The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-10-17

mittcd or attempted to be committed
against the government during the pre-
ceding thirty years, but when analyzed
it appeared that very few who had seen
any military service were parties to
such frauds. The violators of the law
were simply, impostors, not soldiers.
The said report further showed that
the number of Union soldiers convict
ed of crime during the year was but
one-thousandth part of one per cent of
the total on the pension roll. We chal-
ienge any other department of the gov
ernment to make as favorable show
ing"
The ommander-in-chief also took
cognizance of the charge that the pen
sion roll contains the names of more
Union soldiers than there are survivors
of the civil war and pointed out that
there are more than 100000 survivors
of that war whose names do not ap-
pear on the roll at all. He advocated
| legislation in their behalf, saying:
Few of these old veterans have hos
pital record and to a large extent they
comprise the men that marched with
Sherman to the sea, and fought with
Grant at Appomattox. They took part
in the grand review in 1865 and formed
part of those splendid armies of
bronzed and well-seasoned veterans
that thrived on the very hardships of
war. They were the last to leave the
field and among the last to apply for
relief at the hands of the government.
For more than third of a century
they have borne an honorable part in
advancing the interests of the country,
and at this late day, when in their old
age they apply for help, they should
not be regarded with disfavor because
+, they did not apply earlierS'
/ General Torrance declared that no
pecuniary compensation ever could be
made to those who preserved the Union,
/ for that was a debt of gratitude which
/ could not be paid with dollars and
| cents.
The patriotic impulse that moved us
to lay all on the altar of our country
had" he said, mo fellowship with mer-
cenary motives. We did not belittle the
grandeur of the cause III which we
engaged by calculating on personal
gain. The inadequacy of our pay but
added to the dignity of the penalties We
suffered. Under the pitiless skies thou
sands of our comrades suffered as pris-
oners of war. but no complaint escaped
their lips. Release on terms of renun-
citation of their fealty to the flag was
rejected with their expiring breath. On
the field of battle fyuitless assaults were
often made, in the face of certain
death, but no one faltered in response
to the unwise commando Those We're
days of unquestioned heroism, supreme
devotion, and unparalleled sacrifice
And in these latter days the rear guard
of that immortal army should exhibit
a spirit no less heroic than that mani
tested by those who fell in the fore
ground of the conflict so many years
: ago.
! General Torrance paid high tribute tc
the work of the Womens Auxiliary or.
ganizations, including the Relief Corps
and the Ladies of the Grand Army OF
the Republic" and also made an ap-
peal for the proper recognition of the
!. Sons Of Veterans, saying on the latter
point: "Posterity for which we fought
has not only arrived, but will soon be-
: come the exclusive custodians of oul
, countrys destiny, and who more worth
lily than our sons can take up and car
ry forward the unfinished work of the
Grand Army of the Republic"
l He devoted considerable space to con.
| sideration of the status of the ex-Con
3 federate soldier. repeating in spirit hi:
, plea of month ago for the manifesto
ton of good will and brotherly kind
! ness toward the late adversaries of tbs
members of the Grand Army. He sale
he had been prompted in making tha
, appeal by the belief that such action:
would tend to bring still closer together
: all parts of the country in the bonds o
common citizenship, and there were al
ready, he added, evidences in the re
, ! sponses received from the Southern
States that he had not miscalculated
l Indeed, he said, with but two excep
f tions, the entire press of the countr.
had commended the spirit of the letter
Continuing on this point he said: 81
is not expected that the Grand Army o
the Republic as an organization will
:, embark in the building of homes 70
. soldiers north or south, but in no pos
: sible way can the greatest fraternal or
ganization in the world more becom
ingly crown its labors of love in behal
OF its own membership than by ex
a