Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1897-04-28
No Suspended Comrades.

Following is letter written by a
member of Seward Post, of Auburn,
n. T., and printed in the National Tri-
bune. Seward Post has suspended all
dues. The letter was read before the
post III this city and some action Will
be taken here regarding dues. We print
the letter AT request OF post of this city:
= never noticed all article in your
columns from Past Chaplain i'll chief
Eagerly that l do not read with great
pleasure, because it seem to ME that
ne means what he says and says what
he means, and is always interesting
Ills letter III reference to suspended
comrades is good, and it is for the pur-
pose of keeping the subject of the chap
laln's letter before the comrades that |
venture into print. The subject of sus-
| pended comrades has undoubtedly been
the concern OF many of the posts, and
there may be some that have found a
solution TO the problem, but if there
are any OF them that have taken the
| bold stand that we have | have not
! heard of it.
Our scheme is not patented, nor will
it be, and we really believe it is sue
cess. At any rate, it has been for the
| last two years, and we have nailed our
flag to the staff and burned the bridges
behind US; in other words, we are
pledged to keep it up.
Every order has it's active and its IN
different members. The G.. A. r. is no
exception, although it would be difficult
to find comrade who failed to have
pride enough not to want to be counted
at sometime or other. If rules are to
apply, they must apply to all; and who
does not know that in our membership
| hQUn O. M Aiffornnf 0loccaC ho
no rule can fit all. 1t would be waste of
time to attempt to enumerate all the
causes that keep lots of good comrades
out of the posts.
Some three years ago we wreStled
over this problem. and it was not in any
haste or hurry We argued, and some
times we found ourselves On one side
and then on tie other. We had COM
| rades (good ones. too, who were always
in line). who have demanded a discharge
or transfer because the post RENTED
| the dues of another cOmrade, who in
the judgment of the former, was able
to pay dues. We had all the elements
of the average post, and it was. as
have said. after very mature delibera-
ton that we abolished all dues absol-
ely.
/ am aware that someone will now
say that we will not have the funds to
run the post, and [ cannot better an
Swer than to give our experience for
| six years. In 1890 we were badly in
debt. We could not raise the money
to settle in any other way than to have
fair, and all this work was left to less
than 20 per cent of our then member
ship.
We have paid the debt; and two years
ago while the present senior vice de-
| ~ me- ndQl
| commander, we adopted the plan of
mo dues" Since that time we have
nearly doubled our membership, and
more than doubled the attendanced at
post meetings, and trebled the interest
in the affairs of the post. We have
never seen the time that we had any
claims presented to us that we did not
have the funds to pay them. Ofcourse,
we had TO be prudent. and did not have
any swell banquets. but if we did want
campfire we could set UP as good a
.'spread" as the boys used to get up for
| themselves.
| We have comrades who are not able
| to pay such dues as were levied by the
post. but who baVe pride enough to pay
! the Quartermaster sum equal if not
| in excess of what the per capita is to
! the department.; others who can and
do pay a little more than this: others
| who pay as much as they ever did. and
not few who are able and willing to
pay much more than they did under
the old system. So that with the in
creased membership. which adds prac
tically nothing to the expense, we are
able to get Dlore money than formerly.
have better meetings, more influence.
and more harmony.
believe that the time has come when
we need to remove every obstacle which
in any way keeps eligible comrades out
of the order. It should be the ambition
of department officers to SO manage the
finances of the department that no post
will feel the per capita tax burden.
1t has always been a wonder TO me
how the department of New York can
run its affairs on the very small tax
that is asked of us. and the above has
no application to officers of that depart
ment and would not have been written
if We had not Just been looking over the
list of suspended comrades in other
posts. 'sOnce comrade always com
rade" is orr motto.-6omnaandeT Sew
ard Post. 81. Department of New York
Auburn. N Y.