Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-02-28
VETERANS DECLINE
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VCICnHINO OIVIIINI
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veteran organizations in the District Of CO.
lumhia, including visiting veterans of the
army and navy residing elsewhere, to form
an escort Of honor to the President, under
my command, | am authorized to state that
such an invitation would be cheerfully ac-
cepted.
I'm brief, the Grand Army Posts will only
take part as body in the inaugural cere-
monies, associated with their comrades of
the Union army and navy and with the
veterans of the Spanish-American war.
Alleged Erroneous Statement.
II must not fail, in conclusion. to rectify
your statement that the veterans demanded
precedence in the parade. On the contrary,
L proposed to the grand marshal last
Sunday. with the concurrence of all of the
veteran organizations in the District Of
Columbia, that they be left out of the pa
rade altogether, and be assigned to duty
early in the day as an escort of honor to
the President from the Executive Mansion
to the Capitol.
This offer was rejected by the grand
marshal because. as he said, the cadets
from West Point and Annapolis had been
designated for that duty and 1t would be
inconvenient to modify the order. l may
add that this suggestion was made by me
10 the IreSiueRt ana received MS SANCTION
Very respectfully. D. +. SICkLES,
Major General U.SA (retired)."
The paper is. indorsed as follows:
The foregoing communication Of Maj.
Gen. Daniel E. Sickles voices our unani-
nous conclusions. Every word of it meets
our hearty approval
ISRAEL w STONE.
Commander, Department of Potomac, G.
"R C. DYRENFORTH,
Il OF a
~ EDWIN BROWNE.
Colonel. Commanding Encampment No.
TO- Union Veteran Legion.
LEE NJ LIPSCOMB,
Senior Vice Commander, Spanish War
Veteran Corps. d. c.
Gen. SickIes' Statement.
General Sickles, after dispatchlng the let
ter to the grand marshal acquainting him
with the decision of the veterans organiza-
lions not to participate in the inaugural pa
rade, issued the following statement:
Comrades:
Having felt constrained to ask to be re-
heVed from duty as marshal of the veteran
division in the inaugural parade, I regret
to find myself deprived of the pleasure of
meeting you once more on an occasion
interesting to all of us as the installation
of comrade in the exalted office of Pres
ident of the United States
Unfortunately, We have not been ac-
corded the position in the marching column
which we believed ourselves entitled to re-
ceive, and in hearty accord with your lead
ers 1t has been decided that the veterans
Will decline to take any part In the inau-
gural ceremonies on Monday next. Accept
my cordial salutations with fresh assur-
ances of my affectionate regard.
Faithfully yours. D. E. SICKLES,
Major General, L. s. A, Retired
Plans for Luncheon.
In completing the arrangements for the
ceremonies of inaugural celebration Chair
man John Joy Edison of the inaugural COM
mittee was in communication with the
President today in regard to the details
Of the lunch which is to be served to the
chief executive and members of his party
during the progress of the inaugural ball.
The President announced that his party
would include about fifty invited guests.
The committee on banquet, of which Mr..
John T. Devine Is chairman. has charge of
the supper arrangements for the President,
and the menu served will be elaborate
The plans for the general supper service
a the inaugural ball are the best all agree,
that have ever been made for such an oc-
casion. The temporary dining hall and
kitchens along the south front of the pen
sion building are nearly completed. Here
tofore the supper has been served in rooms
of the building. This resulted in crowding
and an unsatisfactory service. One of the
first determinations of the present inau-
gural committee was to work a reform in
the supper arrangements. 1t was decided
that the guests should either dine in abso-
lutte comfort or not at all.
The result of this determination was the
decision to construct spacious dining hall
thus at once solving the problem. The
dining hall is 200 feet long by 35 feet in
width. 1t contains 1000 square feet, and
1t is intended to limit those In the room to
LOCO. Thus II will be seen that subtracting
the space occupied by the two long tables.
each diner will be allotted an average space
Of five ant
smallest possible space that will be encoUn-
tered The supper room will be opened at
o'clock. much earlier than usual. so 1t is
believed the crowd Will not be excessively
large at any one time.
Chairman Edison OF the general committee
has taken a personal interest in the supper
arrangements and Is as highly pleased with
the indications of success as is Mr.. Devinc
himself. The supper feature at former balls
has been failure to large extent, es-
pecially in a financial sense. Owing to the
radical changes in arrangements this year
and the more complete comfort that Is as
sured. 1t is believed that the banQue- fea-
ture will prove an enjoyable and successful
venture Chairman Devine stated today
that the supper served would in every way
equal that to be had at any Of the large
hotels of the city He stated that each
diner would be assured of receiving full
value for the money expended in the ticket
The supper will be served from o'clock In
the evening until 2 o'clock or later in the
morning. Mr. Charles Rauscher the gen
eral supper caterer, will also serve the
Presidents repast.
Committee Badges and Medals.
The distribution of committee badges and
medals is now going on, and has brought
some protests to the attention of Chair
man Edison. Some of the committeeman
are of the opinion that the badges are not
elaborate enough for the Importance Of
their positions and service. Others have
found considerable fault with the inaugu-
raj medals because of the fact that they
Of the design to be kept in a case and
are not pendent affairs to be worn on the
breast or coat lapel Mr.. Edison, in speaking
of the matter today, said that the aim OF
the present inaugural committee was at
elegance in simplicity in all it's arrange
ments. This desire for dignifed simplicity
extended to the badges and medals. 1t
was decided that the badges should be
NADIA of the finest nuality of silk rihhon