The Portland daily press., 1888-02-11
THE GRAND ARMY.

and visitors to the 21st Annual Encamp-
ment "a cordial, hearty. q soldiers well
come. 1t is indeed an honor to our Post to
have as guests on this occasion, you sirs the
commanders of the Grand Army of the Re
public-the army that is great In numbers
and in the record it has made and grand in the
principles of fraternity, charity and loyalty;
and You the Governor OF the State that has al
ways been loyal to the national government
and to its veteran soldiers, as found in the
liberal appropriations TO mark their valorous
deeds on the famous and memorable field of
Gettysburg; and you, the Mayor of our city,
the city that sent one-fifth of the beat Of
its population to defend the honor of our
country's flag IN the hour of peril; and
you, our noble and illustrious com
rade, the true friend of the soldier, and,
whether with musket in hand defending
some point on our coast or at the. National
our martyred President Lincoln, true and
loyal always; and you delegates. the noble
representatives of 5000 veterans that consti-
tute this department of the Grand Army of
the Republic
1t is an honor to have you as our guests, be-
cause you are loyal men. No man ON whom
the stain OF treason rests can find member
ship in this order-can wear this badge
You were ready when you heard the call of
your country to leave home and all the dear
aSSOcidIlOuS Jndt make lie WORTH llVlng,
and barring your breast to the storm of bat
tie, and your strong right arm for its de-
fence, went forth to give your life If need be
to save your country and maintain the hon
or of its flag.
You were younger then by quarter of
century than now-y0u were enthusiastic
and daring but you did your work nobly and
well. and only as heroes ever could, and
having saved the country, you have ever
been faithful in preserving the principles for
which you fought-and the wisdom attained
by experience and age as shown by the
silyery locks is partially and persistently
exercised in giving direction to public af-
fairs in municipal, State and National coun-
ellis. The Grand Army of the Republic Is
everywhere looked up to as the citadel of
safety, and In every impending peril to our
flag the first blast of the bugle would rally a
force of true, loyal and disciplined men to
defend it against every enemy.
Our committee has already proved to You
what they can do by way of providing for
the physical man, but the part less import
ant to the hungry soldier Will admitMyet
the more interesting entertainment-"the
feast of reason and the flow of SOUL" is yet
to be enjoyed and as the master of ceremonies
of this part of our entertainment, | intro
duce TO you our c0mrade, Henry b. Cleavcs,
the POSTMASTER of the evening.
HON. II. B. CLEAvEs's ADDRESS.
Hon. H. b. Cleaves on being introduced as
POSTMASTER, was greeted with three cheers,
and in his remarks, which follow, was fire.
quently interrupted by applause:
Comrades For this cordial greeting you
will accept my sincere thanks. You came
to this commercial city of western Maine for
your annual encampment, and to renew old
friendships and associations. If you re-
quired any further evidence of the cordially
of your greeting, other than the welcome
that has been extended to you by our Com
mander. you can see it in the countenances
of our citizens, in the bones of our people,
in the silent, but emphatic and loyal en-
bems of welcome that have been displayed
on every hand. More than that, you come
to city that was loyal to the cause for
which you contended during more than four
years of dreadful conflict She gave her
support to the government in its hour of
peril in no hesitating manner, but cordially
and most generously, and thousands of her
citizens stood shoulder to shoulder with you,
on many fields of battle.
Comrades, no wonder you are welcome
here. Portland always lgives to the veteran
soldiers who come within her borders hos
pitable and generous greeting. The Grand
Army Of the Republic, 1.-THE old soldiers of
the war; the boys" who were loyal to the
country and proved their loyalty on the
field OF battle, are welcome in every city, in
every town, in every village and hamlet in
this grand and progressive State of Maine.
Your organization bears upon its rolls the
names of Grant, Logan, Sheridan, Sherman,
and thousands OF Others who left home and
friends to engage IN the dread conflict OF
arms. 1t was conflict waged for the pres
ervation of the Union, and on that memora-
bic day of April9th, 1865 more than TWEEN
ty-two years ago-when the brave but de-
feated army of Northern Virginia surren-
dered to the victorious soldiers OF the Union,
the sun shone upon better, purer, a
stronger and more enduring government
than its founders could ever have anticipat-
ed. A government preserved, reunited and
re-established by the strength, the power,
the hardships, the endurance, the courage,
the fearlessnes and bravery Of the American
soldier and sailor.
With what alacrity they volunteered at the
bugle call of dangerl They came in no hest
tating or hating spirit, but from a sense of
duty, actuated by noble, pure and patriotic
purposes. They fought not for conquest. 1t
was not war waged for the determination
of race, or for the acquisition Of new terri
tory, or for political purposes, but they con-
tended for principles and the preservation
of the Republic. Noble were the purposes,
happy were the results, but great were the
sacrifices. The hills and valleys are dotted
with little mounds of earth and monuments
of marble that mark the resting places of
the brave men who did not live to see the
triumph of the cause and principles for which
they contended. but fell by the way.
The old Pine Tree State did her whole du-
ty to her soldiers in the field, and to their
families at home. Her living volunteers re-
turned and assumed the duties of citizenship,
and engaged in the arts of peace They are
interested in the advancement of the great
agricultural, commercial, manufacturing, me-
chanical, and other Industries of the State,
a q a { -
to her institutions, to her advancement and
progress, to her laws and the maintenance of
good and pure government, as they were to
the cause for which they contended from
1861 to 1865. Many returned, who are pre-
maturely old by reason of the hardships and
sufferings endured in the army, and are una
BILE longer to successfully continue the battle
of life. One of the purposes of the Grand
Army of the Republic is to aid and assist
these men, land any old soldier who wore
the blue" and received an honorable dis
charge.
We have no partisanship in the ranks of
the Grand Army of the Republic The Ameri-
can soldiers and sailors gave some of the
best years of their lives. and faced danger
and hardship for the preservation of the best
government the world had ever known. JUS
tice will be done to every one of them, and
to the widow and daughter of every soldier
who needs aid and relief. Humanity de-
mands it, the government owes this debt of
SIdbltuut, anu III VIII SURELY NC recognized Dy
an appreciatiye, self-reliant, liberty flowing
and patriotic people.
HON. HANNIBAL HAMLIN's RESPONSE.
The toast, "Our country and our flag"
was responded to by Hon. Hannibal Hamlin.
AS Mr.. Hamlin came forward he was re-
ceived with loud cheering. He spoke sub
stantially as follows:
Mr.. POSTMASTER, Comrades and Ladies and
Gentlemen:
We are all advised at once that we are in
quasi military organization. The younges t
member of the board is always icalled upon
for the first opinion, and in my tender and
feeble years they have placed me upon the
platform to break the ice for those who are
to succeed me. They have given me a text
from which am to speak, "Our country and
our flag" This is pretty broad theme to
be discussed in ten minutes. Our territory
stretches from the rock-bound coast of the
Atlantic, four thousand miles away to where
the gentle waves of the Pacific are LAYING
her gold-bound shore. 1t extends from the
inland lakes of the North way down to the
Gulf and almost within the region of trop-
ical cline. 1t would take volumes to speak
of our country as our country deserves: and
to speak of the glorious old flag, it would
consume hours instead of minutes. A hun
bred years ago our fathers wrested the col
onies from the government of Great Britain