The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-01-23
PUSHING 1T ALONG.
Bethel Workers Interested In the
Soldiers Monument.


rally in the interest of the G.. A. r.
monument fund was held last evening
at the Bethel boat, that event being
substituted for the regular monthly
sCclable given by the association The
OBJECT was to arouse general interest
among the members of all organiza-
tlonS embraced within the Bethel work
In the plan to erect q G.. A. r. mOnu-
ment and secure their cooperation.
Notwithstanding the cold and dis
agreeable weather and the fact that
many of those present were compelled
to come from distant parts of the city,
the assembly room Of the Bethel boat
was crowded and the audience was
largely composed of children. That
the purpose for which the gathering
was held was accomplished was mani
fest when toward the close of the even
Ing those who were willing to aid in
the monument project were called upon
to arise, and the response was almost
unanimous
After prayer and a song of greet
ing by the Bethel chorus, Mayor Doran
was introduced and briefly explained
the purpose of the meeting In the
course of his remarks he spoke of the
great obligation of the nation to the
Union soldiers and the privations
which these brave men had suffered fo..
Capt. H. A. Castle made a stirring
address in which he reviewed the civil
war, the causes which led to 1T and the
effects attendant upon 1t in q most in
teresting manner. Speaking of Presi-
dent Lincoln, he said: The splendor
OF all the kings and emperors of the
universe during the past 1000 years
pales in the light Of his matchless
fame.
hi Oh To oc ~
great leader" he continued, called
for volunteers to defend the honor OF
their country 100000 of the young
men responded to this call. Their
average age was nineteen years, SO
some of them must have been mere
boys, but they came bravely to the de-
tense Of their country. And those
brave fellows endured the hardships
and privations Of war and in return
were paid a sum which, owing to the
depreciation Of money, was equal to
$500. Those are the men who held
their encampment in this city last sum-
mer; those are the men whom 1t Is
now proposed to honor by the erection
of a monument in this city. The OBJ
ject of this monument is to carry to
future generations the story of the
great sacrifice made by those men,
& Maj. Wilkinson, U. S. A, made a
few remarks addressed particularly to
the children, whom he urged to assist
in the monument project in every way
they could.
7= Col. r. M. Newport spoke briefly,
telling the children that it was within
their power to make the plan a sue
cess, for, if they would give their pen
MES, those who had the dollars and
larger sums would follow their exam
pie and give the more cheerfully, that
the example had been set them by the
little ones.
Mrs. Newport, who is we'll known to
the members Of the Bethel, was greeted
with hearty applause when she arose
She spoke pathetically of the thous-
ands of brave soldiers, whose graves
were unmarked by stone or slab and
whose friends had no knowledge Of
their last resting place. 1t was to these
men, she said, that the citizens of st.
Paul wished to erect this monument.
/ The addresses were interspersed with
patriotic songs by the Aeolian Ladies
quartette, and cornet solos by Prof.
CASTER
Another pretty and entertaining fea-
ture of the programme was flag sal
utation by the boys Of the Bethel bri-
gade, under command of Lieut.. Jan
sen. Twice the proceedings were in
terrupted by an individual, who spoke
with German accent and appeared
to be somewhat the worse for liquor
He interrupted Capt Castles remarks
with some incoherent declaration, and
later insisted upon responding to All
encore accorded the Aeolian quartette
but was finally elected from the room
AT the close of the meeting refresh
m0ntS were served