Evening star., 1901-02-19
Ihe q. A. II. Oh inauguration Day,
To the Editor of The Evening Star.


About month ago you published an ar
tlcie OF mine on THE Place of the G. A.
H. in Parades.' 1t has attracted no little
attehtloh and has awakened much discus
Sion l notice that it has been copied into
quite number of papers, and l have re-
celVed numerous letters from stranger COM
rades expressing their agreement with nv
views and adding, "Our motto should be
the post of honor in the inaugural parade
or none. We owe this to the memory of
our dead and also to our own soldierly
self-respect"
A discussion has arisen whether the vet
erans should insist upon the post of honor
as condition of their acceptance to ma
rade, or a post of honor. A post of honor
has no meaning, for every post in an in
augural parade is an honorable post. So
the question recurS, where shall the Grand
Army be located in the coming parade?
In the recent centennial parade the Span
ish war veterans 90 preceded the g. A. r.
Younger and stronger than we, they make
a finer appearance than we did PRAYERS
for their safety had been answered and
no marred or crippled ones broke the SYM
metry of their line. They looked well, and
having done well, they had right to feel
well, which they evidently did. Still there
would ring in my mind, as the back
numbers passed on, quckening their
steps, as best they could. that the adver-
tising wagons should not run over them,
the cOuplet:
"A fathers a father until he gets new
wife;
"a mothers a mother all the days Of her
life"
When the second wife brings forth the
nose Of the first born is put out of Joint.
l was both amused and touched as | wit
messed Il did not march, my comrades
straggle on by an aged woman, evidently
one of the blessed mothers of 1861 who
al ,.-itI,
rage" to which a man responded, Its q
d-d shame" and the old lady shook hands
with him, saying, THANK YOU" and que
ried, was she thankful to him for sympa-
thizing with her or for expressing her
views more forcihly than she dared to do,
and then the refrain
"A mothers a mother all the days of her
life"
1 read that 1t is intended to have a third
division composed of veterans, to be COM
manded by Gen. Daniel e. Sickles. Make
that the first division, and place us at it's
head, near enough to the President to be
his escort, and the patriotic sentiment of
our own citizens and of the tens of thou
sands Of strangers within our gates will
be gratif1ed. II not that post of honor, no
matter what our leaders may agree to, let
every self-reSpectlng veteran quietly step
our of the ranks.
1t may be argued that the war is over
and we should convince north and south
that we have forgotten, as well as forgiven,
the past. Are the benencent results OF the
war over? Will not William Mckinley be
inaugurated, unlike Lincoln in 1861, with
out one tremor of apprehension? If the
G. A. II. cannot march at the head of
the column, simply because IT Is the e. a.
r.. consistency demands of Congress that
it reconsider and repeal the appropriation
OF $3.50 600 for monument to Grant
The coming parade will be brilliant af-
fair. Shall it be devoid OF sentiment? Give
to the G.. A. r. the humiliation Of past
professions and the parade will not be de-
void of sentiment-the sentiment of disgust.
Give them the acknowledged post of honor
and the sentiment OF a rekindled and re-
kindling patriotism will hallow Inaugural
ton day H. L. JOHNS.