Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-09-22
In the Huge Grand Army Parade, the
biggest Thing of the Kind
THAT THE COUNTRY EVER BEHELD
Rainy Weather Prevents Repetition of
the success Next Day.
LOTS OF WORK FOR THE RAILROADS
rFRoM A STAFF CORRESPONDENT

gether to-day in regard to this momentous
matter
1t was therefore not only the greatest
parade in the history of the Grand Army,
but the greatest in the history of the coun-
try. Washington is proud of it, and the
Grand Army boys-well they are SO saucy
to-day that one hardly dares to address one
of them. 1t seems as though Uncle Jerry
Rusk, who rode ali through the review yes
terday, made the weather to suit for that
day, but exhausted his means and permitted
Jupiter Pluvius to get the better of him, as
to-day has been as disrustingly nasty as
yesterday was perfectly lovely.
One Parade Hurt Y the Rain.
The turning of the little wheels within
the big wheel of the Grand Army, in the
shape of parades of minor organizations,
was to great extent spoiled by the rain
which has pelted down constantly and
chilly since nine o'clock. The parade of
the Union Veteran Legion, which was to
have been quite an event, was very small
affair. The Pennsylvania Reserves mar
shaled nearly their full number of men to
march to Georgetown and then ride by car
to Tenleytown, but the most OF them looked
as though they would just as lief give it all
up were it not a matter of pride with them
to make nice showing on this particular
occasion.
So, all bedraggled, but with unfinching
spirit and martial step, elastic almost as
thev were in the early sixties, they took up
their line of march in the rain, went out to
Tenley town, as per programme, looked
over their old camping ground, paved over
what is left of old Fort Penn, went to "The
Willows, an elegant road hotel, whose
stately mistress now Mrs. Kirkwood, was a
few years ago the wife OF Signor Brumidi,
the artist who frescoed the dome of the Cap
itol, and there partook OF a grateful BAN
quet and INDUCED in toasts, pipes, stories
and speeches until there was no thought of
the rain without
A Most Agreeable HosteIry.
1t was a more agreeable barracks, this
pretty hostelry, 'The Willows" than we're
those which the gallant Reserves occupied
in the dark DAYS of the war, and In which
they spent many an hour with worse
weather beating upon them than that which
made the inside of the hotel doubly at
tractive to-day for the other tens of thous-
ands who were forced indoors by the
weather-as many of them as could get in.
They scattered to the sixteen winds of the
heavens. They boated down the Potomac
on some of the elegant steamers which ply
On that broad, beautiful river; they crowded
Ihe Departments. and all of the public
buildings to suffocation; they held reunions
in their quarters
= The great building of the Capitol was
hronged all day, from sub-basement to the
highest balcony Of the dome, where con-
stantly in the rain could be seen the faint
cures and the dots of umbrellas of the
thousands that streamed up and down the
Winding stairs from early morning till dark
light.
secretary Charles Foster Greatly Delayed.
Cabinet officers snd officials of depart
ments found it impossible to transact any
business they were so overrun with visit |
ors from their respective States. Sec |
retary Foster. of the Treasury De- |
partment, has been SO delayed in |
attention to his official business
BY the cholera scare that he has been forced |
to attempt the impossible BY sticking to his |
desk during the stay of the Grand Army,
but he might as well have abandoned his |
purpose, as he is interrupted every moment,
and can scarcely steal time to sign his off, |
cial mail. He had a constant stream of |
Ohioans to-day, and his usual suavity al
most forsook him at times. To cap the eli |
max, just as he was in the midst of his final |
ard necessary work of the day, in came |
half hundred little cadets in gray from
Hamilton, and he had to shake hands with |
every Ouc Vi 1lItlt ltllONS, W WHO'LL Tile
visit was the event of their lives.
This is a fair specimen of the scenes en-
scte0 in all OF the departments Where
the hundreds of visitors who slept outdoors,
or who did not sleep at all, either last night
or the previous nights since the crush be- \
gan, are sleeping tonight, is problem.
Heretofore the nights have been clear and
dry, if q trifle cool, but this one is sloppy
and chilly, and the soft side of the curb, or
IL II i II 4
nights are out of the question. The stations
have been crowded all day with the depart
ing guests, and they will be crowded for
several DAYS more before the crush of Wis
itors can be got out of the city.
Some Odd Scenes at the Stations.
The scenes at the stations and the uptown
ticket offices are both grotesaue and
pathetic. Many of the old soldiers are
there without money or ticket, and plead
ing for means to Get home. 1t is said that
in nearly every case of this kind the veteran
has sold his ticket to get additional Doodle
with which to see the sights OF the gay
capital, and therefore the railroads will be
slow to respond to the frequent demands of
this sort. Where the character of the men
is good they can always get assistance
from their posts, but in the many other
cases it is probable the old fellows will be
left to SHIFT for themselves One of the
impecunioua ones at the Pennsylvania
station to-day was an old man of 77 years.
all the way from Michigan, who had '1ost
his ticket" and was wondering, in manner
that plainly showed he had been in the
same fix before, how he was going to get
out Of the city. He came to the usual
philosophical conclusion that as this was
the seat of government, and as the Govern
ment must take care of the old soldier, |
there was little danger that he would not
come out all right in the end 1t may
safely be said, however, that hundreds, if
not thousands of the inevitable shiftless
men will be left 'fon the town" far some
time to come.
Great Credit Due the Railroads.
To the railroads credit must be given for
the admirable manner in which thew have
managed this wonderful affair, and
especially at this end of the lines were
trains concentrated from branches and
other lines until they were almost try ing to
climb over the top of one another With
only the two trunk lines with which to
drain the North, West and Southwest, the
tssk of bringing in the visitors without
mishap was one Of herculean proportions,
and yet all the accidents that
have occurred have been distant
from the city and not where the trains ran
thickest To Passenger Agents Boyd, of
the Pennsylvania, and Scull, of the Balti-
more and Ohio, and to the local passenger
agents, Mr.. Parke, of the Pennsylvania,
and Mr. Hege, of the Baltimore and Ohio,
in which they have fulfilled their
trying duties, which, however, are but be-
ginning, in so far as the home stretch is
ad /