Memorial and Biographical History of Dallas County, Texas. Page: 228 of 1,110
vii, 9-1011 p. incl. ill., ports. : ports. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
HISTORY OP DALLAS COUNTYIts
horrid jaws slowly close over him. Its
ravages are stayed, and soon no trace of the
gulf is left on the green sward.
" Our fathers founded this nation on justice.
They laid the corner stone of the Republic
in the cement of universal liberty, ' all
men are created equal,' but the political walls
were builded with untempered mortar. The
conflict between hostile systems of labor had
long been gathering. It was not an affair of
transient impulse. The battle was being set
in array even from the time the new nation
had been brought forth. The clash of discussion
was heard in every nook and corner of
the land. Then came the passionate appeal
to arms. A great gulf suddenly yawned,
stretching from ocean to desert, dividing the
people into hostile camps. That war did not
end nor that gulf close till we had cast therein
our most precious possessions, the growth,
the strength, the virtue, the patriotism of the
land.
"(From homes where gray-haired grandsires
still spoke of Washington; from the cabin
which sheltered the emigrant of yesterday;
from the lap of luxury and the hut of poverty;
from the wayside shop of the blacksmith and
the broad acres of the farmer; from the clearing
of the pioneer and the cave of the miner;
from the college halls where students gathered
and the marts of trade where merchants
thronged, they came in a grand array.
" Life was as dear to them as to others,
death just as unwelcome. But life must end
and death must come to all, and their hearts
sang the song of the old hero ' who kept the
bridge so well.'"'Then out spoke brave Horatius,
The captain of the gate:
'To every man upon the earth
Death cometh soon or late;
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds
For the ashes of his fathers
And the tempIt of his gods '
"'The gulf closed at last, but the land
ridged and scarred with 300,000 graves reminds
us how deadly the danger and how
great the sacrifice.
" Not till man had wasted from before
the cannon's mouth, like snow flakes from
the noonday sun; not till her voice of mourning
was heard in every hamlet and town; not
till the reaper Death had gathered a harvest
of the noblest and best into his voiceless garner;
not till rivers of blood in crimson
streams cried from earth to heaven did that
chasm close. The sweat of agony is the
price of purification. 'Via crucis via lucis:'
the way of the cross is the way of light.
The bodies of brave men, sown thick in the
furrows of war, are the seed from which
springs enduring national life. That is the
costly price we pay for the glory of an unbroken
republic.
;"From the soil stained with their blood has
sprung the consummate flower of impartial
freedom, equal laws, a common birthright,
a perpetual nationality, an enduring destiny,
one name. These comrades fell that the nation
might rise with the resurrection of a
nobler, fuller humanity. They died that
liberty might live. Every forward step, every
new right gained for the race, has been
reached through human blood and pain.
Thus mankind moves onward.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Lewis Publishing Company. Memorial and Biographical History of Dallas County, Texas., book, 1892; Chicago, Illinois. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth20932/m1/228/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Public Library.