Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-09-12
Shown in the Addresses of
the Head Officers at
Cleveland.
GREETING TO PRESIDENT
The Great Parade and Other
Incidents of the National
Encampment.

Cleveland, Sept. 12.-The national
convention of the Grand Army of the
Republic opened this morning with a
large attendance. Commander-in-
Chief Rassieuer read his annual ad-
dress and the officers and committee
reports were submitted.
Chiefs Address.
COMMANDMENTS. Chief Leo Ras-
sieur devoted large part of his an
rual address to the matter of pen
sions. without any effort" he
said, ''on the part of the organization
or its officers to give the pension
problem any undue prominence, that
subject has overshadowed all others
and has called for more attention and
thought in the past year than all
other questions which concern u.s."
He criticised the administration of the
pension bureau and demanded "the
honest and fair administration of laws
which are already on the statute
books" Continuing he said: elf
an officers lawlessness, recklessness
or boldness 60 to such extreme
length as to lead him to override or
ignore plain and unmistakable or
der, indicating the line of his duty,
under the law, coming from his su-
perior officer, the secretary of the
interior, what can the poor and help
less old soldier expect at his hands
when he is claiming to exo-rise his
discretion under the Ia y. Inc exer-
cising of his discretion cannot possibly
result in anything else in most of the
cases than a positive denial of the
benefits prescribed by the law"
After adverting to the Importance of
judicial assistance in the admiuistra-
lion of the pension bureau and an
swering objections to the G. A. r.
bill, having this object in view,
the commander-in-chiefa added: 1--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 humanitarian war in the
of the downtrodden of other
countries.
Fate of Veterans Pre- ference Bill.
He referred regretfully to the fail
ure of the veterans preference bill to
receive favorable consideration by
congress and urged further efforts to
secure it's passage. Another ground
for disappointment, he said. was the
failure to pass one of the three bills
for soldiers home in South Dakota.
Idaho and Oklahoma. AS to military
and patriotic instruction in the public
schools, he deplored the exclusion of
non-commissioned officers from the
bill which passed congress. 'sThe
schools of the country" he said. ''are
The fruitful field where patriotism can
be so planted and cultivated that
can destroy or eradicate it.
Hence every effort in this direction
should be continued with renewed
efforts and patriotic exercises n ade
obligatory in the pnblic schools by
law, wherever such is not the case,
and it is at all practicable.
Adjatant Generals Report.
The report of the adjutant general.
E. M Sterrett, showed the total MEM
bership June 80, 1891, was 269, 507.
in 67S posts. The gains during the
ast year were so. 019 and the losses
37,172, by death S,166 aud by sus-
16, 262. The number dropped
rom the rolls. having been previously
was 1872. The number
IN the rolls June So 1901, including
25. $50 suspended, was 295. .057.
The states in which there are over
3 600 mem bers are as follows: Cali
ornia and Nevada 792, Colorado and
Wyoming 2,1I7. Connecticut 4.597.
illinois 22,132, Indiana 1880, Iowa
p S78. Kansas 1881, Kentucky
Loss, Maine SAL. Maryland 2.528,
IS O37, Michigan A.
IA Minnesota 6115 Miasouri 1p-
l65, Nebraska 5 63S, New Hampshire
!. .39I. New Jersey 5.375, New York
iO.I43. Ohio 25 Ill. Penn sylvania
Is, ,565. Vermont 3,56S. Washington
md Alaska 2,50I, Wisconsin $3.50.
The amount expended for relief dur
ng the year was $1i9 325.
Referring to the Southern Memorial
fund, the adjutant general said: The
Importance of aiding our comrades OF
.he southern states and their suct es-