The National tribune., 1885-06-25
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| NATIONAL AND DEPARfMENT CoUNC!LS.
The provision for a Board of Directors to
pass upon such questions and measures of leg
| isiation as may arise during the year in their
| Departments is virtually o dead letter because
| of the uuweldy character of the Board which
| is made up of the Staff officers and Director
from every Corps having no Department officers.
No provisions made tor Board of National
| Officers save by election from year to year.
| Revised Rules and Regulations therefore have
| provided for National Council of FIVE members
by election and for Department Council of
| five members by election, who shall constitute
| a Council of Administration, to whom all spe-
! cial questions arising shall be submitted, the
| President and Secretary, National and Depart
ment to be officers er-offcio of their respective
Councils.
| BLACK BALLS.
The National President in recent decisions
has held that the President of Corps should
not recognize black ball unless when the
| opportunity was presented, the objecting men,
| ber should state to the Corps any known rea-
| sons why the candidate should not be admitted.
| This requirement has been provided Tor in
revised Rules and Regulations, and if adopted
| will do more to crush personal malice and aid
| the establishment of good government than
any provision that may be required. If there
| is real objection to q candidate a memb ber
| true to her obligation, owes it to herself and to
| the Corps to state the same No one has the
right to carry personal prejudices into work for
| the public good.
| HONORARY MEMBERS.
Having myself offered the resolution in last
| National Convention granting the National
Convention and Departments the privilege of
creating one honorary member each year,
can with better grace recommend that this
| privilege be withdrawn. 1t was never my in
tenton that such construction should be placed
upon it as that it should become mandatory or
part of business routine. The motive which
influenced me was that it would give the Ma
| tional and Department organizations an oppor-
! tunty of showing some special recognition of
| the services of those who had been pioneers in
| our work, and who had aided us in establishing
| in the Grand Army a confidence in our work
when it was new and untried. Under the rule
| several most worthy comrades have been prop
erly honored, while on the other hand those
who deserved the greatest honors have been
! left out and the honor bestowed through some
| personal service. 1t is therefore recommended
! that the Woman's Relief Corps, following Grand
| Army precedent from and af >er the date of this
| Convention, withdraw the privilege of creating
| honorary members
ELIGIBILITY.
Notwithstanding the very overwhelming
majority with which the National Convention
of 1884 declared for the eligibility to member
ship of all loyal women, an effort was made in
Kansas to petition to this Convention to declare
against the admission to membership of all but
the wives, mothers sisters and daughters of
soldiers. A petition was prepared by Lincoln
Corps, Topeka. and circulated among the Corps
| of that State. asking the Department Conven-
tion to instruct its delegates to reopen the ques
| tion. The Department. President of Kansas
brought the matter to the attention of the Ma
tional President asking what course she should
pursue. as she feared the renewed agitation of
the question would revive al element of dis
cord in that Department. The National Presi-
dent maintained the right of Corps to petition,
but advised that the Department President care
fully instruct the Kansas Corps concerning the
position of the National Convention on this
question and the great need there was for the
work of all loyal women to carry on the great
objects for which this organization exists. This
was done, aud the Kansas Convention. on the
vote which followed, rrafirmed the decision of
the National Convention.
RELIEF CORPS NOT AN INDEPENDENT ORDER.
Repeatedly during the year the decision has
been reiterated that no Relief Corps can exist,
as part of the National Order. which is not
au Hillary to a Post of the Grand Army of the
Republic; Also that no charter can be held by
Relief Corps, should the Post to which it is
auxiliary ask dissolution of the relations ex-
stng between Post and Corps. Also that
Relief Corps must bear the name of the Post to
which it is auxiliary, and that it cannot bear
the name of more than one Post.
The Department President of Colorado
granted a chart. to Denver Relief Corps aux
iliary to four Posts. Upon advice of the Ma
tiona President the charter was revoked and
the Corps organized as Meade Relief Corps In
Kansas City, Relief Corps was organized, cx-
pecting to he Instituted as Union Relief Corps.
The National President held as before that no
charter could be issued under that name and
the association took the name of Farragut Re-
lief Corps. In Auburn, N. Y, a charter was
refused under similar rulings. Numerous in
stances of similar character may be cited as
coming under the decisions of the year
From Maj. Howe Corps, Massachusetts. an ap-
peal came from the decision Of the Department
President, sustained in convention, ordering
charter revoked a resolution OF Mai. Howe
Post. to the effect that they declined longer to
recognize the Corps as auxiliary. Decision
sustained by the National President.
SUSPENSIONS
In Wisconsin, the former Department Presi-
dent. Mrs Clara B. Sloane, was suspended for
three months for a violation of the article per-
tanning to secrecy. At the end of that time
suspension was removed. in consideration of
past services and the plea of guilty through in
adyertence
MEMORIAL DAY.
The ready response which the Woman's Re-
lief Corps in the several Departments gave to
the Recommendation OF the National President
10 prepare n memorial the unknown dead
and those who sleep on far-away battlefelds
to remember the lOwly graves of the army
nurses and those of our own number, gone to
their long rest, is but another evidence of that
fervd patriotism which finds ever such beauti-
full expressions in words and deeds of ieve. Let
it be ours to perpetuate this tender and touch
ing custom 1t was my privilege to visit one
of these cemeteries OH the peaceful Sunday fol-
lowing Memorial Day, where had been erected
temporary monument bearing the words, In
Memory OF the Union Dead on the Southern
Battlefelds." At the base, over which the bees
danced and the butterflies lowered, were has
kets and bouquets and wreates and crosses Of
flowers, bearing the name of the unknown,
with such inscriptions as Killed at Chicka-
mauga and never identified - "To my brother
-Ander>onyllle." Aud when / saw the won
dering boys and girls, thronging around the
monument and reading the inscriptions
prayed that these mute object lessons might
every year be multiplied, that in these Kinder
gartens of Union sentiment our youth and chill
dren might learn the full meaning of loyalty
and all it has cost.
FINANCES
The efforts put forth to disseminate a COM
plete knowledge of our work has necessitated
d large amount of printing, besides seven Gen
eral Orders, Circular Letters, Letter of Instruc-
tiOns, Instructions to Department Secretaries
and "ther needed printing has been done as re-
quired. The effort of the National President
has been to bring our whole work to as perfect