Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1894-05-24

OF depression followed Dut when the ma
tional encampment met in May. 1871,
most sensibly struck from Its constitution
all reference to grade, and also inserts'
the following. which eliminated polite
forever from the rganization:
NO officer or comrade of the Grand Army o
the Republic shall in any manner use this organ
lEation for partisan purposes and no discussion
of partisan question. shall be permitted at any o
Its meetings; nor shall any nomination for polii
ical Office be madc.-Articie xi. chapter >. Rule
and Regulations"
From he day the regulation was place,
on the Grand Army statute books, th'
body has steadily grown iu numbers. inAu
ence aud power tor good. Its progress a
first was slow, for 1t reeained the gruun,
and the confidence II had lost with din
Guilty. For several years, however. th'
accsssions did not exceed the losses, bu
by 1879 the Grand Army began perceptib'
to recover from its early mistskes, aud its
roster showed the enrolment of A so.
men. AT the national encampment Of tn,
following yesr 60,67s names of member.
Ia good standing stood upon the rolls,
on THE uP GRADE AGAIN.
The report OF the adjutaut genera
made March 81. 1882, showed that the
numb' has riseu TO 50 ,934. net incrrasr
dur,ug the previous year of 20, 2j6 Hence
forth the growth of the society was phe
numrusl The report Of March 81, 1883
exhibited total membership Of li5 9Ja
and the then enormous net increase of 80 ;.
99s to tn rolls. a year later, March 81
1884,. the sdjntant-g 20 n~ral epntc ! 233,-
59J veterans III tie organization. 'r tic
surprising addition Of over So, 600 men.
With tie increase of members csme also
the aid ttotal abtlit, 10 adj destitute com
rades Al 4 their families. aud during lssi
the records show that sl53,001 wss ex-
pended for relief. Every post posse .set
a relief fund AMI the necessary wants III
it, members were looked after without
appeal to or even knowledge Of the public.
Each subsequent year has shown CORES
ponding Increase Of mem per-hip and hsc Al
ability.
ON March 81. 1855. the muster rolls
showed the prrseuc. In the Grand Army Of
2i9 ,Gst men, a net gsi1 over sly losses by
the smouni expended for relief during the
year exceeded $4,000. The number Of
persons relieved wss Is iO.i Tne II, Y. re-
port, dated March 81. l.s5. showed 4 mem
bership Of 296 a37 veterans The relief
fund had then reached S20j.o .o''0, while
that OF the posts themselves aggregated
dollars in charity Since then the relief
expenditures have yearly Exceeded his
handsome sum
In 1887 the rolls Of the Gcsni Atmy bore
the names of 320 956 men In good stand
ing. and the following year they had
grown to include 354 2l9 veterans. In spite
OF death ~ OF 8 AS. The mortuary
tables have sluce been constantly Increased.
making 1t certain that they viii soou be-
gin to rull Il d,wn the grand total ( mem
bership.
Today the Grsut Army Of the Republic
has 10 sctiye existence MT lrs~ Than 8 l50
posts, and carries on It's mnster-rolls
shout 40 900 houora,ly discharged vet
ersns OF The war Since 1871, when the
organization started out upon its pre- sent
basis, it has gwen not less than S. 80 90
70 charity.
ROSTER OF COMMANDERS IN-CuIEF.
Since the organization Of ii Grand
Army OF The RepubIc in 1856, the + How
Ing persons have held the cnice Of com
mander-a-c
Gen. 5. A iurlbut, Illinois. lsGG-7
Gen. John a. Logan. Illinois, loGs 10
Gen. Amnro-. +. Burnside. Rhode
Island. 1912
Gen. Chas. Devens jr.. Ma~.achu' ctis,
1881 ....
Gen. John r Hartr.nfr, Pennsylvania,
1856.
Gen. John c. Robinson. New Y,tk,
ISIS.
Chsplain WIN Earn>hsw, OHIO, 1879
Gen. Louis Wagner, Pennsylvania, 1850.
Mai Geo. 5. Merrill. Massachusetts.
1881
Se,g' Paul Van Der Vo r. Nybra- ka
1882
Col, Robert b. Beath. Pennsylvania
1883
Drummer BY John 5 kounry, ohio,
1854
Capt. Samuel s. BurIett, District Of
Columbia, 1855
Gen. Luclus Fairchild. Wisconsin, 1856
Mai John T. Rea. Minnesota, 1887.
Maj. William Warner, Missouri. 1885
Gen. K. A. Alger, Michigan, 1889,
w. G. Veasey. Vermont, 1890.
John l.. Palmer, New York, 1891,
A. G. Wessert. Wisconsin. 1892.
Capt John G. B. Adams, Massachu> ctts,
1898
POST So OF ELLSWORTH.
VIM. II. III. Rice Post 55, OF Ellsworth,
will OF course, take full charge Of the
observance of the day in this city, full
particulars Of which appear in another
column. During its twelve years Of
existence 1t has mustered 1874 men
into its ranks, and has disposed of
over $500 among the needy comrades
under its care. Its powerful useful
ness was never greater than today, and
its present efficient commander, Irving
Osgood. has the qualification of noting
that in no time iu its history has the post
been in such a prosperous condition as to-
day 1t is safe to assume that with The
same executive direction the great meet
ing next August will not find Post 55
wanting.
The officers of Post 50 today are Com
mander, Irving Osgood; s. V. Command
er, d. L. Fields; J. V. Commander, B. F.
Gray Adjutant, Melvin S. Smith; Quar-
termaster, James Hamilton; Surgeon, S.
Y. Kelliher; Chaplain, Benjamin Frazier
Officer of the Day. +. A. Macomber; Of
ficer of the Guard, Edward Mcfarland; Q.
NJ. Sergeant, Geo. F. Haskell; Trustees,
NJ. S. Smith. w. B. Campbell. F. A. Ma
comber.
THE NUMBER OF VETERANS LIVING.
One of the best Grand Army statisticians
In the country, Maj. Nitzche Of New York,
referring to the estimates made Of the
number Of honorably discharged veterans