OCR Text |
Show malnlng before ns; that from these honored dead we-take increased devo- 1 tlon to that cause for which they gave their last full measure of devotion; that we liere highly resolve that these , dead shall not have died In vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government gov-ernment of the people, and by the people peo-ple and for the people, shall not perish from the earth." Weighty Obligation. ' On each Memorial day Indeed on every day Americans should "highly resolve that these dead shall not have .died In vain." The application ought to be regarded as directly personal to every citizen of this highly favored land, as the obligation Is personal. No obligation Qan be more weighty except only Ihe obligation to God. 6t all this, and much more this day speaks. Thinking of the men, both dead and living, whom we honor, of the great work that they did, and of the blessings bless-ings that we owe to them, we surely ought to be able to put sometulng of their heroism Into our daily tasks, and In their spirit should face our duty to the country of their lovc and, one trusts, of ours. A nation can ! be only what Its citizens make it, and the quality of the product Is determined deter-mined by the character of those cltl-t J zens, and that character Is determined by the Ideals that control, and by the loyalty to them of those who pro- j fess to follow and be led by them. "Do this In remembrance of me" i with those words the great memorial was Instituted. It was more than a memorial, as Is Memorial day, for ! both are Inspirations to right think- ' Ing and right action, and each In Its j way Is a conveyor of grace and power, j Indianapolis News. For Consecration and Remembrance Great Lesson of Memorial Day for All of Us. IT ODGnT to be possible, In the light of experience, or under the influence of a sacred tradition, to develop a loyalty that shall be a spiritual force, and not mere "100 per cent Americanism." Love of country coun-try means service to country,- and sacrifice for it The love that does" not thus express Itself Is not love not anything even'.Calntly resembling It. A man may stand at attention and doff his bat as the flag goes by, and yet rob the government and graft on It. No one can be a patriot who seeks or wins or even desires private pri-vate gain at the expense of public weal. "Patriotism" of this sort Is that which Doctor Johnson denounced as "the last . refuge of a scoundrel." and there Is much of It more certainly cer-tainly than there ought - to be, for there ought not to be any. Purpose of Memorials. It has been said that memorials to good and great men, to true servants of their follows, apd to Inspiring causes, clothe the past with a life that it might not without them have, and In , this way influence and ennoble the present Dut they do more than that, for they reach Into the future and mold It nearer to the pattern of which the memorials speak.- and which they are designed to perpetuate. It should be so. and may be so with our Memorial day. It Is a day of consecration as well as n day of remembrance, and points to the path which our people should tread If they would be worthy of the sacrifices made In their behalf. Considering the day thus, what seems to be a growing Indifference to It Is greatly to be deplored. "If I do not remember thee," to quote the Psalmist again, "let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; yea. If I do not prefer Jerusalem in my mirth." Do we "prefer" our Jerusalem In our "mirth"? The question Is .Important, and has Important Implications. Not to care Is almost ' as bad and ma." be as fatal to the true spirit as to despise. Ideals of Consecration. This idea of consecration was the keynote of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Get-tysburg address. The great President Presi-dent spoke to the living rather than of the dead. "It Is for us. the living," he said, "rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who , fought here have thus far so nobly Advanced. It Is rather for us, to be dedicated to the great task re- |