Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-04-24
oRDERI OFF FOREIGN WARS
QUESTION OF MEMBERSHIP IN THIS
MILITARY ASSOCIATION.
Are Those Serving In China and the
Philippines Eligible Not Yet
Determined.


| Special Correspondence of The Evening Star
HARTFORD. April 3D. 1901.
An important amendment to the con-
stitution of the Military Order of For
| eign Wars has, been drafted for adop-
ton at the trennial convention to
| be held in Philadelphia In 1902. The
| amendment relates to the admission of Of
| ficers who have served in the American
army In the Philippines and China, and
while it's terms are kept secret and may not
be dlvulGed before the time for the conyen-
ton In Philadelphia approache II may be
surmsed that the amendment permits the
! reception into membership of officers who
have seen service III asia during the Phil
| ippine and Chinese tighting.
| This question Is the most important that
has come up In the order during recent
| years, and II occupies nearly all the atten-
| ton of the members of the national coun-
| Gil at the annual session which has just
closed in Hartford, Many applications for
| abundance to membership have been re-
| ceNed from officers serving in the Philip
| pines ana IN CHINA, ana all have been held
| up, waiting Il decision of the national board
as to whether the lighting in those coun-
| tries was actually foreign war"
| Inc officers of the society looked up what
| presidents there were. and hoped that
| some decision of n recognized authority,
| Ike court of claims or a court to dispose
| OF prize money, or something of the kind
|
| whether the engagements in the East In
! dlan Islands and on the march to Pekin
| We're actually foreign wars in which the
| United States had participated.
! NO decision being made. all these applica-
| lions for membership were put in wait
| ing class by themselves, and the matter
came before the national council meeting in
Hartford in this form
National Council.
! The national council is composed of the
officers general of the order, and constitutes
an executive board to conduct the affairs
of the society through the years between
the triennial convention, subject to the
legislation Of that meeting. The following
have been attending the council session in
Hartford: Major General Alexander S.
Webb, United States army, retired, Of New
YORK, commander general; Major General
Charles F. Roe, New York National Guard.
wee commander, general; James H. Morgan
OF New York, secretary general; Edward S.
Sayres of Philadelphia, treasurer general;
Augustus Floyd Delafield of Stamford, vice
commander general for Connecticut; Capt.
stephen Waterman of Providence, vice
commander general for Rhode Island, and
Major David Banks, jr., of New York, dep
uty secretary general.
These men, in secret session. discussed
the status Of the applicants and came to
the conclusion that under the present linn
1tat1ons of the constitution the applicants
were not eligible The constitution limits
VI
commissioned officers who have fought in
the foreign wars of the United States and
to living officers who have seen such serv-
ice. There are two classes of members the
class of veteran officers and the class of
those who claim the fight of admission be-
cause OF their ancestry, and not from per-
SOnal services.
In the debate on the question it was said
for one side that the officers in the regular
and volunteer army of the United States
serving in either the Philippines in Chi
ma had actual fighting on foreign soil.
fighting which had been carried on regu-
larly under the authority of the United
States and in which many officers and men
had been killed or wounded in action, in
addition to the casualties Of the camps
Those who took this view called attention
to the size and Importance of some of the
engagements and the great preparations
and large expenditures that were required
for what the troops did, be it technically
war or not, in the Philippines and in China
The officers who had died. and those who
survived and asked for admittance to the
order, had fought CALAMITY and as pa
triotically as those engaged in the war with
Mexico or with the war with Spain. If
this were not war and war on foreign soil
they wondered what was.
No Declaration of War.
In opposition to this it was pointed out
that there had been declaration of war
against the Filipinos by this country. and
none against the Chinese To the officers
in the islands it could be said that they had
merely taken part in expeultion to re-
lieve few diplomatic officers and mission
thes to those in the islands it could be
said that they had only aided in putting
down an insurrection of tribesmen. Neither
affair could be called a foreign war 1t was
noted that in neither instance, up to this
time, had the rights of a neutral been in
terfered with, so that no international de-
cison on a state of war had been forth
coming. 1t was contended that if those
who took part in the Chinese relief expedi-
ton were considered eligible for member
ship in the Military Order of Foreign Wars
it would be hard to draw the line and
every officer who happened to be connected
with the landing of a detachment of ma
rines' on foreign soil, even for a demonstra-
ton against some barbaric tribe would de-
mand admission
1t was finally agreed to draft an amend
ment to the constitution for submission to
the Philadelphia convention. 1t was an
nounced today that the wording of this
amendment had been decided upon but
that it's terms would not be made public
just now.
AS it is unlikely that any amendment to
the constitution would be considered in
case both the Chinese and PHILIPPINE aDpll-
cation were to be rejected altogether, it is
practically certain that the amendment is
in the form of an extension of eligibility to
the officers serving in the Philippines at
least
The council has received into the national
order two new state communicates, Wis
consin and New Jersey. General Charles
King, the novelist, is at the head of the
new Wisconsin commandery
Marks Fourth Class Mall
The assistant attorney general for the
Post Office Department has, upon request
Of the third assistant postmaster general
rendered an opinion constituting the act of
June 20, 1885, embodied in section 1913. DOS
tai laws and regulations, and relating to
permissible additions to fourth-class mail
matter. The assistant attorney general
says:
"The meaning of this new provision is
clear 1t specifically states that the sender
a package of fourth class matter or upon
the tag pr label accompanying the same
the MARKS of description etc. By implica-