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Show The G. A. R. ATTENTION ALL! The stateliest procession that the world ever witnessed is passing. "All that a man hath will he give tor his Hie," salth the holy book. This procession is made up of what is left or two millions and more of heroic souls that oP i'ered their lives for their country. In the glory of youth, when life was sweetest, they joyously accepted the sacrifice and marched torth. Tens of thousands never returned. On the battle's flrey blasts, by wounds, by fevers, by starvation star-vation in southern prisons, on land and on sea they died for their country. This remnant that is left were spared to return re-turn exultingly home, but the disintegration ol the years has bowed their heads and caused their steps to halt. They are little more than the ghosts of the exultant array that "went rolling, on the foe." Hats off while they pass!. When the fathers decided to place their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor in the scale to wrest this then new land from tyranny, to found a new nation and dedicate it to freedom, they put out a Declaration that all men were equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights, among which were life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. "When through a glorious war and a more glorious sacrifice they won their cause, they called their wise men together and framed a constitution which was the wonder or their age, for It took the sovereignty from kings, placed It in the reople, and opened all the virgin land's op-portunit'es op-portunit'es to every citizen, and held up the honors and the emoluments of the land to all who could fairly win them. 'This meant about face and forward march to the world. But when the land was divided into colonies, African slavery had been introduced, and while in framing the constitution the bravest and the best of the framers struggled to do away with the institution, it failed to pass, and then slaves, being property, all the safeguards to protect pro-tect property applied to this form of property as to all others. But the general thought was that with increased immigration and increased enlightenment, enlight-enment, the system would speedily vanish. But one section of our country was found more especially adapted to the ra'sing of the great cotton staple than any other spot the world around. Then an Ingenious man Invented a mac.ne to prepare this staple easily, quickly and cheaply for market. The result was the people who owned these lands speedily found that they had a monopoly, for with this staple spun into cloth the whole world wanted it for clothing and Innumerable other uses. The men who raised It with slave labor and sold it, speedily became wealthy and, insensibly, in a few years became an aristocracy. In the meantime Great Britain abolished negro ne-gro slavery through all her dominions and the consciences of the people in the states of our Republic, where slavery did not exist, became quickened, and they began to cry out against It. Then antagonisms began to grow between the northern and southern portions of our Republic. At last the southern half began to preach the belief that slavery was a divine institution, that there could be no perfect civilization without It. These antagonisms grew; there were acts of aggression, and bitter taunts were hurled back and forth. Then a great political party sprang up that held that inasmuch as the fathers had dedicated the whole land to freedom, no territory of it should recognize slavery until statehood came, and the question should then be left for the people of the state to decide. Under th's Texas became a slave state, but when the test was made in California, though a majority of the people peo-ple were natives of slave states, they almost unanimously declared that the state from the llrst should be consecrated to liberty. The admission of the Golden state was hotly contested in Congress, but it finally passed. Then the chiefs in the slave states began to prepare for secession, and when ten years later the party that claimed that the territories were free soil, elected a president, the slave states precipitated a war to break up the Union that was framed by the fathers. It was to put down that war and to maintain the Union in Its integrity that these veterans went out. The war soon took on gigantic proportions, pro-portions, the most terrible of modern times, but there was no faltering. It lasted four years and under its awful abrasions the flower of the north and the south went down in battle, the south was made a wreck and the nortli and south were draped in mourning. But at last It was finished and slavery had disappeared. These veterans are a part of the remnant that came home. They were not spoiled by the war. They went out to light for a holy principle, and when that principle was vindicated, they put aside their weapons and merged back into the ranks of peace to help repa'r the war's losses, and to plant flowers to hide its awful scars. It is now fourty-four years since their homecoming, home-coming, and since then the royal band has grown lower and fewer, all their great captains but two have died and their ranks have dwindled by companies, com-panies, by regiments, by brigades and divisions. Those who are left are Avlth feeble and halting halt-ing steps marching down the Inst decline to their bivouac beyond the stars. A halo is gathering over them, their battered flags, bat tie-scarred andvfaded, but glorious under the sunbeams, are typical of their own lives and services, and of the reverence due them. Stand attention, with uncovered heads as they pass! And as the lordly procession fades on the sight, keep this in mind. Their 'sacrifices were necessary because those in authority long before they lived, were not brave enough to cry out for justice and to keep up the cry until the right was J M done, and their wrong had to be settled for. 1 H The lesson is that if you know of any wrong 1 H that is a menace to native land fight it and subdue ' H it, or your children will have it to do. H And today while you watch the veterans and H exult over what they achieved, exult all the more H that the old animosities have well-nigh all passed M away, and your united country, triumphant on ' H sea and land, its ensign the very splendor of the H earth, is the 'brightest hope ever given to the H world's oppressed and it is swiftly becoming the H world's arbiter for justice, for Liberty and peace. H |