Show MEMORIAL day what some well known people say j BEAUTIFUL NATIONAL CUSTOM diew of el Thoa slit of john dark anil ex senator commodore me talle and colonel gorncy on our aei copy rich it would be unbecoming to enlarge on the subject of memorial day without paying introductory tribute to its founder very few indeed attribute the beautiful national custom of decorating the graves of the heroes of the civil war to a woman mrs martha G kimball a foldier in tho war herself for she followed it from ita beginning to its close nursed tho wounded soldiers and perfected the hospital service in general shermans army and iu fact watched over the union soldiers like a mother two short incidents display of sirs Kir aballe character than pages of eulogy A boy was sentenced to bo shot his mother sat on he steps of tho capitol in washington sho remained tharo distracted with grief for tareo days and nights trying in vain to president lincoln A lady beautiful and of loving disposition passing in front of the capitol paused to learn tho pitiful story and then with alio determination of that viking race from which she sprang sought and pleaded the poor mothers cause with the president himself lincoln hearkened to her eloquence and turning his sad eyes oua her said utako this card to stanton and savo the boy and mother it is a relief to have you tell me how you would manage the affairs of state the battle of winchester was over the condition of general command demoralized so as to bring on this officer in the presence of his men a sharp reproof from sheridan A lady beautiful and of loving disposition had nursed general after be had been wounded in a pi elioue battle in the performance of a she addressed general sheridan thus you man the hero of winchester madam it I 1 havo done so I 1 will apologize to him before his soldiers and he supplemented this net of gallantry by recommending general for a major generalship abo lady was mrs kimball it was whilo she waa traveling in tho south that she noticed how abo southern women garlanded the graves of those who had died in tho cause of the confederacy she thought of tho weed strewn neglected mounds over tho brave boys who fell in the blue and wrote to general john A logan then commander in chief of tho grand army of the republic in suggestive admiration mi ration and requested example of those women gy her eloquent sw pleading enlisted the sym p n t h and operation cooperation co of general logan and resulted in the famous order no 2 that went into effect on the soth of may establishing tab lishing memorial day mrs kimball who died at her home ELLA WHEELER WILCOX in tho quaker city bome three yeara ago now lies at laurel hill A little mound a simple headstone heads tono and a huge norwegian pine mark the spot where the founder of a great national custom lies buried tho lines that follow were mailed to re by ella wheeler wilcox in response to my request for original on tho subject of our national observance of may SO it is evident that this popular poet takes a serious view of the present situation and doea cot hesitate to express her feelings as forcibly oa she does poetically conr country Bt arTing children plea or labor she has no work to falvo them yet bt hobill she feed the offspring of her neighbor while own kin aland roofless in the cold not for each end the dicroce whom we honor oar in her and pride and so dark the upon her might tho warrior question why he died ELLA in response to my next call came tho following hopeful paragraphs from commodore melville an old soldier the hect in the united states bureau of steam engineering in the navy department at washington in addition ho can lay claim to being a celebrated arctic explorer and the designer of than one of our late war vessels decoration dey the day of all the year that 1 given to the highest and the living cun pay to the dead abe dead tho harcie doad abe brave soul abe light the fairest and bravest who with mid beauty lu abe dark daye ot 1801 1 fair young breast to abe ol 01 md stood between abo boetig t and abe only true eov that god lias permitted to bo on th and ye fair roalda or abe the heroic 8 stair lal ewt not lut thai your brother and botor leavo arft la their toina beai the evidence that oar country wa worth sav ingabe in gaye dying forand for and abat the example I 1 beet forth os coming for nil time that the spirit 0 1779 and 1881 luetell abroad la our and and will never adte GEORGE W En elneer in chief united states professor john dark ridpath writes me on the subject from the deceno of his editorial labors on tho arena the his iprian challenges thought on the after life and embodies sentiment on a na memory in this short bat admirable essay DEAD where after ell ere our brave deada the traditional belief of the world baa been that they live but very vague faith ie the falth of with respect to L ishisa where abo departed dieu or ln what a state on thia theme UA a conjecture has been alte 1 area maln u is ehlt hu vw man being bave S never been content to cue without a hope of au the mono abat bave been on this subject that of henry thornal JOHY CLASH buckle Is the best nia own mother passed away ho waa at that time composing his review of malle essay on liberty abe shock to the feat historian and thinker ans agnost unbearable but be rallied and inserted in the essay which ha waa con posing that remarkable paragraph on the survival of the dead as he was able to eee it and hope for it bucklee argument 1 this there la in human affection and desire an equation the first part of which is here and the other part of which Is that is bis great thesis reduced to a syllogistic he alleges what is true that life without the after half of the equation of hope and desire Is a reddo alo ad our bravo dead who went from la abo flery ordeal of war cither exist or they have ceased to exist there is no middle ground the broken equation of hope and affection in their existence beyond abat dividing curtain which the poetical language of mankind has called the veil we choose to believe or at loaft to think that our heroes are living somewhere in a happy fruition of patriotic joys unclouded with sorrow unacquainted with further pain and anguish we say of them they sleep bather let us say of them they woke it immortality be a dream it la indeed a generous and beautiful dream tending ever to make itself more real as the end of life approaches pro aches little are we disposed to yield to or to chase shadows but somehow we think that our herdea of the union war are not biad that they are not sleep lne but that they are both living and free that they go forth and know and rest and love and aspire happy were we to be sure that they are able to un cinea the brazen volume of the backward look and to see in oure elvea and our work the happy results and beautiful hopes and joys which they procured and consecrated by their life and death baeton editor of the arena major green clay goodlock Good loc paymaster in tho marine corps at headquarters washington a by birth who served in the kentucky cavalry in the early part of the civil war makes tho following response the bright and beautiful page in our republics illustrious history is the thought that the dead were to live la the heart of abo living the were to have honor without stint heaped upon them the maimed should be tenderly and appropriately cared for as the dust of their fallen lius bande and fathers woold IM guarded chii contract was by the in blue amid the flash of lattio and steel and eo as drop of loyal blood circulates their mcm oriee end nobility will be ehl elded tho mother guards ier offspring had not the patriotism of the blood of the land gone forth to battlo liberty would have slept forever in our land and the union been interred the union lives and the winding cheet brave old glory comfort her baroca la the tomb of the union bluy from tho west mr ingalls sends mo the accompanying letter of his own fc on memorial day memories and observances other wara have been waged for ambition for a frontier for a dynasty tor a throne but no boch passion impelled the soldiers eol diers of the republic fought tor the supremacy of the moral code in politics tor the in abo tor the bolden rule as 1 foundation of government their death was a against the injustice of human destiny JAMES atchason Atch lson kan the sentiment printed below from james cornoy eon of cornoy the founder of the philadelphia press As a in the navy this contributor was captain for meritorious ashore by admiral farragut Farr aRUt in 1808 to hoist the first union nag on the custom house at new orleans and braug away the confederate banner memorial day la the moat 11 of 11 II our notional holiday a on abat day we throw way all care and out anil decorate the graves 0 those soldiers and bailers bailors who till id battle so that we alvo to enjoy a tree ad great country the scene ie very pathetic to see the old veterans bending over with age guttins abo flower over the remains of their comrades it could however bo a much happier and grander tor the autore if the north and south would oln together instead of having rate days and make decoration day borred to the memory of both would indeed make I 1 of all days one of the grandest in the history of the republic JAMES colonel united states marina corps the following is sent me fitly enough by an author who comes of a soldier family dr mccook coee not need identification as a naturalist one of the leading authorities of the world on american ants and spiders and the author of alie popular the tenants of an old farm dr mccook of the famous eight JOHN JAMES aug me cook family is the pastor of the tabernacle presbyterian church of philadelphia and one of tho most prominent men in the ministry he writes as follows in the midst of a groat battle on indiana soldier was borne upon a stretcher to the rear both thighs hot by a baell it so happened abat he waa carried by the point where bis division commander stood directing the conflict ftp boys ho cried 1 baaren set down in front of the officer who eap ped to his gide and a word of pity and uttered a hope that he might boon be well look at that general said the soldier lifting a corner of the blanket that covered his mangled limbs no no its all tip with me man can live after abat but that what 1 want to say general ive wife and five babcoe out jhc thc o in indiana who wont have a cent to keep them beyond the pension they will draw and I 1 love eni general gene rul I 1 love era than I 1 know bow to tell but id do it again it I 1 had it all to do over now rather than seo the union destroyed ive done my duty and im not afraid to die goodby general now boy move on and they carried him out of eight the eyes followed the brave fellow tor a moment were ased to such scenes but they were wet with tears just then no wonder grateful countrymen hallow the memory of these men and when tho flowers of spring have gathered with their first fullness hasten with loving bands to deck their graves but there is no flower that exhales its sweetness upon the heros resting place so fragrant in conr soula as the deeds of suffering self even unto death which compel our love and sorrow what with war stories and tombstone morals the tenor of this collection would have been fittingly decorated with the rue had not a well known army man come to the rescue by mailing me a question and au answer now should memorial decoration day bo heeti having taken part in many a decoration day parade and in nine cases oat of ten with the result of being drenched to the skin with rains from a sympathetic but inconsiderate sky I 1 have no hesitation in replying decoration day should be kept dry KING captain united status army there is no need to identify captain charles king as an army man for there Is scarce a novel reader iu the country but has both laughed and cried over his stories of army and garrison life the gallant captain bogs further to bbate while on the subject of decoration day that the above question deserves a better answer but that it catches him at his busiest moment LILLIAN A NORTH MEMORIAL DAY HAY SO 1837 battly the south wind coma from hainta afar and bring its charm to waiting hula and valee but now it 1 not redolent of war of horrors abid jalcs for peace with her abir whito wines keline now unhindered oust west north and booth the green spring turf unto the plowshare a and cobweb lace the brazen cannon mouth no more ere berried doets la battle aar drawn ji no more are brothern brot bern bloody tha tragic devastating war 1 gone and a cow era dawna to stir abo alfo of this cicat nation to uplift tho raco to forward freedom to enfranchise man to eire the lowliest a chance und ail tee for each to do abo very best he cao not la abo realms of ancient libao and groeco nor in the utopia cn there be found or pictured elates like these or any power of ench ben tenant sway but thia brava land deprang oot at once tall born nor found ite herlt agu without a price through battles blaze through toll and hate and corn conr great republic had it glorious rise today we meet to honor those scars and death were given that breedom should not die of dark blood red and cruel wars wh won for oa the final victory aa troia fair and the mountain side flowene tor their touched with the bouth winds breath that their blest deeds may in conr and honor crown their death fling out the flaat let speech and flow I 1 may grateful hearts pause and tho wealth ot may be brought for tribute till the whole world know the sacred import of memorial day |