The National tribune., 1882-12-21


| | shall take pleasure in doing everything
| within my power to assist it in the collection
| of Grand Army news, so that through its col
umns our comrades can be kept thoroughly
posted as to what is going on in the Depart
ments all over the Union"
NOW is THE TINE FOR WORK.
ain that connection, General, / want to ask,
for theb enefit of THE TRIBUNE's readers what
| YOU regard as the best time in the year to es-
! tablSh new PostS?"
THE winter, by all means Now is our
| harvest-time. The evenings are long and our
! ex-solders have plenty Of leisure on their
| hands They only need to be invited to join
! the Order: and right here ! want to- say that
the expense of membership in the Grand
! Army is very much less than some of them
! doubtless think, and in no case need it be an
! obstacle in their way The fee required for n
! Post charter is only ten dollars, and the cost
| to each man on being mustered i'll will not eX-
| ceed two dollars while the dues will not aver
| age over fifty cents per quarter. Membership
! in some Posts is, of course, more expensive than
| in Others but that is matter for the regulation
! of the members themselves, and on an average,
! as have said. the expense does not exceed fifty
| cents per quarter Then again, as regards the
uniform. | suppose, some of our eH-SoldlerS are
/ under the impression that it will be necessary
! for them to purchase uniform, i'll order to join
| the Order. That Is also mistake. The fact Is,
that while am in favor of every Post being uni
formed, as far as possible the only thing neCcs-
sary to do in order to bring about that result
is for each member to buy ordinary blue
suit with adjustable buttons, 50 that it can be
converted into uniform at a moments notice
by simply replacing the ordinary button with
the brass button worn by the Order. There is
no obligation, however, on the part of any
member to do even this for the Grand Army is
glad to receive into its ranks any honorably
discharged ex-soldier or sailor, no matter how
lean his purse or scanty his clothing"
POST MEETINGS.
"While you are on that subject" said the
editor of THE TRIBUNE, Il want to ask you
what your views are in regard to the conduct
of Post meetings, &c.?'
Gas to that" replied the Commander-in-
Chief, ait has always been my opinion that
the meetings of the Posts should be conducted
strictly in accordance with the regulations and
ritual, and that itshould always be the endeavor
of the officers to make them as interesting as pos
sible The surest way to maintain the esprit dW
Post after it has once been established is
tomake its proceedings entertaining to its mem
bers. 1t is not enough to go through with the
routine work War "reminiscences, good stOrcs
anecdotes of camp life and written contribu-
tOns detailing personal experiences in famous
battles should he invited from every comrade,
and any musical talent that the Post may pos
sess should he brought into requisition. The
frequent holding of Camp-fires and the giving
of lectures, dramatic performances, concerts.
and entertainments of various descriptions, for
the purpose of raising funds for the relief com
mittees the furnishing and decoration of Post
halls, or other good purposes, ought also to be
actively encouraged. The public generally,
too, should be made welcome at all public meet
ings of the Order, so that the community ut
large may become interested in the Order and
learn to respect and honor it."
WORD FOR THE LADIES
"There is another matter, General, that is
frequently brought to our attention. The
ladies seem TO think that they also ought to
have place in the Grand Army"
Il think so, too," was his reply. "The SER
vices of the women of the war should never be
forgotten, and | am in favor of enlisting their
cooperation in every possible way. | think it
would be good thing for every Post TO estab-
lish Ladies Night or give a Campfire
under their auspices" 6-uz - ..--
"What about the ladies' auxiliary socie-
ties?" aa4r- s..aa.. .a-.
Ladies' auXiiaries are most excellent insti-
tutions, and their establishment ought to be
cordially encouraged everywhere. The sOcie-
ties at Toledo, Ohio, and Portland. Maine, have
done vast amount of good, for the women are
much better at seeking out soldiers who are
really i'll need of assistance than we are. Our
eX-solders generally try to conceal their pow
eyes are much quicker to perceive distress than
a mans Then, again, membership in these
auxiliary societies is not confined 10 the wives
or daughters of soldiers, but is open to all the
loyal women in the land and their aid would
be of great substantial benefit to every Post in
the Order"
POST HALLS.
"Do you not think it would be a good idea,
General, for each Post to establish war library,
coa fn Ford Ia,,tn nj.
the members at home well rs at the Post
meetings."
Yes; l think the idea is a capital one, and
with proper effort. in nearly every case, no
doubt, sufficient contributions of books could
be obtained to establish good sized library at
very little cost. / think good deal of atten-
tion should also be paid to the decoration of
Post rooms. In the first place, every Post ought
10 possess picture Of the soldier from whom it
takes its name, and it would be an easy thing |
in most cases to secure pictures of the famous /
generals of the war, old battle flags, military |
views, and corps badges, with which to decorate |
the walls Our comrades ought to take |
pride in this work and, as ] have said before, !
the more attractive the meeting-places and the |
proceedings of the meetings themselves are |
made, the easier il will be to induce eX-soldiers
who are not members of the Grand Army to |
join it, while the less danger there will be that !
those who are already members will drop out |
of the ranks"
NEW DEPARTMENTS.
Is there any prospect, General, Of the Gre |
alton of any new Departments of the Grand |
Army"
yes; that is inevitable, if the Order goes |
on increasing at the present rate. As the Ter !
ritOries fill up, and the Northwest is opened to |
immigration, Posts will, of course multiply |
there, and the time will come, undoubtedly, |
when every State and Territory will be organ
lied into separate Department. Virginia and |
Kentucky have both become permanent De- |
partments. The Department Of Colorado has |
been created out Of the Department Of the |
Mountains. A Apermanent Department has been |
organized in Dakota with eleven Posts. The |
Department of Oregon has been created out of |
California, and Washington Territory is now |
provisional Department. The time is not far
distant, / think, when we shall even secure a |
foOthold in Texas. In September last, Comrade |
Thel, of the New Orleans Post, at my instance
organized promising Post at Sherman, Texas, !
and the rush of Northern immigration in that |
direction is sure to carry with it enough sol
diers to form the nucleus for a splendid organi-
Zation there. The outlook in Arkansas is also |
encouraging. That State is at present attached |
to the Department Of Illinois, but | shall proba-
bly, transfer it to Missouri, and, before long, it
will become Department by itself"
You say you are going to California next
May, General. Has it ever occurred TO you to
run over and visit our new Post at Honolulu"
The General laughed, and replied: "Well, l |
have been invited very cordially to make the
trip, and / should like very much to visit our
solitary Post beyond the sea, but, of course, it |
xvnl1lH falyn lata,r md | H.