The San Francisco call., 1899-09-23
GRAND ARMY VETERANS
PLEAD IN VAIN TO LEAD
The DEWEY LAND PARADE

State in the Dewey land parade, |
received a telegram from Cover
nor Roosevelt to-day directing |
him to give the G. A. R. the choice of
any place in the parade. Immediately |
on receiving the telegram, General Roe
had a conference with Mayor Van |
Wyck, and then Chairman Guggenhei-
mer of the Plan and Scope Committee,
which has charge of the parade, was
notified of the Governors dispatch.
After pointing out that his committee |
alone had the right to assign the places
in the line of march, Mr.. Guggenheimer
said of the Governors action: 1T is
peculiarly Rooseveltian. 1t is most i'm
pudent, unjustified and unwarranted |
interference in a matter that is without |
his province. 1 do not believe, how
ever, that our committee will take any
notice of it."
General Roe declined to discuss the
action of Governor Roosevelt in ad
vance of the action Of the Plan and
Scope Committee.
1t is said that Governor Roosevelt |
sent his telegram under misappre
hension. General Roe is not acting in
his capacity as Major General COM |
manding the State militia, but as chair |
man of the Subcommittee on Land Pa
rade of the Dewey Celebration Com |
mittee of this city.
At to-day's meeting. Of the Plan and |
Scope Committee. General Roe made |
the following statement:
In order that there may be no misun-
derstanding, | wish to make this state |
ment in reference to the declination of |
the G. a. r. to take part in the Admiral
ton at my fnstigation and on my reso-
luton l was authorized by this committee |
TO extend an invitation to the G. A. R. |
Of Greater New York to take part in the !
parade by having a certain number of |
men selected from each post, forming a |
battalion of regiment, according to the |
with, the State commander as soon as
possible At the request of a prominent |
Grand Army man, | wrote and asked Cen
eral o. o. Howard to take command of
this body. being assured that this was |
agreeable to the State commander. At an |
interview between the State commander, |
several members of the Grand Army and |
myself l understood that the selection of !
General Howard was agreeable. At this
informed them that the. Grand Army |
would be assigned a position in the lead |
of the unarmed organizations
AT a later interview between the COM |
mander in chief of the G.. A. r., the State !
commander, Colonel Goulden, and myself |
practically demand was made that the |
or head Of the column, Colonel GOulden |
stating that at meeting held the day |
before it was the sentiment of the Grand !
Army that If they could not have the |
lead they would not march. / called their |
attention to the fact that it was not a |
Grand Army affair. that it was city af- |
proper one, and said: Positively and alb |
solutely the Grand Army cannot have the
tired. At another interview the com
mander in chief. with the State com
mander present, stated that he thought |
Grand Army. l informed him that he was |
asked at the request of several Grand |
Army men, but ] would write and ask |
General Howard to withdraw, whereupon |
the commander in chief said: That is a |
simple matter and can be easily ar
ranged
Then he asked me If would allow a |
picked body of 300 Grand Army men and |
myself to have the lead Of the column.
answered. Il positively and absolutely |
will not authorize any portion of the
Grand Army to be at the head of the |
column" Subsequently received the let
1 have taken the position from the be-
ginning that the day was emphaucally |
a navy day; that Admiral Dewey and the |
sailors of the Olympia should be in the |
lead, with nothing whatever to detract. !
l have taken this stand relative to the |
Grand Army, as 1 am thoroughly con-
vinced l am right / assume all respon- !
sibility l do not ask the committee to |
approve my. action, but abide by what l |
have done. [ have the honor to be mem
Der OF the Grand Army of the Republic, |
George Washington Post.
The committee agreed unanimously, |
upon the motion of Mr.. Guggenheimer, |
to approve the action taken by General |
Roe. No mention was made of the dis |
patch of Governor Roosevelt.
General Roe declined to give the text |
of the dispatch to the reporters. 1t was |
decided to abandon the proposed break |
fast to the admiral at Claremont on |
Saturday, September 80. The breakfast |
instead will be an informal one on the |
boat conveying Admiral Dewey, the |
Governors of States and other guests \
from Barclay street to Claremont.
General Roe reported that he had |
learned that Ohio had proposed to in |
crease its representation from 500 to |
5000 men. He suggested that in view of |
the lack of funds the committee author |
ze him to announce that no more or |
ganizations would be accepted. A mo-
tion to that effect was made and adopt |
ed The committee then adjourned.
General Albert D. Shaw, commander
in chief of the Grand Army of the Re
public, has issued an address to the
public, in which he says:
The reasons given in the letter from De-
partment Commander Kay and presented
in person to General Roe embodied the
views l personally and strongly pressed |
upon him and which should command the
question. made this request following
the precedents of two States. First, in
Chicago, at the jubilee parade, the veter-
ans were accorded the right of line and
marched ahead of all armed troops; sec
ond, on the return Of the Tenth Regiment,
Pennsylvania Volunteers, from the Phil
ippines the G. A. r. had the right of line
in Pittsburg, followed by the President
and Governors and their staffs.
In the light of these comparatively re-
cent parades, the latter in honor of our
gallant soldiers who served in the Phil
ippines and who possibly heard some Of
admiral Dewey's guns, could not but
feel that the Grand Army comrades of
New York, representative of the greatest
State of the Union, which sent more men
than any other State to preserve the ma
ton from ruin, were as richly entitled to
head the line of the Dewey parade as
were the comrades of Pennsylvania to
lead a similar civil pageant in honor of
our Spansh-American war heroes; and |
felt when l made the plea that the prece-
dent set by the State of Pennsylvania in
having the veterans lead the line, Pres-
dent Mckinley and the Governor OF the
State following, was one that might be
followed without any loss of dignity to
those controlling the Dewey parade In
New York.
i wish to add that my only desire has
been to stand for the honor and dignity
of Grand A nd 7 know I Sh n