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Show Memorial Day, 1910 'ft & ft Country's Duty to Heap Honors on the Thinning Ranks of the Veterans ,rr.-- n emmm " N the armli'n diirlim the npnisrcaa of the Civil war IIhto wore pnrollrd a totul of out 2,01111.1)110 men. Iaaamaa Ti'na of tlioimnnda of thi'ae Jhj43.jp1; piTlnhcd from woiinda ro-tVtC ro-tVtC vvlvi'd In the atriiKRle or THjrHf from dlrrnura rontractrd thronrh tho expoeuroa and herdnhlp of the rum-palmia. rum-palmia. Other tena of thouannda rw-turniHl rw-turniHl maimed In limb or ahattered In heulth, nuver to become axaln rnpiitile of carrylnx on tho natural ntniKKlp for eilatinr and auprumacy In the t'3ii'fiil pureulta of life. Since the rloae of the wnr, the riinka of the remnanta of tho I'nlon nnny havo hern thinned out ron-ttnnlly ron-ttnnlly by tho hand of drain. The xpi'.'lnnry of life li ft to tho aur-vlvora aur-vlvora of tho wur. tuklnx lhi-m In the iniiaa the day Unit tho ureal review waa held at Arlington llelahta nfler peure waa renlored. waa much leai limn the nnruial term of human Ufa. HIIII In aplte of the thlnnlnn out of the rank", thi ro remain with ua today a vhmI himt of the "old hoya In blue" who left their hiimea and tho peaceful pursuits of life to no to the front and protect tho honiea of thoae left hull hu-ll I nd, hold up tho fln of the country and preserve I he I'nlon of tho alalia Thla great "gray hnat" of the old ao. dleri preaenta a pulhetlc hut lunplrlng Hpei'tarlo to all of ua thla latest Memo rial day, when we arc culled upon lo commemorate their dcrda of vulor, their patriotic devotion to the (Inn and and lo the Union, and lo nil our noula aa at a pure fountain with a renewed re-newed aplrit of patriotism, of greater loyo for our country, greater appre-cli.tlon appre-cli.tlon for our admlruhle Instltuilona and a deeper and more devoted de-tctniinittlon de-tctniinittlon If the occasion should .lrlsu to emulate their deeds and to bo us truo to tho flag und tho country as they were, handlUK down to sue-ceedliig sue-ceedliig generations tho L'ulon Intact, its Institutions unimpaired, as they did for us. Tho I'nlted States has certainly slumped tho old maxim, "Itepiihltcs are unKruteful," as fnlse. There never was a country und'T any form of government gov-ernment which showed tho measure of gratitude to the men who defeniled the flag and preserved tho nation lit all comparable to I lie Inltrd SI ana of America us shown hy the history of the treat nt accorded to tho soldiers sol-diers who foui'lil In the great war. Year hy year from that tini" to this, the si-ope of tho pension Hat has heen sieudlly enlarged. Almost a half-century half-century after the llrnt call for troops hy I'rinldi'iil l.lni uln In the spring of ISiil, In spite of the hundreds of thousand thou-sand of the old army who have crossed over to tho other side, the government Is paying this year a larger sum III pensions than wus provided pro-vided the llrst year alter the wnr and almost as much as In any previous year In all that have passed hy. As the years roll by we all should cultivate the splrl manifested by the government In enlarging the scoihi of the pension list. As Intimated abovo, tills proves that the graterul hearts of Americans are tour, lied more tenderly with a sense of the debt that we owe tho old suldiers as tho years roll hy. Those of us who see the "old boys In hhie" marching tlirnimh t In- street on Memorial day year hy year, ran scurrely uitss being struck hy a senae of the weight of yeara that resls upon the shoulders of thla "good gray army." Iteinemher It la mora than a whole generation ago, as human life goes, almost a generation and a half, since the last recruit waa enrolled In tho volunteer army of the I'nlun Just before the war came to Ite cIomc There are very few nieiuliera of Ilia (Irand Army, very few soldiers of the Civil wur, who are only at the threescore three-score murk. Indeed, there are not many of them who are not at tha psalmist's term of life, three ecore und ten. There aru but few alive who answered the first cull of President Lincoln. If the new recruit wero only twenty when that cull went out, he la sixty eight now. The soldier w ho was thirty la nearly eighty. j It Is a touching thought to think of this uohle army and look buck through the hulf-cciitiiry thut Is gone by and think of the bright, promising, sturdy youths with life all before them, wlib iimi kcni'd pulses, with firm, unwavering unwaver-ing trend that shook the earth In the llrst army corps and brigades lira, in Ired In the curly days of tho war. When the grout review wus hold near Washington, after peace wus tniule, the ryes of these "boys In blue" wer, still bright with hope, their steps hi HI Arm mid their heurta resolute. I like most other urnilcs, they wont back to their homes glad Ihe wur wui over. They returned lo the occupations occupa-tions they had laid down when ilia cull to arms reached them. They have been through ull these yeara of bud nrsa good ell Irons, luw-iihldlng, lud'ii-trlous lud'ii-trlous and aelf respecting, taking cure of themselves and of those dependent upon them as generally and as i-fll-clently ns those who never beard ttia rattle of musketry or the nmr of an tlllory, nor the shock of cavalry chin glng over the plain. Your by year their ranks are thinning thin-ning out now very rapidly. Year hy year, thousands of tlieiu drop. They may never have another opportunity of experiencing a little Joy hegott n of tho resMct and gratitude shown hy their countrymen It Is lilting tlul the graves of those wtio are gun should bo decorated Willi flowers in memory of what lin y did and endured, hut II Is still more luiportunt that should show to those who still rcmuli. among us our high appreciation ni their patriotism and valor. Img live in thousands nud lens nl thousands the "hoys In blue." May their ranks thlu slowly. May p-any years puss by before "tups" Is i:i'iiid-ed i:i'iiid-ed over the grave of the lust ol thli grout urriy of grlzr.led heroes. And while they live may Americans of tho present and of coming generation! never lack In their admiration and grntltudo to the men who protected the homes of America, who upbelil the flug of the country, and who preserved pre-served the Union of stains Intact, with all Ihe admirable Institution framed by tho fathers of the republic |