The advocate., 1891-05-06

STIRRING REMARKS OF DEPARTMENT
COMMANDER COLLINS OF THE G. AR.
Hon. Ira F. Collins Of Sabetha, Ne.
mahs county, the retiring commander
of the Grand Army of the Republic,
in his address aa commander, was
quite in harmony with the sentiment
expressed by the reform editors Of
Kansas at their meeting at Hutchinson
on February "a, 1891, when they,
with due deliberation, patriotically
declared:
We fully believe legislation relating to soldiers
should be effected INDEPENDENTLY OF politics, and
we condemn any and all movements by old sol
diers as political organization.
Referring to the political action of
posts, he said:
This has given me considerable trouble and an
nOyance during my administration. Several
posts wholly forgetting or wilfully disregardiDg
the rules and regulations In this regard, have
passed resolutions indOrsing candidates for po-
litical Offices. have no doubt but the comrades
generally acted thoughtleSsly In the matter, but
the effect on the order is the same. By allowing
themselves to be led on by designing men who
seek to use the order for personal and political
gain, they place themselves In false position
and at the same time bring discredit upon the
Grand Army. This is a matter vital to our fu-
ture existence aid well being as an order Like
the germ Of some fatal disease, II not kept down
1t will very soon cause the destruction of our or
der. Att meeting of the council Of administra-
tiOn held at Topeka on September 8, last, the
subject being under consideration, the following
resolution was offered by Comrade May, and
adopted: Ssr
'That the department commander reprimand
in . general order, posts which have unwisey at
tempted to prostitute the G. A II. for political
purposes. And further, that any post In this de-
partment in the future, violating the principles
OF the G. A. r., by attempting to use this order
for political purposes, the department comman-
der shall take immediate steps to annul It's char
ter"
But here he presents some Repub-
lican politics of the last campaign:
This action was directed particularly toward
the posts located at Troy, White Cloud, Wathena
and Severance, In Doniphan county, that had,
through the manipulation of notorious political
ring, heretofore passed resolutions indoTsing
certain candidate for Congress In the Fifth Con-
gresslonal district My attention having been
called to these resolutions, promulgated the
following In general order No. 6, OF date August
6, $780,
The attention of the department commander
has been called to the fact that some posts Of
this department, as such, by resolution and other
official action have recommended persons for
0flces political in character. Such action is In
violation Of the spirit and letter Of article XI, OF
our rules and regulations which reads as fol-
lows:
''No officer or cOmrade Of the Grand Army OF
the Republic shall In any manner use this Or
ganizatiOn for partisan purposes, and no discus
sion OF partisan questions shall be permitted at
any OF It's meetings, nor shall any nomination for
political Office be made"
At the grand encsmpment at To-
peka, when President Harrison, Gov
ernor Humphrey and Senator ingalls,
on that glorious sutumnal day on the
state fair grounds seemed to be mon
archs of all that they surveyed, and
took it for granted that every union
soldier must needs be nothing else
but latter-day Republican; Com.
mander Collins was even then very
wstchful of the best present and pros
pective interests of the Grand Army
of the Republic, and here is his epit-
omizAd review OF that political nros-