The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-08-22
THE G. A. r.. ON THE PACIFIC.
One Of the Veterans Expresses His Views In
Vigorous Language.

One of the Veterans Expresses His Views In
Vigorous Language.
Chicago Herald.
eve had a great time on the Pacific said a
G.. A. r.. who had just returned from the demon
stration at San Francisco, "but I'll tell you one
thing, believe after this in keeping old army
demonstrations around in the region of war ac-
tivity. San Francisco was 5000 miles from the
scene of the conflict California took mighty
little interest In the war. 1t was the one State
in the Union that sent no troops as body, and,
this to her disgrace eternaily, declare she was
the one State that refused to buy our bonds, re-
fused to accept the currency, and refused to do
business at all with the government except on a
gold basis. When other States were pledging
their credit, accepting the governments notes of
hand, California held out for gold. Up to 1865
there was not fve-twenty bond owned in the
State. California now boasts of her patriotism
and bowls for Blaine, and all that, but know,
and every body else knows who has ever lived
there, that if secession had triumphed the Pacific
coast had dreams of Pacific republic all by it
self. irrespective of North and South.
Hence say that the demonstration the other
day in honor Of the Grand Army of the Republic
was good deal in the nature Of farce. With
the exception of Governor Stoneman and Colonel
Smedburg, and few others of prominence, most
of the G. A. RS in California had best keep
quiet about their war records. They are for the
most part political soldiers We were all rather
upset at the election of Backus as senior vice.
commander-in-chief. next to Fairchild, though.
q
compliment to California; but Backus was not in
the war. He enlisted as a private in the last
few months of the struggle, and never smelled
powder. He came to California, became active
in the militia. got place on a newspaper, and
has lived on politics for over fifteen years. His
last Office was postmaster of San Francisco.
learned while there thas Backus has been tho
target for good-natured ridicule as professional
soldier and veteran" for years. / don't think
such a man ought to be second in command of
arr nwHo Rs1fxx1 hod Sirnno Nhm
'Friscans kept open house. We had great sail
on the bay on feet. headed by the steamship
Santa Rosa, followed by the Oakland, Bay City,
Garden City, Alameda and three or four others,
and. of course, it cost nothing The railway
and steamship companies did it ALL We were
wined and dined and kept on the go for week,
and got pretty nearly ashamed of myself for
being compelled to dead head it quite brazenly
and the more so as / saw that in good many of
the features of the entertainments there was
mighty little of the soldierly ring. One thing
must tell you about The San Francisco papers,
with their broad generosity, had chosen the chief
members of their stats as press committee to
receive visitors from the Eastern press. Those
simple people believed that the leading papers
would send representatives to the encampment,
and us soldiers thought so, too. We didn't know
that such papers as the Tribune, the Herald. the
Times, of Chicago, the World, Herald, Times
and Tribune, of New York, had quite enough
for their STATS to do at home. So you can inn
agine our feelings when we learned from the dis
gusted San francisco journalists on the commit
tee that the only Eastern newspaper writer's
they had been asked to entertain were Clarence
P. Dresser. Of the Chicago Inter Ocean; p FL.
Coney, of the Topeka Capital and Mrs. Yale, of
the New York Mining and Scientific Press
ISSUED monthly We had good time consid
cred as picnic" continued the q. A. r. man.
but saw enough on my journey to make me
want to restrict the scope of the G. A n more
and more. There are too many non -combataSts
getting into it, / fear. I never saw so many
veterans who had never been in battle, as |
saw on this trip. never saw so many quarter
master and commssary clerks never saw so
many headquarter orderlies They're all out in
California now as colonels and majors don't
want another encampment away out there; II
takes me TOO far from the war;