The Blood of the Nation 



tionary ancestors, whoever they may 

 have been. But if those who survived 

 were nobler than the mass, so also were 

 those who fell. If we go over the 

 record of brave men and wise women 

 whose fathers fought at Lexington, we 

 must think also of the men and women 

 who shall never be, whose right to 

 exist was cut short at this same battle. 

 It is a costly thing to kill off men, for 

 in men alone can national greatness 

 consist. 



But sometimes there is no other al- 

 ternative. It happened once that for 

 " every drop of blood drawn by the 

 lash another must be drawn by the 

 sword." It cost us a million of lives to 

 get rid of slavery. And this million, 

 North and South, was the " best that 

 the nation could bring." North and 

 South, the nation was impoverished by 

 the loss. The gaps they left are 

 filled to all appearance. There are 



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