The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-02-24
14TH ANNUAL ENcAMPMENT.
Grand Army of the Republic, Depart
ment of Florida, at Gainesville.

ment of Florida, at Gainesville.
Sanford. Fla, Feb. 13.-Delegates from
the various Grand Army posts in this state
are now en- route to Gainesville, where,
as the guests of Lew Wallace Post, they
viii form the fourteenth annual encamp-
ment of the department of Florida. These
delegates should come from almost every
extreme OF the state, as there are posts at
Key West, Fernandina, Pensacola, ITALIA
hassee and New Smyrna, forming circle
that holds within 1t some twenty or more
posts. Not all of these posts are now in
an active condition, and many Of them
may not be represented either by elected
delegates or past and present post com
manders. This will no doubt prove an
''on year" in the matter of large attend
ance and favorable reports.
Charles M. Ellis of Jacksonville is de-
partment commander; George II. Pack
wood of Tampa, senior vice commander;
Edwin Kirby of Fruitland, junior vice
commander; Rev. j. b. Shoup of Gaines
vile, chaplain; DR.. H. M. Bruce of Tam
pa, medical director; s. Herbert Lancey
of Maitland, Judge advocate; George H.
Atwood of st. Augustine, inspector; Will
lam DeLacy of Key West, chief mastering
officer; Walter w. Hunt of st. Peters
burg. chief of staff; T. S. Wilmarth of
Jacksonville, assistant adjutant general;
W. II. Melrath of Jacksonville, assistant
quartermaster general
If the rule of promotion prevails Senior
Vice Commander Packwood will be elect
ed department commander, and Junior
Vice Commander Kirby, promoted to be
senior. However, there may be a repetI-
ton of the tactics adopted at the recent
encampment held by the Department of
Massachusetts, when a popular one-armed
senior vice commander was set aside en-
tirely from deserved promotion by a ma
jority of the delegates opposed to the sos
called House of Lords in the Grand
Army encampments. state as we'll as ma
tional, that has controlled elections by
questionable combinations
The movement to eliminate the House
OF Lords promises to spread all over the
country, and will no doubt be a lively
topic of discussion at the forthcoming ma
tional encampment at Cincinnati Under
the present rules aud regulations the
past commanders-in-chief and past depart
ment commanders are perpetual members
OF the national encampment, while past
department commanders and past post
commanders are perpetual members of the
department encampments. This creates a
sort of House of Lords" who are entitled
to be present and vote, ETC., in every en-
campment.
Now take a post, for example, that is
twenty years old,it sends a post command
er and two delegates making only three
new, fresh votes to offset the votes of
twenty past post commanders. Then again.
take a post only three years old; 1t has but
six votes while the other post, no larger,
but older has twenty-three votes 1t is
easy for few old posts to combine and
freeze out the young posts in the election
of officers, and also in the general business
of the encampment hence the present
movement against the House of Lords"
Another important topic for discussion
win be the reduction of the per capita
tax and a more economical conduct of the
affairs of the department. Many old COM
rades are dropping out of the posts be-
cause they are too poor to pay the an
nual dues, and on this account it is pos
sible that three or four posts may give I'd
their charters. A large proportion of the
Grand Army men in Florida are in very
humble circumstances. some having no in
comes except the small pensions bestowed
by the government.
There is only one real live, progressive
post in the state composed entirely of col
ored veterans, and that is Charles Gabriel
Post of Jacksonville. 1t owns the entire
building in which the post room is located,
renting out the lower floor 1t has a Wo-
mans Relief Corps and a corps of Sons
of Veterans, both active and efficient. The
colored posts in Pensacola, Tallahassee.
Fernandlna. st. Augustine and Palatka
are not thriving, some of them being vir-
tually dead Key West Post has a few
white veterans in it to hold 1t up next 10
Gabriel Post in membership and activity.