The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-09-04
1903

Army aas ,ae arss hold upon tina seee-
lioas OF TIE veterans.
n tha ranks of TIE Grand Army may
- Eeassd members Of other military So
csst;sS. especially 81 ,he T4byas Legion and
ne army associations. Eligibility q any
ere % sae others 2nils.es me ha.sssr -
admission 70 shs q, A. u unsfer It's srs-
etas r9ses- The ritual az tAss order -
moss elaborate and Impressive. especially
in al that relates 10 memorial and iarsral
ceremonies. Many ~ tse aged members
who aye unable - attend encanl pnleHt Aod
rsQnion meetings say that they wls5 -
keep shesr nawes apon the roll cg aancr
UGst4 summoned 80 a0s9 t2c EanNs 93 gee
grand aryny above. Watcher gounded n
pride or Iva sentiment or IN tender Devotion
% SyEsze9as and ceremonies frsught With
she hos3sst meaning the passion If loyalty
% the 0x4ev aud 10 comrades - ts1destTueti-
o.c. Ike the patriotism waich was Iss
basis ~ 4 all.
Therefore In holding tha: the Grand
Army 81 the Republic IS On Institution
wnich While X may We and has heea lras-
tas@d. ~; eann0: 4-e paraIele@. the NgtSr-
ans 10 uoI necessarily p}are /; sspan a Ped
estal As something forever lneoFaasy able.
Other times. 0tasr customs. The sol
dleTs 81 lSSS face new dangers aaa new
problems III tee veteran stage taey may
also create anew.
There has hegn much talk recently ot
loyalty 10 tbs Uag. meaning the enlhaaTn in
an objective sense. regardless 81 what u
REPRESENTS. Should "A crisis come again
axe Ehni 81 1891 and devotion - the Tag
count for mere thaa adherence 10 prtacipis
it viii nos be she nfst tine In the aistory
IF the word we&1 the SYmae! has pos
sesSed mere power than the ta!nS sysalal-
sge4. Ny cNuntry right or wrong may
so8ad cynical 20 some ears, bai ;as words
weTe Dictated hy "A. seRt.asent ~ the kind
taaf makes and saves nations. ffa.stlng
fer "a motto tae words. our coun1rs's Tag
aEst. Last and always" ,hexe ent q The
century defenders Of the blood bought
sy1u@ai Tn8y carve out new ideals 81 ma
tlonal greatness AID found an ordes Ok
FeteFa@s fsla ~nai5 tse isess 4ess la ,,s aay
ana anv3valsd in its destiny.
Me- n30re ghan one-thiri az The survivors
Of he Fedora! armies belong to he Grand
Army * tie Republic. Probably the
ispsed memberships would bring The roster
up II oae>han. There are ROW ahGtt gssa,-
etsi 08 Tie r2il. Such career c<4ld net
baFs he5a prophesied by the dFeamers In
Snsrman's camps who conceived the Idea
az agsa.her Masonic order, vita army 9 mi
raseship as It's mystic tie. Wlsain year
after fhe close OF the war the Northern
aud W Western states were honey cufrsbrd
with bratherhoods. legious and unions, es-
sae.ished by the dishandsd volunteers. All
81 them gave way before the order II Sc
cret faith. which came enheraldsd except
by word Of mouth among uew converts.
NJ the end Of fys years the Organization
was national. bat struggled or for ten
years With 4 membership reckonsd In tens
~ thousands. Then the waves burst forth
aRd III tne decade between 1889 and isaa .ha
roster swsled from ssi.t11 10 nearly quar-
ter 81 million, Losses by death IN sparse
~ settled (liTiriGts account for ths decrease
in the last decade, bat the number n stil
phenomenal when Il is remembered 'hat Ii
costs something 10 belong 10 the Grand
Army, e-reclally 20 maintain active COM
radeshlp with Nil that HAT relation ,n-
wolves. GEORGE l.. kII.MER.