Omaha daily bee., 1902-05-23
VETERANS HAVE BUSY DAY
Evening the Occasion of . Campfire Which
Evokss Much Enthusiasm.
GENERAL TORRANCE AND OTHERS SPEAK
AZ Day Session Reports of Department
Commander and other Omcers
Are Received and Greet
inEs EXCHANGED.


Continued from First Page.)
but II when l enlisted, but my mother
let me go and gave me the last cent in the
house to pay my car fare to Pittsburg.
My aged father, a minister, also consented
and when / returned wounded l found that
he was gone as chaplain of a regiment COM
manded by one Of the deacons Of his church.
How could a nation perish, how could a
righteous cause fall when the people
are willing to make such sacrince?'
Present Badge to Reese.
After acknowledging the departments
courtesy in deferring its encampment until
he could be present, General Torrance
called Hon. John Reese of Broken Bow,
department commander, before Major Will
cox, to the front Of the stage and presented
a handsome badge on behalf OF the Ne
braska department. Mr.. Reese responded
by saying that nothing could make him
more proud.
Mrs. Kemp read a history Of the condi-
lions that prevailed at the times Of the
deaths Of the three martyred presidents
and said: May these lessons seal. the lips
Of those who incite to anarchy or kindred
violence by-their unpatriotic and unthink-
ing words"
. Judge ]. S. Fawcett was called, but said
that he noticed. that at a late hour a
speaker always received his best applause
when he sat down, and that he would i'm
mediately seek that reward. The camp
fire was then declared at ar end.
Early in the evening Judge Estelle an
nounced that Comrade Warren Woodward
had died at the Paxton hotel at 8 o'clock
Of heart failure and after the meeting II
was arranged that as many as possible OF
the veterans should escort the body to the
station at s, o'clock this morning, when IL
is to be taken to his late home In Exeter,
Neb., for burial. The aged soldier came
Wednesday morning for the e~ncampment.
but suffered an attack Of heart failure early
in the day and has required nursing and
care since. His wife arrived yesterday
morning.
Afternoon Meeting.
At yesterday afternoons meeting In
Washington hall the veterans listened to
Mayor Moores' address of hearty welcome
and then went into executive session to
attend to routine business. The depart
ment voted $500 to the Woman's Relief
corps as a return Of the kindness of the
tOIHb LII NOklnk a bAnnAAdA ~ ~
Grand Army Of the Republic six years ago
when the encampment was last held IN
Omaha. General Torrance spoke, urging
that all civil war veterans be enlisted in
the Grand Army Of the Republic, as<that
order, unlike the others which have the
whole country to draw on, can recruit its
membership only among the veterans. He
touched on pension matters, declaring 1t
to be his opinion that the policy Of the
pension bureau Is anything but a liberal
one. The election of officers and the pre-
sentation Of resolutions was deferred until
this mornings session.
The Woman's Relief corps elected Mrs.
Kinney to the presidency on the second bal
lot, and Mrs. Lescher to the senior vice
on the first ballot. The junior vice, treas
urer, chaplain and FIVE delegates to the ma
tional gathering in Washington, D. c., are
to be elected today. Greetings were re-
ceived from the Grand Army Of the Repub-
lie and Daughters of Veterans, the latter
meeting in Myrtle hall. General Torrance,
Captain Palmer and General Cole came over
from Washington hall and spoke briefly.
The council of administration gave Mrs.
Anna e. Askwith, the retiring department
president, a china berry set.
Start of the Day.
AT NOON ~ WhS TepOTIeu at the OEduu
Army headquarters at the Millard hotel
that $50 badges had been given out to vot-
ing delegates and even as the remark was
made more than twenty more who had just
arrived fled into the room. In addition to
these are many wearers Of the blue who
come not as delegates, but merely to be
with their comrades and to meet the ma
tional commander, General Ell Torrance,
who arrived yesterday morning and was
here through the day and evening. Five
hundred are expected.
At the Patterson hall, Seventeenth and
Farnam, the Woman's Relief Corps reported
at the same hour that credentials had been
issued to 207 and that the total by evening
would be 230. The Ladies OF the Grand
Army Of the Republic at the Chambers
Academy. seventy-Aye strong.
Looks like Steele.
The boys spent the morning about the
hotel, meeting old comrades and new, and
there was nothing done except the log
rolling, which progressed in a way that in
dicates tina Lieutenant Governor Steele OF
F~airbury will ascend to the department
commandership with compliment of an
unanimous vote.
For the afternoon the program arranged
by Major Wilcox. present department coLl-
mander, sent the veterans on one more
march. the line being from the Willard up
Douglas to Fifteenth street, south to Far
nam, west on Farnam past the city hall
and court house and then south to Wash
ington hall, where the mayor made his ad-
dress.
Commander WiIcOx's report.
The report which Major Wilcox. as de-
partment commander, submitted is in part
as follows:
Comrades; one year agU you conferred
upon me the honor OF department COM
mander, and when / then looked back and
saw the names of the eminent comrades
who had honored the position and the
high standard they had brought the de-
partment. / realized the great responsible
Ity that rested upon my shoulders. have
used my best endeavor 10 keep IL where i
| found Il, but IL II hard to compete with
Father Time, who Is always on the look
out for ripened sheaVes. When l assumed
command the adjutant's report showed
6.S25 members and 1877 posts. Gains and
losses for the year l report as follows;
GAINS.
BY muster. 70
BY transfer ~
BY reinstatement zNi
Total ."
BY death: ...s'-.--.'...''...'.s"s'.'''..'' ~
By honorable discharge................. II
1 Nv GnEnAnat0n ~