The National tribune., 1883-09-06

now as much as in the old war days. Mrs
/ Houghton maintains that there is no more rea-
| son for the admission of all loyal women into
| the Relief Corps than there is for making all
loyal men members of the Posts. But, to be con-
| sstant In this view, the women who have be-
| come the wives of soldiers since the war would
| not be eligible. 1t is well TO remember that
| the part of women in the war for the Union
was TO work as aids and helpers of the soldiers
| who fought at the front. From this standpoint
many a woman who had no friends in the
army would be eligible, and many woman
| now the wife of q soldier would have no claim
| for membership. We all know of soldiers who
have married young wives within the past
| few years who cannot even remember there
was a war. Mrs Houghton advances the idea
| that the vote on eligibility was carried at
| Denver by majority of women who were not
| the wives, mothers, sisters and daughters of
soldiers. Never was there greater mistake.
| The writer, who was present, and who took
considerable pains to investigate the subject,
| knows OF but two women present who did not
come under the list. 1t was prominently
| and emphatically conclaVe of women after
Mrs. Houghton's own heart. One venerable
old mother present, who has promised THE
| NATIONAL TRIBUNE q letter, had a husband
and i've sons in the army, and her feeble figure
was seen to rise in the meeting several times,
| as with broken voice she made her plea
| for her sister workers in the old war days who
they had no near friend in the war. AS one
good sanitary worker said to the writer few
days since, when q soldiers wife of recent date
| questioned her right to be in Relief Corps:
81 haze the right-the right by intention and
service. Itwas no fault of mine if my son was
| too young to go and my husband was rejected
| because he had a lame hand, though his hand
| was not too lame to go down to Fredericks-
| burg, when fourteen thousand wounded men
| were languishing there and nurse them at his
! own expense. God knows edid all we could,
and l have a right here" 1t was with this
class in view that the wives, mothers, sisters
and daughters at Denver said: "God bless
| them, and keep them side by side with us to
| the end" Mrs. Houghton, writing from her
home at Metuchen, N. J., thus concludes her
| letter:
! do not believe in secret or open organizations
think there are entirely too many in our country.
| They take the men away from their homes and
| families, and take from their Ineans money which
| might far better be spent in their homes to make
their families comfortable. Our Grand Army halls
are artistically decorated and carpeted with fine
BRUSSELS carpets, while majority OF those men who
give OF their means to support such institution
have no carpet on their floors and find it hard
| struggle to sustain life at respectable rate. But
| the Grand Army always seemed to me different
from any other order, none but those who fought
ana bied to sustain our Union could belong and in
Jew years at the longest they would to exist,
as one brave soldier after another passed away and
for that very reason felt desire to Join the Ioyal
Ladies' League of New Jersey But now it is not
different from any other order fear all my interest
| viii cease However, viii carefully read and
fleet upon all your future correspondents have to
| say and note ali you may say upon the Womans
Corps for another year, and not decide hastily
| and unwisely. think you have very able and
| earnest worker and editor of Loyal Eonan's Work
in Mrs. Sherwood She seems really and truly in
earnest in her noble and great work, and as she is
the wife OF soldier who fought and suffered for the
| Union, feel great affinity towards her. even
| though she does not concur in my way of thinking
see she copied part of my communication to her
1 in rorx
when she said our Past Department President,
Carrie 8urge, of Vineland n. j.. was not eligible;
sne Is wlie OF soldier and most truly eligible, and
an earliest advocate of our Order shall expect TO
have the pleasure of reading q communication
from our PFesident-n-Chief Mrs. Florence Barker.
Allow me to extend to her through your columns
my earnest and sincere congratulations upon the
great honor conferred upon her, as she Is so
| thoroughly interested in her work and fully
competent and able to discharge the duties of the
high Office upon which she has this year entered.
feel and know she will be very successful.
With true and earnest desire that the sIb5crip-
| ton list of THE TRIBUNE may be doubled In
another year,
am, yours, In F., c., and l.,
Senior yice-Presdent, Loyal Ladies' League.
GREETING FROM PENNSYLVANIA.
| Mrs R. ]. Gibbs, President Womans Auxili-
ary, Miesburg, Pa, which has applied for
charter under the National Relief Corps, sends
| greetings to all her co-workers from among the
hills of Pennsylvania and county of Center,
and adds:
| We, as State and county. were not behind during
our Nations most deadly peril and do not wish to be
now. Last July, while the representatives from the
| different Auxiliaries were at Denver, we at home
formed a Relief Corps, Auxiliary to DIR. Geo. L.
/ Potter Post. and are awaiting muster-in. The
] g. A. +. had been rather tardy in perfeeting Ma
! tional work, and as they have so generally asked
the assistance of the ladies' they should have given
| them common form of work long ago. We have
been anxious upon the question of loyalty, as
| sorry to say many wEo the blue have not got
| lief Corps?
We are fully organized have money In the treas
ury. and have placed organ in Potter Post Hall.
Oar officers are as follows: President Mrs. r. J.
/ Gibbs; S. V. p, Mrs s. Wyand; J. " P. Mrs g.
| 2. Rynder; Chaplain, Mrs. j. Mckinley; Treas
nrer, Mrs Curtin Stonrcde; Secretary, Miss Alice
I Wetzier; Guard, Mrs. krspS. AS Corps we do
feel the deepest interest in the future prosperity of
the G.. A r. Our desire from the first was to work
for and with it, The interest of most of Our menu
bers in the Post is written in blood and not easily
| forgotten. We hope Gregg Post. Bellefonte viii
come up nobly to the work they should have
taken the lead In organizing a State Relief Corp.
! All loyal women are eligible to membership
in Relief Corps.-ED.l
ALL ALONG THE LINE
| The editor of Loyal Womans Work is un-
| der very many obligations to Miss Harriet
| Dame and Mrs. Annie Wittenmyer for correct
| ing erroneous statements that were given con-
| corning their history. We do not wonder that
| Mrs. Wittenmyer makes vigorous protest
| against an early sepulchre. Such busy wom-
an has no excuse for dying, and we trust she
may live to double her years of usefulness. In
each case, however, we told the tale as it was
told to us, in which case others will rejoice as
heartily as ourselves in the outcome. Colonel
| Wilcox, particularly will be happy to know
| that Mrs. Wittenmyer, as he informed us with
a sorrowful face, did not die some years since
| in the West"
| Department Commander Philip Cheek, Jr.,
| of Wisconsin, is the first to follow the example
| of the Commander-in-C Chief and recommend the
| formation of Relief Corps in General Order.
| Article of General Orders No. 5, issued Au-
gust 2i, is devoted to that subject. In a pri-
| vate letter Colonel Cheek says he believes the
| Order will be of great service TO the Grand
| Army, and pledges himself to aid it all he can.
| Menomonie follows the example of La Crosse
and Lone Rock in organizing, in an application
made by Mrs. s. j. Bailey, who adds: "We
! have a tlourishing Post and plenty of material
| to form good society"
| Writing of the fourishing condition of VIII
son Colwell Post Auxiliary. at La Crosse Wis,
| which will reorganiZe as Relief Corps, Miss
| c. A. Chatfield says: had brother killed in
| the Iron brigade-Sixth Wisconsin regiment
My husband served four years; was discharged
once for sickness and re-enlisted in the One
| Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois; went as a
| private and returned as lieutenant. I had
| three brothers-in-law in the army, one of
| whom died; also, brother, who served three
| years, returning broken in health one cousin