The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1946-06-06
How Best Can We
Honor The Nation S
Soldier Dead
By Charles D. Rowe

How best can nation honor
those who have given their lives
in its defense3
That is a question that arises in
MANY minds on every Memorial
Day. It was the underlying theme
in the able address delivered by
Joe FenneSsY, JT., in the Memorial
day exercises at the Libby cemetery
on last Thursday. After dwelling
briefly on the historical aspects OF
the day, Mr.. Fennessy stated, IN
effect, that seldom in the life Of
this nation has it been faced with
such grave neutrality-suspicious. OF
such serious social and economic
nature that the future of the nation
may well be at stake. The speaker
proceeded with the thought that the
highest honor that can be paid our
soldier dead is to see that the
American form of government IS
maintained in a spirit and a deter
mination that assures justice and
equal opportunity to every citizen.
No truer statement was ever voiced.
But we sometimes wonder If this
is really being done. During the
war there were many who gllbIy
said the American form of govern
ment must be maintained so that
the absent soldier would find 1t
unchanged when he returned home
from distant battles Has that been
done? We wonder what the soldier
thinks.
What sort of government does he
find on his return? On every hand
is rancor and confusion. Instead OF
the land of abundance that he left.
he comes back to scarcity and I'M
heard of prices. Longing for the
opportunity to establish a home Of
his own, he finds it next to i'm
possible to obtain a house and even
when he is able to run onto one
that is for sale, the price he IS
asked to pay has been inflated to
two or three times its real value.
Months have passed since the fight
ing stopped, and still strife and tur-
MOL keen the nations factories on
low production while a nation cries
for the goods and services it can
not obtain.
Fundamentally there are two fac
tors that are to blame for much of
this deplorable state Of affairs-an
inept and unWise administration of
affairs by the national government
and the grasping greed that seems
to have taken possession of every
one. Grab while the grabbing is
good and let the devil take the
hindmost seems to be the prevailing
motto
Is this to be the American way
of life that the tired soldier returns
to? Do we honor our soldier dead
by converting the America of per
sonal liberty that he knew into
one of governmental dictation, OF
turmoil and confusion?
In these troubled times it is we'll
for all of us to read and ponder
the words of one of our greatest
leaders. Said Abraham Lincoln
while speaking at the dedication OF
the National Cemetery at Gettys-
burg on November 10, 1868.
1T is for US. the living, rather
to be dedicated here to the I'M
finished work that they have thus
far so nobly carried on. 1t is rather
for us to be here dedicated to the
great task remaining before us, that
from these honored dead we take
increased devotion to that cause for
which they here gave the last full
measure of devotion; that we here
highly resolve that these dead shat
not have died in vain; that this
nation, under God, shall have new
birth of freedom, and that govern
ment of the people, by the people
and for the people, shall not perish
from the earth"