News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1891-08-13
The Grand ARMY EnCampn1ent.

The Grand Army Encampmenta
The 25th annual encampment o
the Grand Army of the Republic a
Detroit this week has proved q bril-
liant success and an occasion of grea
enjoyment to the thousands of vet
Grams attending. 1t was estimated
that nearly 10000 marched in tn
grand parade of Tuesday, the open
ing day. Itwas the grandest parade
in the history of the organization anC
has made the 25th or "silver encamp
ment" an occasion of magnifcenc,
and grandeur surprising the 1ondes
dreams cherished by its founder, DIR
Stephenson of Illinois, % years ago
Such was the inspiration of the mo
ment that even the feebleSt of The
manned and crippled comrades founC
themselves adequate TO the ordeal o
the five mile march.
Besides the staff of the commander
in-chief there were on the reviewing
stand Secretary of War Proctor, Sec
rotary of the Navy Tracy, Gen. Miles
Assistant Secretary of the interior
| Bussey, two or three governors and
q half dozen past commandments
chiefs. The spectacle of an eX-presi-
dent of the United States marching
in the ranks is so unusual that the
tremendous ovation rendered ex- pres
idcnt Hayes was hardly surprise.
Mr.. Hayes was recognized by all as
he marched with his post from Ere
mont, Ohio, down GriswOld street
and near the intersection of Congress
street he kissed several little girls who
ran out to meet him.
The enthusiasm with which Com
mander-in-chief Veazey was received
proved the regard and affection in
which he is everywhere held by the
Boys in Blue. At a meeting of his
staff on Tuesday morning he was
presented by them with a beautiful
jeweled badge, the value of which was
$1,000, ex-president Hayes making
the presentation speech which was as
follows
" Commander-in-chief Veazey," said Mr.
Hayes, 1.-THE comrades, who with me, have
been honored with places on your staff, have
assigned to me the agreeable duty of present
ing to you this badge. Weasll you to accept
it as token OF the esteem, the admiration
and the utilization in which you are held by
ourselves and by our comrades of the Grand
Army of the Republic 1t WILL we trust bring
present joy to you and your family 1t will
remind them and you of the honorable part
you bore in the great event of this age-in the
sacred and stainless war for union and liber-
ty. Applause
During your term of office you have, as
you promised when you were chosen, amply
hptWppn Il
not only the touch of the elbow, but also the
touch of the heartburn hope is that this sim
pie gift will remind you pleasantly of the
events and scenes and comradeships of the
great conflict-that it will recall the famous
day of Gettysburg, the day of your oppOr-
tunty, of your honorable service, and of sig
nal triumph. 1t will also, we hope, be to you
a wellspring of gratifying meditations upon
the future. In after times those who bear
your name and share your blood, will rejoice
as they look upon this emblem their priced
family heirloom, and be filled with gratitude
that Providence allotted them the inspiring
privilege of tracing their origin to a man who
in his young manhood was a splendid figure
in the decisive battle of the divine war, and
who stood fearfully brave about Abraham
Lincoln, from its beginning to its end. Zap
plause.l
Our wishes and our prayers are that your
life may be long and happy in the land, which
in the day of its deadly peril, you did all in
your power to save" [Applause.]
Wednesday was the business day,
and the great meeting of the order
was held in mammoth hall profusely
and beautifully decorated. Command
er-in-chief Veazey, in delivering his
opening address, felicitously said that
this was " the silver anniversary of q
birth, not of wedding The we'd
ding occurred when the bridegrooms,
the youth of the land, enlisted in its
defence. Abraham Lincoln celebrated
the marriage nuptiaIs. Columbia was
the bride. Her vesture was the ma
TONS flag. The pledge to restablish
that flag over the domain OF Secessia
was the price of her hand When the
pledge was grandly redeemed through
bloody strife, through suffering and
death, and after the victors had put
on the brow of the bride a new dia-
dem whose gems were honor, valor,
tame, liberty untainted with slavery,
a country reunited and free, the fruit
of that marriage was the Grand Army
of the Republic, an offspring worthy
of it's royal parentage."
Goulding showed the order to be in n
condition of steady and |
Ieathful growth, with a total men, |
,ership, according to the reports of
Tune 80, 1891, of 39S, 067 comrades
n good standing. The sum expend-
d in charities during the year was
1913, 700. The number Of deaths re-
ported was $500. According to fig
Tres furnihsed by Pension Commits
ioner Raum the total number of
now on the rolls. including
Widows and survivors of the war of |
Mexico, is 630,394. To pay these
will cost during the pres
mt fiscal year about SIG, 100000. |
Washington was fixed upon as the |
place for holding the next annual en-
The event of Thursday was the ell
ection of Col. John Palmer of New |
Y ork as cOmmander-in-chief He was
chosen on the second ballot. The |
vexed Grace question" was settled by |
the adoption of a committees report |
deciding that there shall be no separ-
ate department for colored veterans. |
1t was almost unanimous sentiment |
of the meeting that the colored man
who was good enough to stand |
shoulder to shoulder with the white |
man in defence of the Union is good |
enough to belong to any Grand Army
post.
The new officers were installed Fri
day, Commander-in-C Chief VeaZey, |
over the command of the G. |
A RIO COmmander-in-C hief-elect Pal |
mer, said:
" 1t is now my privilege and pleasure and |
duty to present you your commission, and in |
doing it desire you will take with it my best !
wishes, as am sure you have the best wishes |
OF not only the representative comrades of
the u. A. X, but of the entire body through |
out the length and breadth of the land for a
successful administration, filed with plesure
and prosperity"
Commander Veasey presented the
new head of the organization the
new flag, and continued:
81 now hand you the new flag of the G. A
H. We have marched under our old flag now
for quarter of a century, and it is so worn
that it is not safe to use it any longer, and
on the silver anniversary of our order this |
new one has been obtained. / give it into |
your hands, to be guarded as for % years |
the old one has been guarded by your pre-
decessors | am sure it will be safe in your
hands, because behind You will be 100000 |
men who will stand behind yon and by this |
flag"
In response the new commander-in-
chief said:
Comrades, let me briefly say accept this
office with heart of gratitude to the com
AIDES who have chosen me for this high
position, and | hope when have reached the
md of my term of office | may leave as clean
4 record behind me as the eomrade who has
served you during the past year"