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Show DECORATION DAY Decoration Day was fittingly observed ob-served by the loyal people of Mil-ford Mil-ford last Wednesday. The parade which formed neat the Milford hotel, headed by the Milford band, was slightly reduced in numbers by the high wind, which caused some to stay indoors and it prevented the carrying in the parade of several beautiful banners, which had been made for the occasion. The line of march was up Main street to center, then out by the high school and to the cemetery, where the different organizations went through their memorial day services, following which the graves of the departed soldiers and brothers were fondly decorated with beautiful flowers. Upon the return of the parade the following program was given in the I. O. O. F hall before a large and appreciative ap-preciative audience. J. Blumberg, chairman of the com mittee on arrangements presided: Selection by the band. Cornet Solo Ekins. Address Karl S. Carlton. Piano Solo Mrs. Vernon Johnson Reading Ardath 'Johnson. Vocal Solo Juanita Miller. Duet Ruth Elmer and Lillian' Stoker.- Song Sunshine girls. Piano Solo Mrs. Shirley Nebeker Mr. Carlton spoke as follows: We are gathered here to pay respectful re-spectful tribute today to the mem-! ory of those who in years past have' offered their lives that we might in-1 herit the freedom we now enjoy. ' j In order that we may more fully j understand and appreciate the mean-i ing of the day, we will briefly review-its review-its history and Its establishment. j The men who were boys in 1861 1 were the ones upon whom the res-; nonslbility of the nation rested for fifty years and more. At one time a! majority of both branches of congress con-gress were veterans of the Civil war, either blue or gray. At the present time but two are left, one in the Senate Sen-ate and one in the House of Representatives Repre-sentatives one a Republican and one a Democrat. Now we have their stations in the councils of the nation being rapidly filled by the American Legion, and rightly, too, for who is there more competent to safeguard the destiny of the nation than those who were willing to give up their lives for its protection. For the next fifty years, they will hold the rudder and guide the ship of state over the shoals and make a safe landing in the harbor. Decoration Day, now more popularly popu-larly called Memorial Day, is the result re-sult of Order No. II. Issued May 5, 1868 in Washington D. C, by General Gen-eral John A. Logan, then commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, the greatest organization the world1 has ever known. Mrs. John A. Logan, in an article written last year, tells the story of he issuance of that order. "The Chicago Journal invited a riSrty, including General John A. Logan and myself, to t;it the battle-"ieb's battle-"ieb's around Richmond, in Mann. 1S6S. "The importance of some measures meas-ures then pending in congress prevent":! pre-vent":! General Loenn. at the last moment, from going, but he insisted upon my going with these friends'. We made a tour of every battlefield, fortification, temporary barricade end cemetery around the erstwhile Confederate capital, driving about In old tumhle-down vehicles, drawn by lean, jaded horses, drivn hv thinly clad, poorlv fed men. who had survived' sur-vived' the long sleee of Richmond. Visiting cemeteries and church yard? we were deenly touched by the withered with-ered wreaths and tinv fines that marked the eraves of the Confederate Confeder-ate dead. In the bleak March wind and light-falling snow, the desolation desola-tion seemed most oppressive. "Returning together to the old Willard hotel, where we then lived, sitting in our parlor after dinner, we recounted to General Logan the incidents of the trip and how deeply touched we were by the devastation and ravishes of war. In the church yard around an old historic church at Petersburg, every foot of the ground seemed occupied by the graves of the Confederates dead. Upon them lay wreathes once beautiful beauti-ful flowers, now crumpled, which had been placed there by loving hands. Little faded Confederate flag3 marked each grave, mute evidence evi-dence of the devotion of the southern south-ern people, to their loved and lost. General Logan was much impressed by our description, saying: 'that aa commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic and member of congress from Illinois, which he then was, he would issue an order establishing Memorial day, then called cal-led "Decoration Day.' He declared at the same time that he believed that he could secure the adoption of a joint resolution making it a national nation-al holiday. He then took up a pencil and piece of paper and wrote the matchless order, No. 11," The following is from Dawson's "Life of Logan." In January, 1868, General Logan's comrades of the Grand' Army of the Republic elected1 him commander-in-chief of that order, and afterward honored him and themselves by twice reelecting him to that distinguished position. It was during his first ln-sumbency ln-sumbency that General Logan, as commander-in-chief of this military society, issued the order which he often afterward alluded to as 'the proudest act of my life' setting apart the 30th day of May as a day in memory of the dead soldiers who lost their lives to perpetuate this Union a day on which to decorate their sacred graves and: keep in mind their glorious deeds. This memorable memor-able order which was issued to all the comrades of the Grand Army of the Republic, throughout the land was in these inspiring words: "Headquarters Grand Army of the Republic Adjutant General's office, 446 14th street, Washington D. C, May 5, 1868. "General orders No. 11. "I, The 30th day of May, 1868, Is designated for the purpose of strewing strew-ing with flowers, or otherwise decorating decor-ating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during dur-ing the late rebellion, and whos bodies now lie in almost every city, village, hamlet and churchyard In the land. In this observance, no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will, in their own way, arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances cir-cumstances permit. ; "We are organized, comrades, as our" regulations tell us, for the purpose, pur-pose, among other things, 'of preserving pre-serving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers, sailors and marines, who unified together to suppress the late rebellion. What can aid more to assure this result than by cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our coun try and its foes. Their soldier lives were the reveille of freedom to a I race in chains, and their deaths the ' tatoo of rebellious tyranny in arms. I We should guard their graves withi sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated conse-crated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security, se-curity, is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite 'he coming and going of rever-pnt rever-pnt visitors and ton''1 mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten, as a people, (continued on page four DECORATION PAY (continued from page 1) the cost of a free and undivided republic. re-public. "If other eyes grow dull, and other hnnds slack, and other hearts grow cold In the solemn trust, ours shall keep It well, as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us. "Let us, then, at the time appointed, appoint-ed, gather around their sacred remains, re-mains, and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest choic-est flowers of springtime; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from dishonor; let us. In this solemn presence, renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a sacred charge upon a nation's gratitude tho soldier's widow and orphan. "II. It is the purpose of the commander-in-chief to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will; be kept up from year to year, whilej n survivor of the war remains to j honor the memory of the departed; comrades. He earnestly desires thej public press to call attention to this! . order, and lend its friendly aid inj bringing it to the notice ot comrades in all parts of the country in timej for simultaneous compliance there-1 with. "III. Department commanders will use every effort to make this order effective. "By order of .. 7 JOHN A. LOGAN. Commander-in-Chief. ' ' ' " "Official N. P. Chlpinan, Adjutant General." "Since then, as it is well known, Decoration Dav has been observed as a national holiday nearly everywhere In the United States." The first observance of the order took place May 30, 1S68. The whole country was still in mourning over ' 1 " the sacrifice of the bravest and the best "The government of the people, by the people and for the people, should not perish from the earth," The gaping wounds of the bloody car nage in the mighty conflict were still unhealed!. Widows and orphans made up the largest part of the multitudes multi-tudes who came with floral tributes for their loved and lost, while the ex-Union soldiers, to the music -of solemn dirges, marched up and down the streets of the silent cities, stopping stop-ping ever and anon to mark the grave of a fallen comrade with a duplicate of the starry emblem of liberty. The fact that ever since that day loyal people are repeating their annual an-nual commemoration of the gallant deeds of the heroic dead who have died for the love of country, proves that other hearts have not grown cold in the solemn trust, or that the coming generations will not forget the cost of a free and undivided nation. na-tion. Time, however, has smothered the furrowed plain and bridged the gulf that once divided the sections of our' country. War for the oppressed of other people has joined in insepar- able" bonds the north and the south, the east and the west, for freedom, progress and humanity. The survivors of the lamentable conflict, under the providence of God! can on this hallowed day assemble around the graves of their sacred dead and cover them with nature's: loveliest canopy. : Peace, white-winged peace, hovers above us .and we believe that "The Star-Spangled Banner in triumph phall forever wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. The beacon light of liberty, brighter bright-er from the burnishing by the clash of arms, still attracts the oppressed and down-trodden of the whole' world. This generation and the generations gen-erations thnt are to follow nre and; will be beyond question committed to tho perpetuation of constitutional freedom, and liberty regulated by law, and to the work of securing for all men equality before the law, the right to pursuit of happiness and the worship of God, according to the dictates dic-tates of their own conscience. Founded upon these principles our government has won its prowess prow-ess among all the peoples of the earth. Momentary outbreaks of the lawless may for a time disturb the harmony and brotherhood of citizens of certain localities, but the supremacy suprem-acy of the law established in every part of the United States by the armies ar-mies and. the navies of the Union will stand forever. Obedience to the lawfully law-fully expressed will of the majority, I as declared in the Pilgrim's covenant coven-ant of 1020, Is a principal so fixed in our political system that it can never be otherwise jagalnst It the w-elght of the rebellion of '61-'6 5 was I not able to succeed. The liberty, justice jus-tice and humanity of the American government stands immovably as has been demonstrated by the recent con-j con-j ference which enable the United ! States to win and hold the confidence 'of the people of the earth until all ! have been enrolled under the banner jof the cross and white-winged peace. .... |