St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1900-08-01

The old soldiers in active service are
men from 81 to GA years of age. These
do not happen to be the pick of few
boys who after serving as aids-de-camp
took to military life, There were over
1,000, 900 soldiers recruited in the civil
war at the age of p and under, and
nearly half of these, or, to be exact, AGO.
600, enlisted at or under Is. Probably
100000 Of this last class enlisted in
1868, and it by no means follows that
the age entered on the rolls was cor
rect. The legal age was Is, and if
boy anxious to enlist thought lie could
pass for IS he kept silent about his real
age. Tens of thousands enrolled as re-
cruits of IS were under Il, or even
under 16
A boy who enlisted in 1860 at IS is
now SO years old, and one who enlisted
at Is in 1868 is 30. The average age of
the veterans in 1900 is GO, but there
are nearly 100000 who are under that
figure. Over 100000 are under 81, and
$4,000 are under So. These figures of
longevity among veterans are official
and prove that bullets and years COM
bined have not wiped out the fighting
men of the civil war era. The number
of veterans now living who are not old
er than the veteran fighters so con-
spicuous in the wars of this time would
constitute an army larger than that put
into the field against Spain, and as far
as mere figures go the greatest battles
of the civil war could be fought over
again by the veterans of that time.
To the minds Of civilians it seems
strange that the Grand Army does not
Spanish and Filipino wars. Devotion
to the flag was the inspiration for both
classes, but there the parallel ends.
The Grand Army had unique origin,
and by the terms of its constitution
is limited to veterans who enlisted be-
tween April, 1867, and August, 1865.
The traditions ard sentiments which
inspired the veterans of that era to per-
petuate fratern&l bond cannot appeal
to later generations with sufficient
force to make amalgamation possible.
Should all the soldiers called to arms
since April, 1898, be received into the
Grand Army the veterans of 1861
would outnumber them in the ranks of
the order. Probably not over one
third Of the new veterans eligible
would join the order, and in that case
they would constitute less than one
third of the combined membership.
The Grand Army has decided that the
order shall die with its original basis
of membership. Many attempts have
been made to broaden the basis, but all
have failed. A new departure would
necessarily destroy the original conSti-
tuition and character step which the
members do not think is called for.
The veterans Of the Spanish-Ameri-
can war have organized several socie-
ties, limited to their own class. Divid-
ed interests show themselves there as
well as among the civil war veterans
Among this last class there are several
veteran societies, but none of them
equals in membership the Grand Army.
Thousands Of veterans belong to more
than one society. Tie several armies
have their own associations, and the
Loyal Legion and Union Veterans Lee
gion are restricted to certain classes
from the armies at large. A very
large proportion of the members of
these Independent societies belong to
the G. A. R., but from their very ma
ture a union of these bodies would be
impossible.
The Grand Army has still vast re-
cruiting ground among veterans of the
civil war, for not more than one in
three Of the eligibles is found in it's
ranks. The total membership repre-
scented at Chicago is about 100000; the
total number of survivors is but little,
If any, below 100000.