| OCR Text |
Show -s Tv. - VaV ' if t. Ar f $ ' , v ft) nil- Ts v t K 4 i ' J i 3 i , JJ fig y . , . ' - J lli if .i ; -nS; :i;ir;;h4 i 1 w i : jn By ELMO SCOTT WATSON I0A1ILY every American Is 1 fumitiiir with the story ot "le t,r,o'D of Memorfal IjSiJJIj day liuw a group of IjigtVifj women in Columbus, Miss., ii'li 'slon after the close of the Malja Civil war, decided io,,set aside April 20 as a spe: cial day for decorating the graves of Confederate dead, how on that date in 1S(!!1 they covered with llovvers not only the graves of their own Uinsnien hut of Union soldiers as well, how the Vory of this gracious act was reported in northern newspapers newspa-pers the next spring and sent a thrill throughout the Xorih and how it led directly I lie next year tu the issuing of the famous Urder No. 11 by Gen. John A. Logan which resulted in the observance of a national memorial day from that time on. Hut not many are so familiar with the story of how a poem also resulted Irom the action of these southern women and the purl it played In doing away with the bit terness which hail been carried over from the war between the states. In Ithaca, N. Y there lived a young lawyer named I'Vaneis Miles r'inch When he ticard what the Col-umhtis Col-umhtis (Miss.) women had dune it inspired in-spired him to write the verses which he gave the title of "The Blue and the Cray." When Ibis poem was published it seemed to strike a responsive chord in the hearts of thousands and il was widely reprinted anil later set to music and sung According to one historian, "ill'- nai:;iug and reading of Imiiw n poeir il: J more to re-establish liario"' j thai' any of the well thought-out thought-out t-;ins of reconciliation of Ihe dip lomais." The bile Chuuneey M. Uepew In oue of his famous addresses in referring to ine cu.moiii of decorating the graves of the soldier dead on Memorial day. said: "Thus out of sorrows common aliUe to North and Soutli came this beautiful custom." Although the in spiral ion for the observance ot Memorial Memo-rial ilay came from a group of southern south-ern women, it was the large group of northern men who kcpl I he custom alive in its earliesl days. This group was the Grand Army of the Uepublic. The Grand Army of the Uepublic, or the G. A. li. s It Is more familiarly known, was unionize. I In Decatur. III.. April 0, I SUC-, Hi the suggestion of Dill. Di-ll. ' Stephenson and Chaplain W .1 Kutleilge of "he Fourteenth Illinois In funtry. Its 1 tembership was composed of northern veterans of the Civil war and at one lime this membership reached the total of 400,48!). Perhaps its most famous command er was Gen. John A. I.ogan who, as previously noted, issued the famous order which led to the regular observance observ-ance of Memorial day. ' In the words of one O. A. R. veteran, whose reml- COOOGCOOOOOOOGOOC5000COOOOO 0 o The Blue and the Gray g X By the flow of the inland river, x q Whence the fleets of iron have fled, f Q Where the blades of the frave-grass Q O quiver, V Q Asleep are the ranks ot the dead: v X Under the sod and the dew, S? 5s Waiting the judgment-day; q 8 Under the one, the Blue, Q Undei the other, the Gray. Q X These in the robings ot glory, X Q Those in the gloom of defeat, pj 1 O A.1I with the battle-blood eory, O In the dusk of eternity meet: l) O Under the sod and the dew, Q X Waiting the judgment-day ; Si q Under the laurel, the Blue, Q Under the willow, the Gray. Q Q From the silence ot sorrowful hours i? X The desolate mourners go, X g Lovingly laden with flowers Q Q ' Alike for the friend and the foe: Q 0 Under the sod and the dew Q Q Waiting the judgment-day; X A Under the roses, the Blue, q Q Under the lilies, the Gray. Q Q So with an equal splendor, Q Jt The morning sun-rays fall, X q With a touch impartially tender, Q Q On the blossoms blooming for all: Q O Under the sod and the dew, O Q Waiting the judjment-day; X X BrHdered with gold, the Blue, Q g Mellowed with gold, the Gray. Q Q So, when the summer calleth, Q V On forest and field of grain, x With an equal murmur falleth Q The cooling drip of the rain: Q 0 Under the sod and the dew. Q Q Wai'ing the judgment-day; X St Wet with the rain, the Blue, X q Wet with the rain, the Gray. p Q Sadly, but not with upbraiding, V X The generous deed was done, X Q (n the storm of the years that ar- q Q fading V Q No braver battle was won: Q X Under the sod and the dew, X (S Waiting the judgment-day; S Under the blossoms, the Blue, Q Q Under the garlands, the Gray. V (S No more shall the war-cry sever, 3 (5 Or the winding rivers be red; t) 0 They banish our antr-r forever Q X When they laurel the graves of om "s Q dead: O O Undei tSe sod and the dew, Q 0 Waiting the judgment-day; (5 Love and tears for the Blue, rt O Tears and love for the Gray. Q S3 Francis Miles Finch X 1 ? 5 niscences of the earlier observances of Memorial day were published in n New York newspaper last year. "It seemeo for many years thai the oh-servance oh-servance of the day In the spirit of Order No. 11 was left to the veterans only, while others made merry on this legal holiday, going to horse races. prize1, tights and 1! kinds of noisy amusements. This class called it Decoration Dec-oration day. As a rule the veterans made no protest to what seemed to them a desecration of the day. They met and carried out the mandate of Order No. 11 and did se patiently and devotedly. But of late years there has been a marked reaction. As the old men grew fewer in number and went about their sacred duties more slowly and wearily, all that they had lost in numbers num-bers and physical powers seemed returned re-turned in moral and spiritual strength. In many villages and cities all over the land, sports are nearly or quite abandoned and the people join heartily heart-ily with the few veterans in blue as they oome together to hold their simple sim-ple services. All alike seem to realize that it is not for the living. And while there may be tears for them, too, the day is for the memory of the 3G0.0OO Union soldiers who gave their lives that the nation might live." "Few veterans in blue" how true that statement is of the men who have kept alive the tradition of Memorial day is more apparent each year when the Memorial day parades wend their way through the streets of American cities and villages. In 1S65 President Andrew Johnson stood in a reviewing stand on Pennsylvania avenue in Washington and saw 200.0U0 men, the soldiers of Grant and Sherman, pass by. In 1915, President Woodrow Wilson Wil-son stood on the same spot and saw the survivors of that first grand review re-view march once more down Pennsylvania Penn-sylvania avenue. In 50 years the 200,-000 200,-000 had been reduced to less than 20,000. And that is typical of how the ranks of the men who wore the Blue as well as those who wore the Gray have been reduced by time. So it is easy to see that the time is near at hand when neither the Gray nor the Blue will be represented in the Memorial day parades which honor the men who lost their lives when the t'nited States was in the throes of the greatest civil war in history. But as the gaps began to appear in the ranks of Ihe Blue and the Gray their places were taken by men who wore the khaki of 1S03 and the "O. D." of lblS. Kor Memorial day now is more than a day of memory for the Blue and the Gray. This is a day for honoring our soldier dead, the countless host of those who gave up their lives In the Civil war, the Indian wars, the Spanish-American war, the Philippine insurrection and the World war. Conceived as a symbol of forgiveness forgive-ness for civil strife and a nation reunited re-united it has become the symbol of a nation more strongly united than ever before because It honors the memory not only of the men who fought under un-der two different flags but also the 1 memory of their sons and grandsons who fought and died for one flag. Originating Orig-inating In the South but taken up anil made a permanent national observ- mice mainly by the North, the spirit j of Memorial day now knows no North, no South, no East, no West. It honors the fighting meD of no particular war bui ot all wars. It is the symbol of America's gratitude to her fighting men who have died In her defense. |
