoid
Responsibilities.

PRESIDENT 1arding TO-DAY led tnc
National Capital, and so the whole
nation, in perhaps the greatest OBJ
servance of Memorial day in the
history of the country.
Certainly in point of attendance
the exercises at Arlington national
cemetery today were never cqualed,
for thousands of visiting members
of the Mystic Shrine, already in
Washington for the convention
next week, joined the hundreds of
usual pilgrims to Arlington-the
city of the nations dead.
Standing with head barred in the
great amphitheater at Arlington, the
President reminded his hearers:
I'VE are met in the memory of the
fallen, but | cannot escape the
thought that the real compensation
comes to the living
National Duty to Living.
OF the nations duty to the living,
President Harding solemnly de-
clared, Il believe it is a God-given
duty to give of our influence to es
tablish the. ways of peace through
out the world. We cannot guaran-
tee," said the President, but we
can promote the peaceful adjust
| nent of disputes, we can aid in the
establishments of the agencies OF
peace, we can be influential in COM
mitting the world to the triumphs
of peace and make hateful to human
kind the spoils of war. Americans
have glorifed in our part as the
exemplar of representative democ-
racy to aspiring peoples of the
| world. If we have been successful
as the exemplar of democracy,
there is duty to perform in point
| ing the way and influencing the
adoption of democracy's peace
This is world relationship
| which we cannot avoid and will not
| avoid in the spirit OF the America
which we rejoice TO boast. But
there is one thing which we may do
among ourselves alone to make our
own participation less likely and
Danish much if wars hatefulnesss
If national honor must call us to
arms"
/ Nations Debt to Veterans.
| Regarding the nations debt to it's
! veterans of all wars, the President
| declared, II spoke a moment ago of
| the deeper gratitude expressed in
| action. My thought was not of COM
1 pensations or of pensions or of the
| governments care for the disabled.
! These are obligations. and their dis
charge is a duty. There can be a
gratitude of action, which is a still
| finer and nobler thing.
There is another gratitude of ac-
| tion which surpasseS all expressed i'll
/ the Others, which / hope to see re-
corded to glorify the last days of the
| civil war veterans and to add fullness
| to the lives of the world war vet
J Grams and tranquilize the lives of all
/ America and the world 1 devoutly
| wish the United States to do its full
| part toward making war unlikely if
not impossible While 1 would abhor
! a pacifist America, / would rejoice
to have the United States proven to
| be unafraid and yet the most peace
! loving and the foremost peace-pro-
noting nation in all the world. We
| have already proven that we can
| less of armaments. Let us strive for
! the assurance that we shall have
| none of war"
Exercises i'm Amphitheater.
At 1890 o'clock today the President
+, paid tribute to those heroic men of all
wars who gave their lives that their
| country might live. The exercises,
under the auspices of the Grand
Army of the Republic and allied or
| ganizations, were held in the pure
white ampitheater at the cemetery,
! submerged by the great throngs
| which crowded II.
| The formal observance at Arlington
| followed the parade of the remnant
| of the Grand Army of the Republic
1 through the streets of the capital.
! The procession of men in the blue of
| '64 started in front of the G. A. r.
Hall, on Pennsylvania avenue between
| 14th and 10Th streets, and ended at
| the cars Of the Washington Virginia
| Railway Company.
Take Added Impressiveness.
Always impressive, the various OBJ
| servances today, including the parade
and the exercises at Arlington, and
| similar observances at all the ceme-
| teries in and around the District of
Columbia, took on added impressive
| ness because OF the unusually largo
gatherings which attended the formal
| tiles.
/ 1t seemed, at each place where the,
| memories of heroes were held in rev.
| erence, as IL the man and woman
visitors had come to Washington to
render this honor to those who had
given their all to their country. And,
| in q large deep sense, this was utterly
true, for the solemn significance Of
| the day seemed to be impressed upon
| all alike. from the President of the
| United States to the most humble of
| his fellow citizens.
Small Band I'm Blue.
The keynote of this deep rever-
| ence, sparkling with the strength OF
| life, and yet holding within it's depths
something which would not have
| taken much to stir to tears. was
struck by the small band OF men in
| blue. accompanied by one or two in
gray. which walked with determined
| but slow steps to the special cars
which bore them to the national
cemetery at Arlington.
Over their heads waved the same
dear Stars and Stripes which swung
its warlike folds above their heads