Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-09-05
COMRADES GATHER
The G. A. r. Festival at In
diana's Capital.
A HOST OF VISITORS IN THE CITY.

Attendance of Veterans Not so Large as
Expected. but Their Absent Places Filled
by Civiiians-Dedication of Camp Wilder
by Gen. Harrison-Today's Great Parade
Starts on Its Twelve-MiIes March-En-
eampment Gossip.
INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 5-Thanks to
queens weather and su cessful carrying
out OF the admirable arrangements per-
fected by the local committees, the twen-
ty-seventh national encampulent of the
brand Army opened most auspiciously.
30 lar as the number of visitors from out
side points is concerned the success of the
encampment is already assured. Not all
OF these, however, are veterans. In fact
the boys in bLle are almost lost in the
throngs. The hardy, hooppole yeomanry,
with their wives and children and other
relatives, near and remote, form a large
proportion Of the arrivals. With real
live national Grand Army encampment
within easy reaching distance. to keep
| away from it would be worse than treason.
Not Up to Expectations.
AS to the veterans, the arrivals, outside
of the state posts, are not by any means
up to expectations A good many states
send less than half the total that had been
scheduled month ago as cert ain to be here,
while few are likely to make even
poorer showing. In the encampment
proper fully 100 delegates, if not more, will
fail to answer to the roll-call Hard times
and the continued stringency of the money
market, especially in the far western
states, is the ascribable cause. But the
crowds are here and even if there are
quarrette of civilians to every veteran, In
dianapolis is just as well contented and
happy.
Harrison Dedicates a Camp.
Almost on the very spot in military
park where thirty-one years ago the citi-
zens presented to Colonel Harrison and his
newly organized Seventieth regiment of
volunteers the standards of Indiana and
the United States to carry before them to
the war, the eX-president dedicated Camp
Wilder" the name bestowed upon some
three hundred tents in which reunions of
regiments and old soldiers societies Will
be in full blast for the remainder of the
week. About 1000 people participated in
the exercises, which included addresses by
w. A ketcham, General John L. Wilder
j,
eral Harrison; patriotic music by the band
and the raising of the stars and stripes to
the top of a towering pole.
The Ex-President's Speech
When the ex-president was introduced
he was greeted with a volley of cheers that
was thrice repeated He apologized to
his fellow citizens for having remained so
long at the seashore, while they were
N arIf fp-f = ha of -
campment; admitted that he felt in some
degree "a shirk;' indulged i'll some inter-
esting "reminiscences regarding tie park
and surrounding neighbovhood in the days
of the war, and eulogized the bravery and
devotion to country of the Indiana troops.
NO Indiana soldier, 'said the x-president,
need be ashamed to open TO tie world in
friendly competition with the records of
the sister states the story of Indiana's part
in the great rebellion. But the beauty of
1t all was that these regiments from Indi-
ana and these from Illinois and these from
Ohio were all one.
All Belonged to Uncle Sam:
They were not Indiana's soldiers,
Ohios nor Illinois soldiers, but soldiers of
the United States. The cause was one,
the glory is one; and, visiting comrades
from other states we are not here to exalt
ourselves, Dut TO take your hands as COM
rades and share with you the glory of the
greatest result that was ever achieved by
war in human history. II there is any
man anywhere who does not honor the
union veteran he does not live in Indian
apolis, If there is any man anywhere who
suspects him or would detract in the
smallest degree from the merits of his
service, he is not here to-day. You will
not meet hi m on our streets
The Lesson of the Encampment.
"My comrades, those tents about US are
pitched many days march nearer home
than those in which you dwelt here in
1861. They will stand but for day and
vanish. You go to your own homes, to
the shelter of those roof trees and to the
companionship of those families from
which you separated yourself in times of
war and to which you returned with an
increased love and conservation. You
will go back to pick up the duties of your
citizenship with higher sense of these
duties, of the glory and sweetness of this
flag than you had before you came here to
mingle with these comrades, to listen to
these stirring songs, and to stir each other
by the remembrances of those bloody
days"