The National tribune., 1883-10-25
A nnestion or Comradeship.

Is, therefore, bound by all the rules and
WORT, late chief clerk of the Railway Mail
Service at Omaha, Neb, is nember, we
He also, it is to be supposed, took the pre-
scribed oath, and is, therefore, bound by the
rules and regulations of the Order. Now,
Comrade Van Deryoort, being in the employ
Of that Department of the Government of
which Comrade Gresham happens to be at
this time the head, was reported to Comrade
Gresham by certain subordinates of the
latter, who were actuated by motives of
personal hostility and hatred, as having
been guilty of neglect of duty and general
unfaithfulness, and his removal was asked
for. That being the case, what was the
duty of Comrade Gresham in the premises
He knew that Comrade Van Deryoort was
an ex-soldier, and a member of the Grand
Army like himself. for Comrade Van Der
position of ofCommander-in-C Chief of The Order,
and it was, therefore, to have been expected
that he weIlId have treated him-if not with
the fraternad kindness-at least with the
spirit Of justice that is due from one COM
rade to another. Bat he did nothing of the
sort! He peremptorily removed Comrade
Van Deryoort, after nine years service,
without even asking him whether the
charges brought against him were truel
This, in our judgment, was a gross
and fagrant violation of the oath
which Comrade Gresham took upon himself
when he became member Of the Order
But Comrade Gresham did not stop herel
When Comrade Van Dervoort appealed to
him for hearing, he at first turned deaf
ear, treating him with contemptuous silence,
and it was only at the solicitation of men
whose just request he did not dare to defy
that he finally consented to order an inves-
tigation. Here again, in our judgment,
Comrade Gresham showed himself to be
utterly lacking in the spirit of comradeship,
for when he learned that Comrade Van Der
voort denied the truth of the allegations
made against him, he should have been at
pains to afford him a hearing Nor is this
all. After Comrade Van Deryoort had pre-
sey,fed his defanSa s,,9 vaF,,4ad 41,a ,r,o-,-oc8
brought against him so thoroughly that he
lGresham) did not hesitate to urge the ap-
pointment of Comrade Van Deryoort to
lucrative and responsible positions in other
OF the Government. he still
refused to reinstate him in the position from
which he had been unjustly removed. This,
we do not hesitate to say, is the most con-
vincing evidence of all that he is utterly
devoid of the spirit of comradeship and has
wantonly violated the oath of membership.
II Comrade Gresham believed Comrade Van
Dsrvoort to be worthy of appointment to
lucrative and responsible positions in other
Departments, how could he refuse to restore
him to the Office of which, by his own per-
sonal act, he Wan Deryoort) had been de-
prived.
This, in a nutshell, is the vital issue be-
fore the Grand Army, and if it shall fail to
grapple with il and decide it for all time, it
viii be unworthy of the devotion with
which its organization is now maintained.
Ii the principles of the Grand Army mean
anything, they mean that its members are
bound to stand by each other, when their
cause is just through thick and thin. If
they do not mean that, then they are of no
more account than the ties which bind the
members of any purely social order to-
gether.
We believe the Grand Army viii not shirk
its obligation IN this matter, however, but
VIII come up to the full measure of its duty.
This is not question of the adjustment of
any personal differences between two COM
rades Of the Order, but of the binding char
acter of its oath upon its members. In other
words, it is question of principle, for if
comrades are not to be held accountable by
| the Order for unfraternal actions, it may as
well absoiye its members from their oath.
And this is our whole interest in this mat
ter. The relations which exist between
THE TRIBUNE and Comrade Van Derveort
are not different from those which exist be-
tween THE TRIBUNE and any other ex-
soldier, and, while we are glad to know that
through the high estimation in which gen
tleman of San Francisco holds his abilities,
there has been secured to Comrade Van Der
WORT responsible and independent posi-
ton Of purely business character, it is not
his temporal welfare, but his individual
| rights as a comrade Of the Grand Army that
we are contending for Nor for Comrade
Gresham, on the other hand, do we entertain
any save the most kindly feelings Prior to
his action in the case, we had always sup
posed him to be as just in his official con-
duct as he was reputed to be honorable and
straightforward in all the relations Of pri-