The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-08-18
WAR VESSEL FIRING A SALUTE.


| Wisconsin has organized flourishing as
ISOLATION, and the intention is to enroll every
tar in the state who wore the blue in 1865
Although not sea faring people, that com
monwealth may lay claim to one bolC
sailor of the age, Lieut.. w B. Cushing, tn,
hero of the Atlantic squadron and the de
stroyer of the second Merrimac-the famous
Confederate steam ram, the Albemarle. 81
| long as the American navy lives in the an
nails of warfare on the wave, so long will the
name OF Cushing stand beside that of Pau
Jones, Don't Give Up the Ship Lawrence
and Perry. Wisconsin has in Cushing
naval name to be proud Of and demonstra
ton in her waters on the occasion of grand
veteran reunion will be a memorial to the
lamented sailor whose Untimely death was
caused by injuries in the service.
The committee en- naval parade is one OF
the strongest of the whole array, and it i;
headed by seaman of large acquaintance
and influence on the lake, W. H. Wolf The
display of vessels will be imposing and a
sham naval battle is down as feature. The
programme has not been published, because
the result ON the start depended somewhat on
the courtesy and iberality Of the naval au-
essentials for such an unusual affair The
interest in naval matters has reached point
where a worthy display of the methods of
equipment and the maneuvers of the martial
marine will be certain of appreciation. Fur
thermore, the navy costs the country vast
sum, and there is rarely chance for the
people at large to know, even by observa-
ton, Just what it all means and what it
amounts to. So if Neptune looks with favor
upon the scheme of the committee in charge,
the Grand Army boys will present novelty
at Milwaukee that will not only delight but
instruct every fortunate beholder.
FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER.
There are indications that the Grand Army
has reached its zenith in point of numbers.
An idea of the growth of the order may be
gained from the table of membership from
1871 to 1885, In 1871 the number was sc, 124;
in 1872, 2S,693; 1878, 29,s51; 1874, 2S,923;
1915, 1896; 1876, $500; 1877, 27,O79; 1878,
3l,O16; 1879, A, 752 $780, &C, 654; 1881, 81 rs;
1882, 131, 800; 1883, 5,441; 1884, 273, ia;
1885, 294, 7S7; 1886, 1851; 1887, 356,OOS;
1883, 1851, 10 These numbers represent actu-
al membership for which the posts pay per
capita tax. The nominal membership, some
of which proves good, is much larger. The
number of posts according to the last annual
report was 6,S32 The amount Of relief dis
bursed for 1888 was S215, 975. 10, and the num-
Der of persons aided $50. The amount dis
bursed for relief between 1871 and 1885, to
date of March 81, was 81 Gas, 59S.22.
The highest membership is in Pennsyl-
vania, which reported for 1888 4S,035. Ohio
is next and reported Il, 1856 New York re-
ported 81, 2S6; Illinois, Sc, 29S; Indiana, 23,-
533; Michigan, 81, 40, and Massachusetts,, 90
6S7.
About one-third of the survivors of the
Union ranks are now in the G.. A. R., and
there are tens of thousands of veterans who
are in the country remote from any post who
cannot join, and there are other tens of thou
sands who do not look with favor upon ac-
tivity in any secret society. But while re-
cruiting may stop and the ranks remain as
they are. except as the veterans receive one
by one the final muster out, there is great
work to be done and no danger that in point
OF usefulness ana interest the army viii SUI
fer decay.
The question of relief to the needy is grow
ing In importance daily. In our shItlng So
ciety many veterans are stranded on the
shores of barrenness. In view of the fact
that the spring time of their lives was devot-
ed to the country, they should not be per-
mitted to want, and one Of the missions of
the Grand Army is to see to it that they shall
not. The relief funds of the different posts
become bank for the sustenance of the
needy, and these funds grow from many
sources that do credit to the comrades and
also suggest how more may be done. All of
the surplus of appropriations, all donations,
fines and forfeits, go into the relief box. The
public has tender side for this fund, and, if
posts would make their cases known, the sum
might often receive windfall where it does
not for simple lack of publicity. For in
stance, the expenses of post are for rentals
and equipments necessary to keep up proper
display. In some states the law provides that
the county and municipal authorities may
provide meeting rooms, and they are so pro-
vided in many Instances.
Corcoran post, of New York, meets In the
Regiment armory; Charles R.
Lowell and John A. Andrew posts, of Boston,