Show I OJOJ 11 rOJ NI ii i MEMORIAL I I DAY I ati u Not Entirely One of f Mourning I EMOR1AL DAY should not be M regarded as a day of mourning I Symbols of grief used In con I uectlor with tho memorial exercises all save tho draping of flags seem out of place The annual celebration of the fame tho sacrifices and the glory of the soldiers sol-diers of the union Is a beautiful custom cus-tom but the day was never meant Tor a time set apart for lamentation The nation pays a tribute of flowers flow-ers of song and words of praIse and npureclatlon to Its glorious dead and It Is In a spirit of tender pride and exaltation that the holiday should be celebrated It has been a mistake to cover the day with crepe Certainly there must be slid hearts on this day but If Memorial day Is made what It should bo there will bo brought to the widow and the fatherless fa-therless consolation and strength Comtort and wholesome thought are suggested by the tribute of a whole country to those who pledged their lives for the land of their love In its time of need Let us not put on mourning garments gar-ments and make n gloomy day out of the beautiful festival of honoring time glorious dead For how can man die better than racing fearful odds For the ashes ot his fathers and the altars al-tars of his gods 7 It you want to get the al Inspiration Inspira-tion of the day go early In the mornIng morn-Ing to any of the Gods acres which are over around the dwellings of the living l There In the dewy quiet whore there Is no sound but tho songs of birds and the sighing of the wind In the trees yon will look upon the graves where loving hands have sot tho little flags which toll that it soldier sleeps his last sleep below Then as the morning freshness withers under the sun you see the forms of men and women and children chil-dren bending over the places where their loved ones rest and you will be reminded that Jove outlives death The comfort of God comes to those who set flowers over longmade graven You will at last hear the sound of music and so will be announced the arrival of the Grand Army and other veterans on their duty of the day The old men march to a central place and with bowed heads listen to a prayer and then sing a hymn Tho voice of one perhaps rises In an oration ora-tion upon tho heroes of patriotism Than tho little procession starts upon Its Journey and visits every soldiers grave laying flowers upon the grass so lately sprung from the sleep of winter Yes your eyes will be full of tears but they will not be the tears which burn not tears of misery and grief but those tears of universal uplifting emotion which make us all feel the bonds of human brotherhood Reno rating tears that relieve the heart And make it seem less of an enigma All day long loving hands bring flowers as offerings to the memory of the unselfish bravo on and on till the sun sots tireless feet walk by the decorated graves pausing now and then while a stroller reads a tribute graven upon some stone or notes tho offering of blossoms on some otherwise other-wise unmarked mound And when evening falls the level rays of the sun lie like a benediction upon the places where the love of human hearts has heaped up the treasures treas-ures of May in tribute to tho sons and Cw martyrs of freedom The 30th of May Is a day of glorious glo-rious Inspiring remembrance one when If tears are shed they are only tears which sanctify without burdening burden-ing the heart |