The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-06-04
REASON
The Marion Soldiers Home
Is q Beautiful Place, But
OUer It Hangs the Dark
Cloud of Disaster.
BY Frederick Lands =

OUer It Hangs the Dark
Clopd Of Disaster.
Asst Thursday We attended the
E. most tragic Decoration day
service held in America.
1t was at Marion Ind, where the
home built for the survivors Of the
Civil war has been converted into
hospital for shattered victims OF
the World war.
There are 1900 and more of them
at this institution, men whom the
great conflict cast upon the scrap
pile some Of them tubercular. as A
result of breathing poison gas, but
most Of them mentally sick, as a
consequence of their horrible ex-
/ perience.
Most OF them we're unable to at
tend the meeting, but hundreds were
there.
A grateful nation does all it can
to rebuild them, to pick up the frag-
rnentS Of their blasted lives and
piece them together, but the work is
slow
It's beautiful place, with its
trees, flowers. and winding walks,
but over all hangs the dark cloud
Of disaster.
THERE are acres of small white
l. tombstones, marked with flags
and flowers, where sleep the soldiers
Of other days, but the thought OF
them is not half so tragic as the
sight Of the living wrecks, those
with sick minds in strong bodies.
While many will come back, more
of them are beyond recall.
Looking into their faces, you
shudder at the havoc wrought and
wonder what they might have been,
had Fate been kinder.
This one might have been a great
! lawyer, that one a doctor, the other
farmer, business man, statesman,
for they we're the best we had, the
men we called to the colors in II.
AS we contemplated their sacri-
flee, we thought of the unworthy
and the, ungrateful those whom this
land could have spared better.
We thought of motion picture &C
tors, living in golden frivolity, re-
fusing to pay their income taxes;
of crooked politicians, profaning the
temple these heroes had preserved;
Of human swine, trampling the
laws of the country which protects
them, to pile still higher their pyra-
midS of greed.
WE thought of the rank injus-
w tice Of conscripting some for
battle and not conscripting those
who stay at home, for it is wars
GROWING indecency that it marks
some for slaughters and turns 9TH
ers loose to pillage.
We thought of those. enriched by
the martyrs service; of bloated for
tunes which arose like foul vapors
from the blood Of armies; of castles
built Of soldier skeletons!
II
Then out under the trees there
was sharp command, followed by
crash of rifles; it was the firing
squad and as those soldiers turned
their faces to the volley the old bat
tie light flashed in their eyes.
Then bugle sounded taps and
they gazed strangely out of the win
dows, as if. those taps which sang
good night to their sleeping COM
rades also whispered that they soon
we're to follow
And as We sat and listened while
the last silYery notes drifted away,
We wished that we might take from
their great estates and their private
yachts all the World wars Million
aires and make them wheel the
chairs Of the helpless heroes.
We wished that We might gather
up all the gold made by all the
prodteers, and give it to the soldiers
everywhere, their widows and their
orphans.