Morning journal and courier., 1891-04-07
third grade, and members of that grade alone had power to determine who should L ko

third grade, and members of that grade alone had power to determine who should be advanced to it.
 This system of grades continued in force until 1871. Hundreds of posts gave up their organization, and thousand of mem bers left the order because they would not submit to the requirements of such re- organization.
 At the encampment held in Boston on the 10 of May, 1871, General A. E. Burn side of Rhode Island was elected com mander-in-chief, and the present simple system of organization was adopted. The | injury which the organization received, however, by the charges of political intlu- ence, and the graded system of organiza- tion prevented any rapid increase until 1S77 During the six years that elapsed, the average membership throughout the | country was about 26, 900, as reported at | the National encampment during each of | the six years. Since 1877, the increase in | the membership has been without parallel l in any organization of it's character. The annual reports since that date show the membership on the 30th of June in each year to have been in round numbers as follows: 1878, 28,0O0; 1879, 35, 900; 1880, 50,0O0; 1881, 10000; 1882. 1Os, ,OOO; 1883, 178, ,O0O; 1884, 256, ,OOO; 1885, 5000; 1886, 299, ,00O; 1887, 337, 900; 1888, 361 ,0OO; 1889, 3S2, ,O00, and on the 3Oth of June, 1890, there were 7,170 posts in existence, | with membership of 427,981. The or ganization has an existence in every state and territory of the union except North and South Carolina. No official returns are available for this year, but it is safe to estimate that the total membership must be very nearly half a million.
 The great work of the order during the last few years has been it's disbursements for charity to those members who have re- quired assistance. Since 1871 more than two millions of dollars have been expended from the post relief funds, and the fiscal records show that during the year ending June 30, 1890, there had been expended for this purpose $217, ,650.S5. Connecticut had last year eighty-four organized posts with membership of 6,740. They had expended in charity s10, 0,59697. The re- lief fund in existence amounted to over $63, 900, and the post funds were nearly S2O,0OO.
 Ohio, the daughter of Connecticut and Virginia, has the largest representation in the order, having last year 712 posts, with 46, ,672 enrolled comrades. Of the depart ments making reports the territory of Utah is the smallest, having only two posts, with membership of 129.
 The modest and popular General Burn side, who was elected commander -in-chief in 1871, is we'll remembered by this post, as he came here to attend the national en- campment in May, 1873, at which time he | was succeeded by the eloquent Geveral Devens of Boston, who was subsequently | attorney general in the cabinet of Presi- | dent Hayes.
 General Devens was succeeded in 1879 by the then governor of Pennsylvania, 1 General John F. Hartranft, and he in turn | was followed by General Robinson of 1 Binghampton in 1877. Since that time the men of national reputation who have l held the office of commander-in chief have been ex-Governor and General Lucius | Fairchild of Wisconsin, and.t the last com- mander-in chief, Russell A. Alger of Michigan,
 | There have been two national encamp. ments in which this post has taken deep interest. The first was that held in tbis city on the 14th of May, 1873. The gath erings of the armies of the James, the Pc. tomac and the Tennessee, the banquets and the speeches, will never be forgotten l by those who were so fortunate as to wit. ness them, hear them or participate in l them.
 l On two evenings there were gathered ir l Music hall a host of the great leaders o1 the war. Ulysses s. Grant, then president of the United States, sat prominent at the banquet table, and at the ball which closed the festivities none were more assiduous in attentions to the ladies than General. Sherman and Sheridan. Many belle ot this city will remember to her dying day l that she, for @ few moments, danced ol chatted with one or the other of those grea soldiers.
 The other encampmeut, the memory O. which I need not recall, was that held las August in Boston, when this post took the palm for it's members and it's bearing None of you will forget that day of the en campment when General William Tecum
 sch Sherman, representative at larg
 from the department of Missouri, declined
 to accept the invitation of the commander
 in-chief to come to the stand of the pre-
 siding officers, while he modestly answered
 twill you grant me the privilege of re
 maining where am with my own delega tion."
 We sadly recall with that incident tn, fact that the old leaders are rapidly pass ing away. After Terry and Sherman it i difficult to remember who are left.
 The present great membership must in clude large majority of the present sur
 vivors of the war. The loss by death dur ing last year, was nearly 5000. Th@ rat
 must soon begin to rapidly increase. Thi quarter centennial celebration finds tn order in the zenith of it's membership anc prosperity The great work of it's charit, will go on for the next few years. As the numbers decrease, the spirit of traternit, will bind the survivors more closely to gether. The organization of the Sons O Veterans will carry on the sacred ser vices of Memorial day for generations t( come, but the especial work of this orde must cease when the years of anothe, generation have passed.
 Twenty-Five years more will swiftly pas and the semi-centennial will be celebrated by few gray-haired men, who will lingel here awaiting the summons to join tn, great majority. Some will recall the prid, with which on this evening the great pur poses and history of the Grand Army o the Republic have been recited.
 And then a few more moons will wal and wane. Changing seasons will find tht survivors too feeble and too few to gather around camp fire or banquet table. Int day will soon thereafter be at hand wher the last of all the band will have faller asleep beneath the turf and the bowl vii be turned down for the last time, in me moriam, upon spring time flower
 Then can it be said in truth of all tho comrades
 "On Fame's eternal camping ground | Their silent tents spread,
 And glory guards with solemn round
 The bivouac of the dead.'
 As some son of veteran writes the last page of the history of the G. A. R. to tell coming generations how this grand order practiced the virtues of fraternity and charity, and taught to their sons the great duty of loyalty-the last veteran having passed through the portals of death into life-there will be upon some field of the hereafter great reunion, in which the boys of the Sixth Massachusetts, who fell ir the streets of Baltimore, and all of that glorious army that gave up their lives up on the battlefield, in the hospital wards and within the stockaded prisons of the confederacy, will gather with the comrades of this order around Grant, Sheridan Goote, Farragut and Porter.
 INTERESTING SKETCH BY CAPTAIN J. N. COZ
 Captain J. N. Coe of New Haven, who served in the war in the old Second Con necticut Heavy Artillery, gave valuable sketch of the history of Admiral Foott post, of which the following is an abstract
 Realizing the impossibility of prepar ing satisfactory synopsis of the history of Admiral Foote' post in the short time at my disposal, as we'll as the truth of the saying of Macaulay that nothing is less attractive than an epitome,' promise yor in advance that my paper shall possess the grace of brevity.
 con the 11th day of April, 1867, the de pertinent of Connecticut, G. A. R WAS