The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-17
THE G. A. r. ENCAMPMENT.
Washington City Making Great Prepar-
ations to Entertain the Veterans.

ations to Entertain the Veterans.
WASHINGTON CITY, Aug. 16.-[Special. i
The business men of Washington City are
now hustling with more than the average
energy of resident Of the capital city to
get things in readiness for the Grand
Army encampment which is to be held
here in September. Washington City
never does anything like the enterprising
cities of the great West. The committee
representing the business men of Wash
ington City went to the Detroit encamp-
ment last summer and made numerous
pledges as to what Washington City
would do if the next encampment was To-
Gated in this town. After a hard fight
against Lincoln which developed as the
hardest competitor that Washington City
had, the capital city finally won
the prize. In the contest at Detroit
the Washington City committee as we'll as
the committee representing the capital
city of Nebraska promised to take care of
the old soldiers as they had never been
taken care of before. 1t is probable that
Lincoln would have carried out that prom
ise. The bustling Western city, while not
one-half as large as Washington, would
have probably been enterprising enough to
tainment that could have been given them
without calling upon the government for
aid TO carry out the designs relative to the
encampment. Washington did not do
this. The capital city committee immedi-
ately organized after securing the encamp-
ment at Detroit and secured the town for
subscriptions in order TO get money
enough to make the encampment sue
cess. The committee probably had an
idea that the citizens would be patriotic
enough to donate literally, and when
the subscription lists were turned In there
would be plenty of money to insure the
success of the encampment from imam
cial standpoint The committee failed.
The citizens of Washington are either not
patriotic or they decided that the hotel
and boarding house keepers OF the town
should pay the fiddler. as they were to get
the benefits that accrued from the en-
campment. The committee iioundered
along for several months, and then 1t was
decided to ask congress for 100000 to ena-
bic Washington City to take care of the en-
campment in something like decent shape.
The appropriation was finally secured,
though it was cut down TO $75, 900, and one.
half of this amount is to be taken out OF
the district appropriations. As result
the government donated $31. 800 tor the
benefit Of the town to take care OF
the grizzled veterans when they
| arrive here for their annual
| out,ng. Even with the money that the
government gave the city, predictions are
made that the old soldiers will not be
taken care of so literally as would have
been the case had the encampmen
| been held IN Minneapolis. Denver, Lincoln
or some other Western city. 1t was sill
| wears ago that Minneapolis entertained
| the old soldiers. and up TO that time they
| were free in expressing the opinion tina
| no encampment IN the past had been near
iv so great success as the one held in the
Flour city. A few years later Milwaukee
| entertained the old soldiers, and whel
they left the Lake city they expressed tn
opinion that the ercamprnent that yea
| had been q great success.