Waterbury Democrat., 1901-09-12
VETERANS IN SESSION.
Much Interest in Report Q
 Committee on Pensions.

Posts.
 Cleveland, O., Sept 12.-The national convention of the Grand Army of the Republic opened this morning at the Euclid Avenue opera house with large attendance. Intense interest was manifested by the delegates in the re- port of the committee on pensions, ana it was generally believed that the con vention would take some very radical action bearing on that subject.
 The commander-in-chief, Leo Ras- sieur, devoted large part of his an nual address to the matter of pensions. '.Without any effort he said, Ion the part of the organization or its officers to give the pension problem any undue prominence that subject has over shaGowed all others and has called for more attention and thought in the past year than all other questions which concern us"
 He criticized the administration of the pension bureau and demanded "tae honest and fair administration of laws which are already on the statute books" Continuing, he said:
 If an officers lawlesSneSs, reckless ness and boldneSs go to such extreme lengths as to lead him to override and ignore a plain and unmistakable order, indicating the line of his duty, under the law, coming from his superior off cer, the secretary of the interior, what can the poor and helpless old soldier expect at his hands when he is clailn- ing to exercise his discretion under that law? The exercising of his 1is-
 cretion cannot possibly result in any thing else in most of the cases than positive denial of the benefits pre-
 scribed by the law"
 After adverting to the importance of judicial assistance in the administra- ton of the pension bureau and answer ing objections to the G. A. R. bill hay ing this object in view, the commander in-chief added: We cannot conceive that the measure of duty to those who
 saved this country will be belittled, while this country has hundreds of
 millions of dollars to engage in a hu- manitarian war in the interests of the
 down-trodden of other countries" He referred respectfully to the fail
 ure of the veterans preference bill to receive favorable consideration by con-
 gress and urged further efforts to se-
 cure it's apssage.
 The report of the adjutant-g general, F. NJ. Sterrett. showed a total mem bership June 30, 1901, of 269, ,507, in G. CTS posts. The gains during the last
 year were 30,019, and the losses 37,172 by death S,166 and by suspension 16,- 262 The number dropped from the rolls having been previously suspend ed was 7,722.
 The states in which there are over 2,000 members include Connecticut, A. 597; Maine. 6,441; Massachusetts, 18,- 067; New Hampshire, 3,391; and Yer
 mont, 3,65S.
 The amount expended for relief dur ing the year was $119.326.
 The report of August Drahms, chap lain-in-chief, showed that 2,749 posts
 observed Memorial day services, 92,T00
 of the comrades participating, as did 2,064 Women's Relief corps with 14, 600 members. The number of ceme- teries visited was 10,6S6 and the num- Der of graves decorated. 312, ,S46 The
 public schools participating was 3,606, | and the number of pupils 27S,2S6. Other organizations which took part
 in the ceremonies numbered 2,296.
 Abstract of report of the committee | on legislation:
 Your committee respectfully acknowl- edges the defeat of the Harris bill (S. 5,41O in the fifty-sixth congress, but strongly urges that this measure he again presented to the fifty-seventh congress by a committee to be ap- | pointed by the incoming commander l in=chief.
 1 Setcion 1754 of the revised statutes provides that persons honorably dis | charged from the military or naval ser | vice by reason of disability resulting | from wounds or sickness incurred in the line of duty shall be preferred for l appointments to civil offices, provided | they are found to possess the business
 capacity necessary for the proper dis
 charge of the duties of such office.
 The amendment embodied in the
 Harris bill was designed to broaden
 the scope of this section of the law, in order to include within the preference all who received honorable discharges | from the service. Under the present l law a large number of soldiers and l sailors who were wounded and who l served for years afterwards are eX- | cluded and in many cases preference | given to those who saw but little ser
 vice.. Very few veterans are now liv- | ing who come within the preference provided in section 1154.
 The following is the address of Judge William H. Day former secre- tary of state, before the convention: On Friday last the president of the United States, having responded to an | invitation to attend the exposition at
 Buffalo and taking part, delivered an
 address expressing with great force
 and beauty the supremacy of the yic- tories of peace over those of war; and I in rarely felicitous language voicing the hope that the nations of the earth might dwell together in unity, was | about to close his visit by meeting the l people at a public reception, as has
 been his wont on many occasions. On
 his way to the reception a friend ex- l pressed to him the thought that meet | ing so many people might make unusu- al demands upon his strength. He re-
 piled that the people had ever been | kind to him and it was pleasure to | met with them. and he found great
 satisfaction in their expressions of con- | fidence and esteem.
 With these sentiments on his lips, l at a time when the country was in profound peace, when prosperity | abounded on all hands. when his worth and ability and gentle kindness had endeared him, 1t was believed, to all his countrymen, without warning he was stricken from the fu1lness of health to the portals of death itself. Such an attack upon such man, :ln- der such circumstances, in a country