Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-10-09

spirit his plea of month ago for the
manifestation of good will and broth
erly kindness towards the late adver-
saries of the members of the Grand
Army He said he had been prompt
ed in making that appeal by the be-
| lief that such actions would tend to
bring still closer together all parts of
the country in the bonds of a com
mon citizenship, and there were al
ready, he added, evidences in the re-
sponses received from the southern
states that he had not miscalculated.
Indeed. he said, with but two eXcep-
tions, the entire press of the country
had commended the spirit of the let
ter.
] Continuing on this point he said:
1T is not expected that the Grand
Army of the Republic as an organiza-
| tion Will embark in the building of
homes for soldiers, north or south,
but in no possible way can the great
est fraternal organization in the
world more becomingly crown its la
bors of love in behalf of its own
membership than by extending the
hand of helpfulness to their fellow
|
once arrayed in deadly strife. The
most disastrous results of a civil war
are the animosities and bitter feel
ings engendered thereby, and l am
convinced that one of the most pa
triOtic services we can render our
country is to earnestly aid in remov-
ing every barrier that separates or
estranges the people. The victory at
lAppomattoX will yield imperfect fruit
if we do not win the hearts as well
as the flags of the men who wore the
gray. \ union of hearts as well as
of hands is indispensable to an indis-
soluble union of indestructible states.
The Grand Army of the Republic
has nothing to fear. 1t is not tram
meled by political creeds, nor embar
rassed by sectarian controversies.
and in the discharge of my duty
neither my heart nor my judgment
will consent to return to you the
great commission committed to my
trust one year ago. without voicing
the noble sentiments which L know
animate all your hearts, and | rest
confident in the belief that no infiu-
ences or conditions north or south
can successfully construct or main
tain a sectional line that will pre-
vent the manifestation of the most
kindly feeling and cordial good will
by act as well as by speech between
the surviving veterans of those who
wore the blue and those who wore
the gray"
Reports of Officers
Official reports were made by the
senior vice commander, the junior
vice commander, the surgeon general,
the haplain-in-chief, the adiutant
general, the quartermaster general,
the inspector general and the Judge
advocate general.
In his report Surgeon General w.
r. Thrall, of Cincinnati, recommends
that the office of surgeon general be
made honorary and that the mortu-
airy and health features which the
surgeon general is expected to sup
ply be furnished by the adjutant gen
eral. This recommendation is made,
DR.. Thrall says, because of the inn
possibility of getting complete sta
tistics from the department medical
directors. He makes no further re-
port, saying that to go further would
be to palm off statistics which would
be entirely unreliable.
Chaplain-in-Chief Thomas Y. BoyIe
of Pittsburg, also speaks of the futile
attempts he has made to secure sta.
tistics of attendance at Memorial
day services, but he attributes the
neglect to supply the facts to the adj
vanced age of many post chaplains
and of their comrades.
In his report Inspector General
Wilfred A. Wetherbee, of Boston,
says: Il find that our weakest de-
partments, as well as our weakest
posts, are those which do not have a
Woman's Relief corps connected with
them. 1t has been truly said that
the success of all great undertakings
has been largely due to the influence
of woman. The Grand Army of the
Republic can give testimony to the
truth of that statement. 1 most ear
nestly recommend that every post
that is not so blessed take steps at
once for the formation of a corps
The smaller and more remotely stu
ated the post the more need of r
corps"
Quartermaster General Charles Bur
rows, of Rutherford, n. J.. furnishes
details concerning the financial af-
fairs of the order, in the course of
which he says: Il am glad to be able
to report a good, sound financial con-
dition, the cash in the general fund
and supplies on hand showing an in
crease over that of last year. The
southern memorial fund shows
smaller balance than before, and but
for the generous contribution from
the Woman's Relief corps would have
been wiped out The statement