The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1885-07-02
THE GRAND ARMY.
Enormous Attendance at Portland
A Parade with Over 20,-
600 Men in Line.
The Business Session-The Annual
Report of Commander
K0untx. .;

was held at Portland. Me-, last week,
eclipsed any gathering of the order hereto
fore held, and the capacity Of the Pine
Tree States chief city was put to crucial
test in providing adequate accommodations
for the immense throng. We condense
from the dispatches the following report OF
the doings of the order durlng It's three
DAYS encampment:
The streets through which the parade was TO
pass were crowded with PEOPLE and gay with
bunting At eleven o'clock the signal gun for
starting the procession was fired. and the
great line moved forward without hating
until the procession had passed gwen
point, when IL was made apparent how great
Is the number OF Grand Army men now mere.
1t had been calculated that 1t would require
two hours for the procession to pass, but
ins tead OF that it took more than three
hours. The most careful estimates or the num-
Der OF men in line place the figures at 22,OOJ.
of whom 10000 wore the Uniform or the Grand
Army Of the Republic 1t appears that some OF
the commanders in several OF the departments
had been overlooked in the Instructions as 10
their positions in the parade, and those VINO
were neglected, after wandering about Tor q
time and fnding no place assigned foT them,
gave up the idea Of Joining in the PROCESSION,
aud took favorable positions for watching the
marching OF their comrades Entire posts OF
many OF the departments, including number
from the West, and even In the Depai tment OF
Maine, did not participate in the parade, and be-
cause OF this neglect 1T Is calculated that more
oversight was due to the disregard OF official
orders that all posts should register on arrival.
The executive committee declare that nearly 80
per cent. more men have come than the com
mittee had been notified would be here. Two
Thousand two hundred tents had been pitched.
with capacity for accommoda ing about13O00
men. Instead OF six 1t has been found neces-
sary in some cases to put ten men IN o tent
This crush could not be foreseen by the COM
mittee, and they disclainl any responsibility.
Commando Rim Chief Kountz was greeted with
generous applause from all sides. and Gen.
Logan, who rode in carriage with Congress-
man Reed, received a continuous ovation.
When the line had entered Congress street, ON
its way TO the encampment, where the process
sion was TO be dismissed, Commander-in-C Chief
kountz, Gen. Logan. and many other dlstin-
guished men lett the procession and were driven
rapidly through other streets 10 the reviewing
stand.
Upon the grand stand were COMMANDMENT
Chief Kountz, Gems. Logan. Slocum, Robinson,
Beatty, and Black, ex-Gov Fairchd, of Wis
consn. and Governor Alger and staff, OF
Michigan. After the end of the procession had
passed the grand stand, soldiers called loudly
for Cen Ia gan. who was Obliged to respond
briefly, referring merely TO the henehts OF the
In the evening a reception was rendered to
Commander in Chief kountz as representa-
tive of the body, at City Hall. Addresses Of
welcome were delivered by Gen. Hall. Depart
Inent Commander of Name; by Gov. Robe,
who also paid tribute to zen. Grant; and by
MAYER pesag Of bo, pGrtapG 1
radcs. Addresses were also made bv Gov. Al
ger, of Michigan Gov. Fairch Id, of Wisconsin;
Cen Henry w. Slocum. OF New York, and Gen.
Logan.
The business session was held in the City
Hall. The delegates were distributed through
the hall by States, their positions being indi-
Gated by little banners upon black walnut poles.
The galleries were open to comrades having the
national countersign. and they were well tlled.
At lO:45 the gavel fell, and the encampment
came to order. After prayer by Chapfain-in-
Chief Shanafelt, OF Michigan, the roll OF mem
bership was called.
stated that the order now consisted OF thirty
eight departments. 5,026 posts, and 2s7.6 MEM
bers. During the eleven months now ended
the membership. has increased s7,0si. The
Commander in Chief advised that of
least $4,000 should be invested, and
funds at the national Headquarters. During the
year the Commander-in-chi travelled more
than -. 200 mites I'm his official capacity. having
visited all the departments except those Of Flor
ida, Arkansas, and New Mexico The address
contained a reafirmation OF the claim of DIR. b.
+. Stephenson, of Springfield Ill. to be the orig
ans Rights Union, the Sons of Veterans, and
the Womans Relief Corps, and pronounced In
favor'of SO amending the pension laws that
every disabled soldier entitled thereto shall re-
ceive pension from the date Of his disability.
In his report the Commander says: i am OPP
posed TO the perpetuation OF the Grand Army,
believing the mission OF our great comradeship
will have been fulfilled when the last comrade
has joined the final muster-out Knowing that
there Is nothing In the Grand Army or the Re-
public inconsistent with the most exacting per-
sonal duty or the strictest religion, deemed ft
for the interest of the order to appoint special
committee to lay its nature ana workings be-
fore the proper Catholic authorities Of the Unit
ed States, that they miaht know our organiza-
ton has nothing to conceal and that our pur-
Ioses are commended by all who understand
them. The committee reported, having fulfilled
it's mission, that assurances had been given by
Archbishops Ryan and Gibbons that nothing
could be found in the aims OF the Grand Army
to prevent any good Catholic from becoming
member"
The Commander In Chief deprecated par
ticipation in politics as an organization, and
and a bill to grant disabled soldiers pension
from the date OF disability. He also urged that
Decoration Day be not desecrated by devotion
to recreation and pleasure. The Woman's Re-
lief Corps now has twenty-five permanent and
three provisional departments, with subor-
dinate corps in nearly all the States where the
Grand Army exists.
RESOLUTIONS of sympathy with General Grant
great cheering. Remarks were made by several
comrades eulogistic Of the sick soldier at Mount
MacGregor.
Commander-in- Chief Kountz was presented
and another made of wood from every State and
Territory in the United States. which gavels are
to be used by the Grand Army OF the Republic
so long as ft exists, and then by the Sons OF
Veterans. The vote to meet at San Francisco
next year was two to one
The formal session Of the Womans National
Relief Corps opened with speeches by Past
Grand Commander Paul Vandervoort, of Ne
braska, and Past Grand Chaplain Foster, OF New
York Mrs. Logan was introduced to the
sembly, and in few words thanked the dele.
gates for the manner In which they greeted her.
The report OF the President for the year was,
read. After adjournment Mrs. Logan held q re-
ception.