[Illustration:
Copyright by Bass and Woodworth, Indianapolis
SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, INDIANAPOLIS]
APPENDIX
INDIANA SOLDIERS' MONUMENT
Some years after the close of the Civil War the Legislature of Indiana
determined to erect a monument at Indianapolis, "designed to glorify
the heroic epoch of the Republic and to commemorate the valor and
fortitude of Indiana's Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Rebellion
and other wars."
The corner-stone of this monument was laid in 1887 with appropriate
services, including an oration by President Benjamin Harrison. It was
completed and dedicated in 1902. It stands upon a terrace 110 feet
in diameter, with a foundation of 69 by 53 feet, the height of the
monument from the street level is 284 feet, and is crowned by a Victory
statue of 38 feet. On subordinate pedestals occupying positions in the
four segments are bronze statues of Governor Morton, Governor Whitcomb,
General William Henry Harrison, and General George Rogers Clark. It is
claimed to be the largest and most expensive soldiers' monument in the
United States, and one of the grandest achievements of architectural
and sculptural art in the world.
The dedication services on the completion of the monument were held
on May 15, 1902, attended by military and civic delegations from
all parts of the State, parades, salutes, dedication exercises, and
illuminations, occupying the entire day and evening. The dedication
address follows.
ADDRESS OF JOHN W. FOSTER, DELIVERED AT THE DEDICATION OF SOLDIERS'
MONUMENT, AT INDIANAPOLIS MAY 15, 1902
_Mr. Chairman, Governor Durbin, Comrades and Fellow Citizens_:
We are gathered to-day inspired by mingled feelings of joy and sadness,
of pride and sorrow. To the generation who have come upon the stage
of public life since the scenes were enacted which are glorified in
this noble monument, it may well be an occasion of exultation, for
they see only the blessings conferred upon the State and Nation by the
deeds of the heroic dead whose memory we are assembled to honor. But to
those of us who were their comrades in service, there arises the sad
recollection of the carnage of battle and the wasting experience of the
hospital. While the stirring notes of martial music, the booming of
cannon, and the waving of flags awaken the enthusiasm and the patriotic
pride of the people, there are many mothers and widows to whom this
brilliant scene is but the reopening of the fountain not yet dried up
by twoscore years of weeping.
It is for no idle purpose I recall the solemn phase of the pageantry of
these dedication exercises, for it cannot fail to impress more deeply
upon us the debt we owe to the men for whom this magnificent memorial
has been raised.
It commemorates the sacrifice of twenty-five thousand men--Indiana's
contribution to the cause of the Union. A fearful price this Nation
paid for its life. A veritable army is this, larger than any gathered
under Washington or Scott. In those dark days, when our comrades were
pouring out their life's blood on a hundred battlefields, when new
calls were made for more men to fill the depleted ranks, when the
scales hung trembling between success and failure, it seemed sometimes
as if the State could not endure the fearful slaughter. But the triumph
of the right came at last. And time has healed the scars of war. We can
now look back upon the scene as one only of heroic deeds.
It was highly appropriate that on the apex of this shaft there should
be placed the emblem of Victory. Never in the history of human warfare
has there been a triumph more significant of blessing to mankind. The
Goddess of Victory crowns this monument, but it is not in exultation
over a fallen foe. I thank God that in the dedication services to-day
there is no feeling of bitterness toward the men who fought against our
dead comrades. We rejoice to know that they are loyal citizens with us
of a common country. We must not, however, belittle the sacrifice of
our honored dead. Right, humanity, and progress were on the side of
the Union armies, and it was chiefly for this reason we have reared
this noble pile of bronze and marble.
What the victory they gained signifies to this Nation, to this
continent, and to all peoples, has been so often, so exhaustively,
and so eloquently told, that I hesitate to even allude to it. But my
observation in foreign lands has so forcibly impressed on me one of
the inestimable blessings which has been secured to us and to future
generations by the triumph of the Union arms, that I deem this a
fitting occasion to call it to mind.
Scarcely second in importance to the maintenance of republican
government in its purity and vigor and the extirpation of slavery,
are the reign of peace and deliverance from standing armies, which
the unbroken Union guarantees to us and to our children. It requires
no vivid imagination to conceive of some of the results which would
have followed a division of the states--a frontier lined with
fortifications, bristling with cannon and garrisoned by a hostile
soldiery; conscription and taxation such as had never been known
before; constant alarms of war; and political and international
complications which would have put an end to our boasted American
policy and Monroe Doctrine.
One of the things which most attracts the attention of foreigners who
visit our shores is the absence of soldiers about our public buildings,
in our cities, and along the thoroughfares of commerce. And those who
have never seen our country can scarcely realize that it is possible to
carry on a government of order and stability without a constant show of
military force. In all the nations of Europe it has been for so many
generations the continuous practice to maintain standing armies, that
it is considered a necessary and normal part of the system of political
organizations. The existence of rival and neighboring nations,
constantly on the alert to protect themselves from encroachment on
their territory and to maintain their own integrity, and the recent
advances in military science and warlike equipment, have caused a great
increase in the armies, enormously enlarged the expenditures, and
compelled a rigorous enforcement of the most exacting and burdensome
term of service; until to-day, in this high noon of Christian
civilization, Europe is one vast military camp, and, with such tension
in the international relations, that the slightest incident may set its
armies in battle array--the merest spark light the fires of war and
envelop the continent, if not the whole world, in the conflagration.
Germany and France maintain an army on a peace footing of about a
half-million of men each, Russia of three quarters of a million, and
other Continental powers armies of relatively large proportions. The
term of military service required in each is from three to four years.
To support these enormous burdens the nations of Europe have imposed
upon their inhabitants the most oppressive taxation, and, besides, have
multiplied their public debts to the utmost extent of their national
credit. But great as these exactions are, they are as nothing compared
to the heavy demands made for the personal military service of the
people. To take from the best energies of every young man's life from
three to four years, just at the time when he is ready to lay the
foundations of his career and establish his domestic relations, is a
tax which can scarcely be estimated in money value, and is a burden
upon the inhabitants so heavy and so irritating that they stagger under
its weight and would rebel against it, did they dare resist the iron
tyranny of military rule.
Thanks to the soldiers who fought triumphantly for the maintenance of
our Union of States, and that there might continue to be one great and
supreme nation on this continent, we are released from this curse of
a large standing army, we are free from its burdensome taxation and
debt, our young men are permitted to devote the flower of their lives
to useful industry and domestic enjoyment, and our free institutions
are not menaced by military oppression. To conquer a peace such as the
world has not heretofore seen, and to secure a reign of prosperity and
plenty which no other people of the present or the past has enjoyed,
did the men of Indiana fight and die.
We are here to honor the soldier and the sailor; but it is well to
recall that ours is not a warlike people, and I pray God they never may
be. An event which greatly attracted the attention of Europe was that
when our Civil War was over the vast armies of near two millions of
men quietly laid down their arms and, without outlawry or marauding,
retired to their homes to renew their peaceful avocations. They had not
become professional soldiers. They were citizens of a great republic,
and felt their responsibilities as such.
In all, our foreign wars have occupied less than five years in a
period of one hundred and twenty of our independence. Our greatest
achievements as a nation have been in the domain of peace. The one
aggressive war in which we have been engaged was that with Mexico,
and it was the unrighteous cause of slavery which led us to depart
from the line of justice in that instance. It is to be hoped that
no evil influence or ambition will ever again lead us into acts of
unjustifiable aggression. In the Spanish War, I think I speak the
sentiment of the great majority of my countrymen when I say, it was a
feeling of humanity which occasioned that conflict. It brought with
it results which we could not anticipate and which many of our people
lament. It has led to the expulsion of Spain and its bad system of
government from this hemisphere, certainly not an untoward event. If it
was a desire to benefit our fellow men that led us into that contest, I
feel sure the same spirit will control our conduct toward the millions
of people on the other side of the globe whom the fortunes of war have
so unexpectedly brought into our dominion.
We are proud of the record which our country has made in the settlement
of disputes with foreign nations by the peaceful method of arbitration.
It is possible that all matters of difference cannot be adjusted in
that way, but it offers a remedy which commends itself to the lover
of peace and good-will among men, and it is our boast that we have
resorted to it more often than any other nation.
It is not incumbent on me to give any account of this structure,
so perfect in art, so appropriate in design, embracing all arms of
the military service on land and sea. I must, however, as a comrade
of those whose fame it perpetuates, bear cheerful testimony to the
generosity of a grateful people, who have reared this costly column.
It is in keeping also with the munificence of the Federal Government
in all that relates to the memory and the welfare of those who fought
to secure the Union of these States. In the National Capital and
throughout the land, in every city, and in almost every town, there are
monuments to the Union soldiers, and the important battlefields have
been turned into public parks consecrated to the Nation's dead.
And no government has been so liberal in its provisions for the
surviving veterans. Listen to a few eloquent figures. At the close of
the War for the Union our national debt amounted to the stupendous sum
of $2,700,000,000. And yet there has been paid out of the National
Treasury, since that date, for pensions an amount equal to that sum.
Before the Spanish War the pension roll amounted to two fifths of the
entire expenses of the Government, and it is even now, with the large
increase of both the civil and military list, one fourth of the total.
The payments on this account for the last year were about $140,000,000.
There are now on the roll, nearly forty years after the war, 997,735
pensioners. Of the amount paid out, the pensioners from Indiana receive
$10,291,000 every year, and the Indianians on the list number 66,974.
The two great martial nations of Europe are France and Germany, but
their expenditures for military pensions are only one fifth and one
sixth of ours. In addition to these unparalleled disbursements, vast
sums have been expended for the establishment and maintenance of
Soldiers' Homes in various parts of the country. Surely the old soldier
cannot charge his Government with ingratitude.
This day constitutes the culmination of the history of Indiana. This
imposing monument, peerless of its kind among the nations, the gift
of a rich and prosperous Commonwealth, the testimonial of a grateful
people to the men who gave their lives to save the Union and perpetuate
free institutions, stands to-day, with the quaternion of soldiers
and statesmen about it, a memorial of past achievement, an evidence
of present accomplishment in government, society, and industry, an
assurance of future prosperity and happiness. It was a wise discernment
of the memorable epochs in the history of the State which cause to be
associated with this central monument the statues of the two soldiers
and the two statesmen who adorn this artistic Circle.
Of all the soldiers who were famous in the War of the Revolution, few
have rendered more imperishable services to the country than General
George Rogers Clark. I have not the time to dwell upon his military
career. You recall the repeated journeys he made across the mountains
from his Kentucky home to implore the Revolutionary authorities to
furnish him the means to save the great Northwest to the new nation.
The story of his voyage down the Ohio with a mere handful of resolute
patriots, his capture of Kaskaskia, his marvelous march in the dead
of winter to the assault and capture of Vincennes, are among the
most thrilling narratives of that heroic struggle; yet history has
failed to give him due credit for his great achievement. But for his
expedition, it is safe to say that the Northwest would have remained
British territory, and Indiana would to-day be a crown colony or a
Canadian province, rather than a free commonwealth of an independent
people. Had the United States been confined in its territorial extent
to the Atlantic seaboard, as our ally France wished it to be, the young
republic might have survived as a shriveled and sickly nation under
the guardianship of France; but the vast expansion to the Northwest,
across the Mississippi, to the Pacific Coast, and to the Islands of
the Orient never could have taken place. As we look upon that dashing
figure, moulded in bronze, let us not forget the great debt we and all
this Nation owe to the intrepid soldier who conquered the Northwest.
The second period of the history of Indiana is fitly represented
by General William Henry Harrison, the territorial Governor and
the defender of the frontier. He stands for the men who laid the
foundations of our government and society, and freed the territory from
the ruthless savage.
In Governor Whitcomb we have a typical Indianian of the early period
of statehood. A farmer's son, he had his share, as a boy and young
man, of the privations of frontier life, the Herculean labor of
clearing away the forests, and bringing the land under cultivation.
At the same period of time Indiana was nurturing another young man in
like experience and labors of frontier life--that matchless American,
Abraham Lincoln. In this era of abounding prosperity and luxurious
living, we are too apt to forget that they rest upon the toils and
trials of our fathers. Whitcomb showed the stuff of which he was
made by supporting himself at school and college by his own manual
labor. He filled many public offices with usefulness and honor, and
had the distinction of occupying the gubernatorial chair during the
Mexican War, in which Indiana soldiers did their full share toward the
victories which gained for us the wide domain stretching to the Pacific.
For the fourth period of the history of Indiana, which records the
contest for the preservation of the Union, there could be but one man
whose statue should be a companion piece to this superb monument. No
soldier, no citizen, no man high or low, could take rank in point
of heroic service, of tireless labors, of commanding influence, of
exposure to dangers, of courage, self-denial and suffering, with Oliver
P. Morton. He was a man endowed with rare intellectuality, and made a
high place for himself in the Nation as a statesman, but to the people
of Indiana, and especially to the old soldiers, he will be remembered
as the Great War Governor.
It is fitting that the name of another son of Indiana should be
mentioned on this occasion. His statue is not in this Circle, but
will soon adorn another portion of this beautiful capital. When the
corner-stone of this edifice was laid thirteen years ago he took part
in the exercises, and, but for his untimely death, would doubtless
have been called to occupy my place in this day's dedication. Benjamin
Harrison has the distinction of being one of the first to inspire this
great undertaking now so happily consummated. He himself was a gallant
soldier and would have rejoiced to participate in this pageant. In
every department of public and private life he did his work well, and
we are proud to honor him as President and citizen.
It is a pleasing service to thus recall the names of some of our public
men. I heartily believe in State pride. I believe in local attachments.
The associations which cluster about the home are the dearest and the
best. If we as Indianians have not, in times past, been as conspicuous
as some of our neighbors for our State pride, it was not because we
loved Indiana less, but the Union more; and since we have forever
settled the question of State rights, I see no reason why we should
not on all proper occasions and with the vehemence of domestic loyalty
exalt our State, and boast of its resources, its merits, and its
memories. Among these there are none which constitute a nobler heritage
or awaken more enthusiastic pride than the services and attainments of
our public men.
I have not dwelt at any length upon the wonderful prosperity which
our country is now enjoying, as one of the direct results of the
preservation of the Union. We all rejoice in our present high and
honorable position among the nations of the earth, and we may well
look forward to a continuance of this era of peace and prosperity.
But in the day of our exaltation we should remember that no people of
the earth have proved to be indestructible as a nation. Every country
may carry within itself the seeds of its own dissolution. We need not
revert to the history of Rome, Greece, Egypt, or Assyria to learn of
the decay and death of empires. The archæologist tells us that in
the territory covered by the State of Indiana there once existed,
at a period so remote that no legend of them remained among the
aborigines at the discovery by Columbus, a great and powerful people
who built populous cities, were possessed of a high grade of military
science, were advanced in the arts, founded dynasties, had an educated
priesthood, and were of a heroic frame.
I have not time to moralize upon this, but I venture a few practical
suggestions which may appeal to us as citizens of a great nation whose
prosperity and happiness we desire may continue through all time. If
we would realize this expectation we must have an honest government,
Federal, State, and local. I have given the figures which show the
enormous expenditures for pensions. It is common rumor that this sum
has been swelled by perjury and fraud. Every faithful soldier who
receives a pension from the Government justly regards it as a badge of
honor. He should watch with jealous care that no deserter, no skulker,
no unworthy camp-follower, through the cunning of dishonest claim
agents, should have the same badge of honor. So, also, bribery and
corruption in our public and municipal bodies, may soon destroy the
foundations of our national life. All good citizens should denounce
and combine to punish every attempt at corruption.
As we should have an honest government, so we should have a pure
government. I have spoken of State pride. More than once I have been
made to blush when away from home to hear the charge that the elections
in Indiana were sometimes corrupt. I trust I may entertain the hope
that there is exaggeration in this, and that our errors of the past
no longer exist. It is a sure sign of national decay in a republican
government, when the fountain head of power, the ballot, becomes
corrupt.
While we must have an honest and pure government to insure the
perpetuation of our institutions, we should also have an efficient
government. And this I think can best be brought about by the universal
application of the system of competitive civil service. I know that
many an Indiana politician has mocked at it as the dream of the
idealist, but it is the only democratic method of filling the offices
where all applicants stand upon a common level, and the only way of
securing the best results in administration.
I have entered upon a fruitful theme, but must not pursue it
further. I have suggested three points which seem appropriate for
our consideration to-day, when we are gathered to honor the soldiers
who died that our country might live. We owe it to them to so act as
citizens that they shall not have offered up their lives in vain. Let
us cherish their memory, and in our day and generation do what we can
to perpetuate for the people in the ages to come the blessings of free
institutions among men. Should we thus prove true to our trust, this
imposing memorial, so patriotic in design, and so perfect in execution,
will stand in future years as a testimonial, not only to the fallen
heroes of the war, but also to the faithful citizens, who handed down
unimpaired their heritage of republican government to mankind.