Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-05-30
FLOWERS AND Music
Surviving Soldiers Will Pay
Tribute to Their Dead
Comrades.
ORIGIN OF THE CEREMONY.
How the Grand Army Of the Republic
Was Put on Foot.
VARIED PROGRAMME FOR TODAY,
Interesting Exercises at the Cemeteries in
the Two Cities.
ORIGIN OF THE CEREMONY.
VARIED PROGRAMME FOR TODAY,
ORDERS FROM COMMANDING OFFICERS

one of the greatest American holidays
Although each recurring Memorial Day
sees a thinning out of the ranks of veterans
there are still enough left to pay tribute
of flowers and music to the nations heroic
dead All over the two cities business men
and manufacturers will do their part in ap.
propriately celebrating the day by closing
their establishments at noon. Business
will be generally suspended. The Diamond
Market will close at 11:S0 A. NJ. and the Al
leghent Market at 1880.
Memorial Dav was Instituted by the Grand
Army of the Republic and has been per-
petuated by it. AT the close of the war
many organizations were formed. Among
them were the Third Army Corps Union,
the Society of the Army of the Tennessee,
the Society of the Army of the Cumberland,
the Society of the Army of the Ohio, the
Society of the Army of Georgia, the United
States Veteran Signal Corps Association,
the Society of the Army of the James,
the Society of the Army of the
Potomac, the Society of the Army
and Navy of the Gulf, the Society of
the Army of West Virginia, and the Mill
tary Order of the Loyal Legion. All these
had for their object the perpetuation of the
ties formed during the war and the mutual
benefit of the members.
Organization of the First Post.
The greatest and most popular of all these
army organizations was the Grand Army of
the Republic, the first post of which was
organized at Decatur, Ill, April 6, 1866 1t
is a secret order, but the principles of its
organization are wen known. Its objects
are ''the preservation of those kind and fra
ternal feelings which have bound together,
with strong cords of love and affection, the
comrades in arms of many battles, sieges
and marches; to make these ties available in
Corks and results of kindness, of favor and
mutual aid to those in need of assistance; to
make provision, where it isnot already done,
for the support, care and education of SOL
diers' orphans and for the maintenance of
the widows of deceased soldiers; for the pro-
lection and assistance of disabled soldiers,
whether disabled by wounds, sickness, old
ace or misfortune. and for the establish
ment and defense of the late soldiery of the
United States, morally, socially and polit,
ically, with a view to inculcate proper
appreciation of their services to their coun-
try, and to recognition of such services
ana Claims DY American people,
The growth of the order was not rapid at
the first, owing to the prejudice excited by
the charge brought against it, that its chief
object was TO secure the political advance
ment of its members, and that it was chiefly
a secret political society. 1t was years be-
fore this prejudice was conquered There
was, probably, some ground for the charge
that was made, since, in the excited condi-
tion of political affairs, members of the
A Il. I
serve the distinction between their posts
and the clubs of Boys in Blue which were
admittedly political organizations and
when posts of the G. A. r. attended political
meetings wearing their caps and badges, or
aided in sending delegates to conventions in
behalf OF some favored friend or comrade,
the public was hardly to be blamed for be-
lieving that the order had decided partisan
proclivities. Then there were instances in
which posts went further than this, and
directly presented names for nomination for
offices, with the threat implied if not
uttered, that failure to so nominate would
drive them into the ranks of the opposition.
How Internal Dissensions Arose.
As was natural, such action soon created
internal dissensions in the struggle for con-
troll and advantage, and this was skilfully
fomented from without by those whose per-
sonal interests were jeopardized by the ad-
verse action of these posts. Action of this
kind was mainly local and confined only to
a small area, but the order at large was held
responsible, and the public distrust of poll
tical methods by a secret society grew so
strong that it became an extremely difficult
matter to establish posts in new fields, and
in MANY localities charters were surrendered
or posts became defunct without attending
TO that foTmality.
During this period other causes were also
in operation which came near causing the
total disruption of the order, but in Janu-
airy, 1868, the National Encampment de-
clared that while it was the purpose of the
Grand Army ''to secure the rights of the de-
tenders of their country by all moral, social
and political means within our CONTROL -
vet ''this association does not design to
make nominations for Office, or to use its in
hUence as 4 select organization for partisan
purposes" A year later the following
article was added TO the rules and regula-
tions: mo officer or comrade of the Grand
Army of the Republic shall in any manner
use this organization for partisan purposes.
and no discussion of partisan questions
shall be permitted at any of its meet
ings, nor shall any nominations for
political office be made This has
continued to be the law of the Grand
Army, and when once the public was made
TO understand that this rule of the order had
been adopted in good faith, the organization
rapidly increased in numbers, and became a
powerful influence for good and grand
conservator of peace. 1t is worthy of note
that once the Grand Army was taken out of
the field Of party politics. its influence upon
political and semi-political action became at
once greater than otherwise it could possibly
have been. Its record is a noble one 1t
numbers in the membership of its various
posts nearly, if not quite, a majority of liv-
ing veterans and its membership is to-day
greater than ever before. 1t has used its
influence to secure legislation for the care
and education Of orphans of dead comrades,
for increased pensions for widows and Or
phans and dependent parents, and for homes
for homeless veterans
Work for Increased Pensions.
1t has successfully urged an increase of |
pensions for the disabled to help them in |
their advancing years and increasing infirm- |
titles, and has removed from the nation the |
disgrace OF permitting men who saved its |
life to die and be buried as paupers in the |
land they had by their bravery ana self-Sac-
riice helped to save. But not alone have |
these veterans sought State and national
aid for the unfortunate, but they were mind
full of their own obligations to their suffer-
ing comrades. The order has long outgrown
the mistakes of its infancy. With men,
bership drawn only from the limited num-