The National tribune., 1883-11-15
F., C. and L.-what The Letters Mean.

signature Yours, in F., c. and L. Will you
kindly tell me what these letters signify?
We are rather surprised that at this late
day any one should be unacquainted with
the meaning of these letters, but we shall
endeavor. nevertheless, to make clear to our
correspondent what these letters stand for.
as well as the sentiments they are intended
to convey
To begin with, then, T., c. and L. are the
initials of the words Fraternity, Charity and
Loyalty, which, as every ex-soldier should
know, are the cardinal principles of the
Order of the Grand Army of the Republic,
and it is the custom of members of this
Order when writing to each other to sign
their letters, as a pledge of comradeship
with the formal expression, Yours, in F.,
G. and L. But while this form of signature
IS IN general use among comrades of the
Grand Army Of the Republic, it is too often
used, we fear, without due reflection as to
its full import and without due considera-
ton of the pledge which it implies. What
is meant by fraternity, and what by charity
and loyalty when the terms are used in this
three-fold associations Fraternity, as de-
scribed By Webster, is the state or quality of
a brother-that is TO say, brotherhood; and
it is the outgrogth, usually, of the associa-
ton of men together in the same pursuits
and for a common purpose. Thus, fra
ternity Of feeling may exist among trades
men. or doctors, or lawyers. The fraternity.
however, which results from association in
business and pleasure is of small import
compared with that which binds together
the members of an organization like the
Grand Army, aud for the reason that it has
Its origin moi IN mere social companionship,
but in that mutual exposure to hardship,
and that common hazard of death which the
soldiers of our armies ventured for the pres
erFation of the Union. It is common enough
for people Of all classes, when thrown to-
gether under pleasant conditions, to form
strong attachments for each other, but there
are no attachments so firm and enduring as
those which have their origin in army COM
panioaship-in conditions that made ma
tnal helpfnlness necessity. 1t is ialDos-
sible, therefore, to disassociate from the idea
Of fraternity, so far as it applies to mem hers
OF the Grand Array Of the Republic, the
remembrance of that conradeship which ex-
listed between them twenty years ago, when
as soldiers, they fought side by side for
their country, sharing together the hard
ships of camp life, the burdens of the march,
the perils of The field, the priyations OF
prison and the horrors of the hospital. No
one but soldier, indeed, may be said to
know the true meaning of fraternity, for
nowhere does the brotherly feeling of
man SO fully reveal itself In acts of
kindness and helpfulness as on the bat
tlefeld, when a draught from some com
rade's canteen~ is to the expiring veteran
a sweeter boon than al earthly treasures.
No one, we are sure, can scan the columns
of THE TRIBUNE without finding recorded
there such instances of brotherly kindness
and self sacrificing comradeship as show the
fraternity which existed between our sol
diers during the war to have had its origin
in the noblest promptings of the human
heart. When, therefore, in these DAYS of
peace, comrade signs himself yours, in
fraternity" it is no empty phrase that he
employs. 1t means that as in war he was
ready to share his last ration with starving
comrade, or the shelter of his only blanket.
and would sacrifice his own life rather than
leave his comrade to perish on the field so
now he is ready to stand by that comrade
when fortune misuses him or the country
neglects him, or when he is stricken by
sickness or poverty.
Nor is the charity whieh conzti-
tutes the second tie between the
members of the Grand Army to be con-
founded with ordinary human benevolence-
mere ains-giying. 1t is its essential char
acteristic that it avoids the appearance of a
benefaction and takes the form, simply, of
the acknowledgment of a precions and sacred
obligation. Vast as are the charities dis
pensed by the Grand Army of the Republic,
there is nothing III them that smaclzs of
oficiousness. 1t is simply the exempiiica-
ton Of that mutual helpfuiness in which
the spirit Of comradeship habits origin, and
the eoinrade whose needs compel him to
accept the aid of the Order does SO without
loss Of manhood or Independence And this,
perhaps, is the most beautiful aud beneicent
characteristic of the 0sbel, that it ss.eeors
the needy. ministers to the sick, aud re-