The Globe-republican., 1891-08-12
COMMANDERS ADDRESS.

COMMANDERS ADDRESS.
Address OF Commander-in-Chief veaxey to
tho Veterans -Separate Departments For
tho Colofed Veterans In Louisiana and
Mississippi Recommended -Washington
Selected For tho Next Meeting.
DETROIT, Mich, Aug. 5.-The twen-
ty-fifth annual encampment of the G.
A. R. began yesterday in the nam.
moth Bucher's hall. At the head of the
hall, over the platform. was large 6.
A. R. badge, flanked on either side by
American flags, and in the rear the
grand seal of the United States, also
set between flags. From the ceiling
hung clusters of the flags of all the re.
publics in the world
A few minutes before the hour of
opening Gen. Veazey and his staff en-
tered the hall and were escorted to the
grand stand.
Rapping the assemblage to order, the
commander-in-chiefa announced the for
NAL opening of the encampment and
directed the Acknowledgement to call the
roll of departments. Every state and
territory in the union, not even except
ing far-off Alaska, was represented,
and the roll call showed the fullest at
tendance of delegates in the history of
the organization. The opening address
of the commander-in-chief was listened
to with rapt attention by the assem- bled
veterans
Comrades" said Gen Veazey, sthis
is the silver anniversary of birth. not
a wedding. The wedding occurred
when the bridegrooms, the youth Of
the land, enlisted in its defense. Abra-
ham Lincoln celebrated the marriage
nuptials Columbia was the bride.
Her vesture was the nations flag. The
pledge to re-establish that flag over
the domain of secession was the price
of her hand When the pledge was
grandly redeemed, through bloody
strife, through suffering and death, and
after the victors had placed on the brow
of the bride new diadem whose gems
were honor, valor, fame. liberty, untaint-
ed with slavery. country reunited and
free, the fruit of that marriage was the
Grand Army of the Republic, an Off
spring worthy of its royal patronage.
The date of the birth was April 8, 1866.
The observance of this silver anniver-
sary began on the 9Th day of April Of
this year. In every town and city in
all this broad country where posts ex-
listed the comrades assembled in open
meetings, which the public attended in
throngs beyond the capacity Of
the largest halls, and all at the same
hour united in praise and Thanksgiving
to Almighty God for the great blessings
which He had vouchsafed to our coun-
try and to the men who had fought its
battles and had since labored faithfully
on the lines of good citizenship and had
cultivated the Christian and patriotic
principles of fraternity, charity and
loyalty"
After alluding to the recent deaths of
Gen. Sherman, ex-Vice- President Ham,
lin and others prominent in the Grand
Army, Gen. Veazey continued:
1.-THE present administration encoun-
tered the same sturbances in the de-
partment of Louisiana and Mississippi
that had troubled my predecessors. The
difficulties there had existed ever since
posts to II inclusive of that depart
ment were chartered and organized
This was in 1889. The charge has al.
ways been, from different sources, that
the organization of those posts was so
tainted with irregularities as to be
utterly destructive of their legal exist
ence. Our rules and regulations provide
a plain procedure for a department to
pursue in order to test the validity of
such charges. AS the department Of
Louisiana and Mississippi has never, SO
far as 1 am informed, resorted to that
procedure. have held, in connection
with those posts. that they must be re.
garded as having legal existence I'm.
til otherwise regularly adjudicated.
81 have reason to believe that Com.
rades Burst and Austin made most
careful Investigation of all matters in
that department.. Their recommenda-
ton is, in brief, that this encampment
authorize the creation of a separate de-
partment in the south. This is sup.
ported by memorials addressed to the
commander-in-chiefb by posts 9. IL. Is.
IA. 16 and II, being six of the posts in
the department whose membership is
composed of colored comrades Pro-
tests against such action have come
from comrades of several posts, and
these are on file."
Gen. Veazey recommends that such
separate department be created.
During the year now closing" con-
tfnued Gen. Veazey. 1.-The G. A. r. paid
out from its relief fund $685., 500 SIS.
During the same period the Women's
Relief corps paid to distressed comrades
Sl5s, 71O.SO These figures show large
increase over the amount of any pre-
vious year. The total amount of relief
paid out by the G. A. R., not including
auxiliary bodies, since 1870, is s., $780,
OOO.''
Referring to the Mount McGregor
cottage, where Gen. Grant died, Gen.
Veazey recommended that this encamp-
ment take action to secure from the
government an appropriation for the
mainten ance of the property.
The members of the G. A. f. pension
committee were also reviewed The