The National tribune., 1894-07-12
PICKET SHOTS
From Alert Comrades All Along the
Line.
No Thought of the Dead.

ing appropriate public exercises upon Mem
oral Day. We have in our town four
churches. These act as if they thought
Memorial Day was gotten up for the purpose
of enabling them to make money. They are
eternally getting up some scheme for max
ing money upon that day. They vie with
each other to see which shall make the most
They will announce in the County papers,
for the purpose of getting the start of The
other churches, six or eight months before
hand, that the ladies of such church will
sell ice-cream and cake upon that day, or
show or festival.
"And whilst the old soldiers are listening
to the funeral Grafton and marching to the
cemetery to the time of funeral dirge, for
the purpose of scattering flowers upon the
graves of our heroic comrades, the churches
are hawking their ice-eream and cake upon
the public, thereby dstracting from the in
terest and solemnity of the occasion and
diverting the minds of the children from the
real purpose for which Memorial Day was
instituted. And to wind up with, they will
have in the evening theatrical perform
ance.
"Our Post passed resolution two years
ago, which was read out in all the churches,
asking them to hereafter fix upon some day
except May 80 in which to speculate. The
result was the next year they were worse
than ever, and paid no attention to US"
A Remedy.
d. Homer Jennings II Harriet ST., Bridge
port, Conn, writes: II offer suggestion
whereby great good may be done, if made
legal, and suffering alleviated. l advocate
bill making it obligatory on the part of a
married pensOner to certify on his pension
voucher, and his wife to witness the same,
that he is married, giving the date of mar
riage and the name of said wife. At the
death of said soldier the wife should be re-
quired to return to the Commissioner of
Pensions the pension-voucher, with the
doctors certificate of death Of said soldier,
and on the receipt of the same the Commits
sioner of Pensions must forward to the
widow her pension papers, payment to COM
mence from date of soldiers death.
by this method the widow would begin
to receive small allowance at the time
when she is in great need, and by such law
much time, annoyance and expense would
be obviated in furnishing or securing evil
dence."
Homes for Settlers.
J. R. Martin, New Hartford, Iowa, writes:
"Since the close of the war, during which
the writer tjerved in the gallant 1st Iowa
Cav, he has spent about 20 years in the
New South, travelling over it very extern
sively, and expects to return this Fall to the
prairie region of southwest louisiana. Dur
ing the war this was an unsettled region,
but is now rapidly filling up with Northern
emigrans from Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,
and Pennsylvania, with representatives from
all the Northern States. Here old comrades
or their children can enjoy all the advan-
tages of semi-tropical climate, with intelli-
gent and patriotic Northern neighbOrs. Ex-
tremes of heat and cold are here unknown.
Fruit growing and gardening pays better
here than elsewhere The staple large crops
are rice and sugar-cane" The comrade will
answer letters containing postage.
An Amendment.
Brevet Major, East Norton, Mass, says:
I" In your ISSUE of June IA appears an article
headed, What is Wanted and would sug
gest to veterans an amendment to Article 3,
so that it shall read, No less than that of
the Board that examined the pensioner, and
that the Board shall notify the said pen
sioner of the rating they give him at the
time of examination
"By inserting this clause the pensioner
will easily know if he is being cut down,
and he will also have chance to argue his
case before the Examining Surgeons if they
that the Examining Surgeons are the proper
persons to fix the rating, as the case is under
their immediate observation"
Last Fight
T. W. Smith, Third avenue and Twenty
third street, New York City, writes: "The
comrades seem to be interested in the last
fight of the war. On April 18, 1865 the 18th
N. Y. Cav (Scott's 900) sent out patrol from
Of tha,,
commanded by Lieut.. Mills, of Co. D. When
at about half way to Collierville they en-
countered large force of rebels, who opened
fire on them from sharpshooters concealed
in barn, which attack was Immediately
followed by "a charge from rebel cavalrymen.
The enemy outnumbered the patrol many
times, and at the first fire many saddles
were emptied, but the men fought as long
as any were left to fight, and / believe put
two or three of the patrol escaped unframed.
Col Phisterer's book, New York in the Re-
bellion,' says of this affair that the loss of
the 18th n. Y. Cav. was six killed, three
died of wounds, "a wounded, nine missing;
total A. l think this was the last fight
east of the Mississippi in which any one was
killed"
Information.
Replying to inquiry in Question Squad
for his address, Patrick O'COnnell, 1st Ohio,
says he is now at National Home, Wiscon-
sin. He would like TO find Capt. Drake De-
Kay, Aid-de-Camp to Gen. Mansfield in
1861. II have one of his passes, taken from
a rebel spy near Falls Church, Va. brakes
signature was beauty, and no mistake"
Why Don't They Write?
B. VanDyke, Cos. B and ID, 14th Iowa,
Hunnewell, Me-, writes II see nothing
from the 18th Iowa. There was such a
regiment, and it did some duty; was at
Fort Donelson, Fort Henry, Shiloh, Cor
NTH, and the Meridian Raid in Mississippi
in 1864; also up Red River with Banks. A.
j. Smith was our commander, and we were
known as Smiths Guerrillas."
Thinks Grant Seized Opportunities.
Ed. K, 10th Mich, Saginaw, Mich, writes:
"Under head of Questions Answered. M.
S. B., 18th Me-, holds that circumstances
made Gen. Grant the greatest General this
Nation ever had. This assertion is such
time-wOrn and narrow view of liie's posi-
bilities that it is doubtful if it deserves
notice but as it appears in print, may / ask
with the circumstances that opened the
doors for greatness for several other con-
spicuous figures of the war?
If circumstances made Gen. Grant so
great, will our friend think over the matter
before he replies and tell us why that ele-
ment failed to immOrtaliZe in the same
degree the names Of Mcdowell, Mcclellan,
nth xr,L.N