Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1899-09-23
@. A. r. OUT OF PARADE.
VIII Not Be Represented in the Pro
cession Dewey Day.


New York, Sept. 23.-If the members
of the Grand Army of the Republic
march in the Dewey parade next
Thursday it will practically be as tail
enders, for there will be only one or
ganization behind them, the Spanish
American war veterans. This decision
was finally reached yesterday.
In assigning the participating bodies
to positions in the parade Gen. Roe,
who has charge of the matter, decided
that all organizations of war veterans
must march behind the armed forces.
To this the G. A. r. men objected and
demanded the right of the line. Then
the G. A. r. asked that a picked corps
of their number, about 100 in all, be
permitted to lead the regular military
division. Gen. Roe again refused tc
change the program as originally laid
out, and he was informed by the vet
Grams that if he did not assign them !:
better position than the one proposed
they would not appear in the parade
Regarding the telegram sent by
Roosevelt, printed in these dispatches
yesterday, Roosevelt last night said:
II have telegraphed Gen. Roe that IL
the matter is one purely for the city
authorities and in which l have no
power, then of course withdraw my
former telegram.
'.I had understood that Gen. Roe was
acting as major general of the national
guard in the management OF the par
ade, and in that event |, of course, had
the power to direct that the veterans
be given the right of the line. and ac-
cordingly did it.
..If however, as appears to be the
case, it is a matter purely for the city
officials, 1, of course, have nothing to
say and no advice to give"
Gen. Albert d. Shaw, commander-in-
chief of the Grand Army of the Repub-
lie. has issued an address to the public.
in which he says:
THE reasons given in the letter from
Department Commander Kay, and pre-
sented in person to Gen. Roe, embodied
the views I personally and strongly
pressed upon him, and which should
command the place for the comrades in
the line in question. / made this re-
quest following the precedents of two
states. First, in Chicago, at the jubilee
parade the veterans were accorded the
right of line and marched ahead of all
armed troops: second. on the return of
the Tenth regiment, Pennsylvania vol
unteers, from the Philippines. the
Grand Army of the Republic had the
right of line in Pittsburg, followed by
the president and governor and theil
staffs.
In the light of these comparatively
recent parades, the latter in honor of
our gallant soldiers VINO served in the
Philippines and who possibly heard
some of Admiral Dewey's guns, could
not but feel that the Grand Army COM
rades of New York. representative of the
greatest state in the union, which sent
more men than any other state to pre-
serve the nation from ruin, We're as
richly entitled to head the line of the
Dewey parade as We're the comrades of
PENNSYLVANIA to dead a similar civil
pageant in honor of our Spanish Amer
.ican war heroes: and I felt when !
made the plea that the precedent set by
the state of Pennsylvania in having the
veterans lead the line, President Nc
Kinley and the governor of the state
following, was one that might be fol-
lowed without any loss of dignity tc
those controlling the Dewey parade in
New York.
II wish to add that my only desire
has been to stand for the honor and
dignity of the Grand Army, and know
/ shall not be blamed by fair minded
and patriotic citizens for doing my
duty in this respect as understand 1t.
1t gives me the greatest pleasure to ex-
tend to Governor Theodore Roosevelt,
as commander-in- chief of 100000 veter-
ans of the c. A. r., my warm congrat-
ulations on the just and patriotic stand
he has taken in behalf of the ageing
veterans of the nation in using his in
fluence to have their just request
granted that they lead the parade in
the city of New York in honor of the
great Admiral Dewey, thus assuring tc
our newest veterans that when they
grow old in their turn they shall not be
the tail of any procession"