Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1899-08-19
UNION VETERANS UNION
Big Preparations Made For tho &
tional Encampment to Be Held s.
At Des Moines.
Largest Parade of Veterans Eve.
Seen In the State is
Promised.
Something About the Arrangements
and Attractions For the Occa.
sion-Capital Comment.
to Times-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, Aug. 19-The committee
on arrangements for the Union Veter-
ans Union national encampment to be
| held here next week, now expects that
| there will be about 5000 old soldiers in
Des Moines at that time. Some esti-
mates have placed the number twice.
that high, but if there are 5000 old SOL
diers in line in the parade Tuesday eve
ming it will be the biggest procession of.
Grand Army men seen in the west in
many year.
| Des Moines is making unusual prep
arations to receive the veterans. Prac-
| tically all of the big down town busi-
ness houses will decorate in honor of
| the visitors. A bureau of information
| will be opened at the Iowa hotel. The
| Western Passenger Association Will
have headquarters in room 402 of the
| Observatory building, opposite the Saw
| cry hotel. Reception committees viii
meet every train and no effort will be
spared by the committees on arrange
4 ments to make the entertainment pro-.
vided acceptable to the delegates and
| visitors.
/ Special rates on all railroads have
been granted as follows:
Western Passenger Association = A
rate of one fare plus So for the round
trip for all points east of the Missouri
river, except where the local rate is less
/ than Sc, when the fare will be one and a
\ third.
Central Traffic Association-One fare
4 for the round trip plus s4. Territory
covered is Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and
southern Illinois.
Trunk Line Association-A rate of
one and a third fare for the round trip.
4 Eastern states, with the exception of
New England.
The New England Passenger fAssocia-
tion will probably make the same rate
as the Trunk Line Association.
4 commander-in-Chief Robert ST.
George Dyenforth, of Washington, ID.
c., will arrive on Monday with his staff
and will establish headquarters at once
in the savery hotel. The national exc
cutive COMMITTEES will meet at the Saw
cry house Monday evenins. at s o'clock.
The sessions proper of the convention
will begin on Tuesday and will last
three full days. All of the business ses-
4 public will not be admitted The gem
teral meetings will be held in the hall of
Gus Smith Camp of the Modern Wood
men of America. The Ladies' Auxiliary
Society will meet in the same hall when
it holds sessions. On Wednesday eve
ming camp fire will be held at the tab
ernacle on East Grand avenue. On
Thursday evening the principal camp
fire will be held in the new Auditorium
which will be gaily decorated for the
occasion. Col. d. y. Henderson,, OF
Dubuque. and many other prominent
1 speakers are billed to address the camp
] fires. 1t had been expected that PRESS
i dent Mckinley would attend, but be-
4 cause of the Illness Of his Wife it is now
i deemed improbable that the president
will be here.
Ever since the Union Veterans Union
has been organized it has claimed to be
4 a political organization. 1t was formed
fourteen years ago and has grown until
it has attained national size. 1t is not
4 exactly rival of the Grand Army. but
was created to do work that the Grand
Army didn't want to undertake. The
membership is claimed to be made up
exclusively of men who saw active SER
vice. To become a member q man must
have participated at least in one active
engagement. AT least this is the re-
/ lquirement laid down by the organiza-
ton. On this basis of membership rest
the claims of the organization to aspe-
cial recognition politically. They say
that If old soldiers are to be given the
i preference generally in receiving pub
lie office. in the civil service branches OF
Il the government, as well as in Offices ap-
! pointive and elective. the men who
! should be thus benefited should be those
who saw active service. For this rea-
son the union was organized The lead
ers of the organization claim that it has
never before had sufficient strength and
membership to accomplish the things
+ desired by its organizers But now it Is
claimed that the organization is in n
position to demand and compel recogni-
Etion. 1t is said that this demand will be
made OF the leading parties in the next
presidential campaign. Still more lib
eral legislation is sought for old SOL
dlers in certain directions. and the
1 Union Veterans Union is Seeking to be-
come the political guardian of the old
soldiers of the union army.
News comes to Des AIoines that a
/ trust has been formed in Iowa. 1t has
Il as its headquarters the little town of
Elma, on the Great Western railroad.
in Howard county. The trust is formed
| to control the output of tow in this
4 country. 1t is a fact not generally
known that the tow of the United
States comes mainly from northern
I Iowa. southern Minnesota and the Da
kotas. That is about the only section
lsof the country that is success in
raising flax. The new corporation, for
it has been incorporated, has headquar-
ters at Elma, with A. G. Brown, who
engineered the deal. There are about
4 fifteen mills in the section of country
| mentioned and they have all pooled
their interests and will sell goods ONLY
through the Elma house. The tow is
used mainly for upholstering, and as
this one corporation WI. nave to fur
nish practically the whole supply it is
in position to do a successful business
to say the least. The farmers make a
good profit out of the fax crop, as they
get $3.50 a ton for the straw. Some little
fax is raised in Ohio, but outside of
that supply. which IL small. the new