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Show I EDITORIAL I ' THE FUTURE OP 8 DECORATION DAY (I The spirit of Decoration day cxercl- 9 ses, held May 30th throughout the northern states In honor of tho heroic her-oic dead, has vastly changed of recent years. Once thero was tho glamor of crowds, a stalwart parade of former soldiers, nnd enthusiastic gatherings of citizenship. 1 . The depletion of tho ranks of tho veterans by death gives eacn recur-' recur-' ring Decoration Day a deeper note of sadness. The spirit of sectional trium- !ph nnd bitterness has gone, for which fill are thankful. Hut In tho placo of l tho Bturdy mnrchors of 20 years ago thero Is hut a fragment left, who usunlly proceed to tho cemetorlC3'In carriages and automobiles. The surviving Boldlors urgently en-., treat, their townspeople to glvo these commemorative exercises the support of a dignified hssemblage. Hut too often tho veterans seemed to hare passed from tho center of tho stage. The younger generation know of their deeds only through dull history books Boll gnm'eB and outdoor llfo draw tho' crowds, while theso patriotic services are commonly not well attended. Similarly Sim-ilarly 'the observance of the various Memorial' days of tho Southern states takes on a deeper note of pathos each All v. ho admire the heroism shown In the Civil war will wish to seo the exercises of the Blue and the Gray continued after the last veterans have gone. But' In a few years there will be a few left' or none who feel directly responsible for- carrying on this work. In some 'towns, various churches and societies have already organized to observe '(his occasion, In placo of the veterans 'who have gone. Graves .', of federal and confederate dead alike are decorated. Honor Is done to all Mho mado these sacrifices of tho past nnd a similar spirit of self devotion In the futuro is urged. Decoration Day should not bo suffered to lapse lis tho two armies depart on. their long Journey, nnd there need bo some observances ob-servances other than thoso at tho ball THE CAREER OF A GRAND OPERA SINGER Ono of the greot figures qt tho musical mu-sical world, Madame Lillian Nordlca has passed away. As tho world sees her life, it was tho sceno of cheering audiences, dignified by tho prnlso of tho severest critics. Tho laborious effort, ef-fort, tho sacrifices by which sho reached reach-ed success, aro not realized. Thero Is something pathetic In tho fruitless effort which n host of singers aro making to attain a bucccss of that kind. Every city of any slzo has a number of voices which In somo ro-, ro-, specks can be compared with tho great operatic stars. But for every one that makeB a large' success, a wbolo regl-.IstVsW regl-.IstVsW rjLKA B&t Is turned down. Tho same old BBjBJBJBBjBBsaiiBii. .namos appear .yearfl,fter year at tho big opera houses7ftscems cruel to en-courage en-courage young people to enter a flold where so fow attain the ends they are working for. t , The public Is very whimsical. It Is not enough that a singer have voca'f cords producing organ tones, mellow and rounded, capable of filling a great auditorium. It is not enough that these be trained to the limit of graceful grace-ful flexibility. A singer must also possess pos-sess gifts of enchanting vivacity and throwing the spell of ber personality over the audience To become a great singer a girl ought to bo under the hands of a competent com-petent teacher by tbo-ttme'she Is nine years old. She must bo practicing trills while her comrades aro dancing. 8nS must Rave a robust body capable of living In drafty sjeeplng cars, and eatlhgtho Indigestible food of hotels. And she must be backed by thousands of dollars, to place her in tho best musical schols. It Is a great responsibility to encourage en-courage thoso who have real gifts, but fall Just a little short, to try tho dizzy path to this kind of succes. Better tho simpler pleasures and more certan rewards of the church choir and the friendly musical circles of home I |