| OCR Text |
Show - I Decorate the Graves. DECORATION day has come again. Annually celebrated, it is becom ing more sacred in the affections of the American people. The soldier Jyinj? for his country is an event to be remembered, and a day set apart to decorate their graves with flowers is a laudable custom. It is a token of respect re-spect to our dead heroes and mark of confidence in American patriotism. Wars, which are always to be deplored, de-plored, are legitimate, and the citizen who does his duty in obeying the government, gov-ernment, should not be forgotten after he sacrificed his life for his country's glory. Some extremists, who maintain that all wars are essentially evil, will not unite with their countrymen in honoring the memory of the dead.. The loyal citizen who, In obedience to his country's request, enters the battlefield, battle-field, or those who by their actions countenance war, do not seek for, or provoke war for the sake of killing their f allow beings, and are as opposed to all disturbing elements in society as the fanatics who decry all wars as morally wrong. They are not wrong from any religious principle. God approved ap-proved of the battles fought by the ancient Israelites. St. Augustine. answers an-swers objection raised from Christian standpoint. "If Christian discipline," he wrote, "condemned all wars, the gospel would have given this counsel of salvation to the soldiers who asked what they should o, that they should throw away their arms and withdraw themselves from the military service altogether. But it says to them, 'Do violence to no man, calumniate no one, and be content with your wages.' Surely it does not prohibit the military-service military-service to those whom it commands to be contented with its wages." Christ lauded the faith of centurion who. had soldiers in his service, and St. Paul praised Gideon, Samson and others who were valiant in Mar. No loyal citizen should forget the services -of those who died for their country. A visit to the city of the dead on Friday I win recall many past pleasant memories, memo-ries, it will rekindle the hope of immortality. im-mortality. Every flower placed on the grave of the dear departed ones serves as a link to unite the affectionate thoughts of the living with those who are sleeping in the Lord. |
