The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-10-09
those who wore the blue and those who
wore the gray

The Surgeon General.
Official reports were made by the senior
vice commander, the Junior vice COM
mander, the surgeon general, the chap
lain In chief, the adjutant general, the
|quartermaster' general, the inspector gem
eral and the judge advocate general
In his report, Surgeon General w. r.
Thrall Of Cincinnati recomm ends that the
Office Aof surgeon general be made hon
orary and chat the mortuary and health
features which the surgeon general Is ex-
pected to supply, be furnished by the adj
jutant general. This recommendation is
made, DIR. Thrall says. because Of the i'm
possibility Of getting complete statistics
from the department medical directors.
He makes no further report, saying that
to go further would be to palm off sta
tistics which would be entirely unreliable.
The chapIaIn's Work. r.
Chaplain -in-Chief Thomas N. Boyle Of
Pittsburg also speaks of the futile at
tempts he has made to secure statistics
of attendance Memorial day services, but
he attributes the neglect to supply the
facts to the advanced age of many post
chaplains and Of their comrades.
The Inspectors Discoveries.
In his report. Inspector General Wilfred
A. Wetherbee Of Boston says: ...
Il find that our weakest departments,
as we'll 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 under
takings has been largely due to the tnf1u-
ence Of women. The Grand Army of the
Republic can give testimony to the truth
Of that statement. I most earnestly rec
ommend that every post that is not so
blessed, take steps at once for the for
nation Of a corps. The smaller and more
remotely situated the post, the more need
Of a corps"
| ..tr. = Finances.
! Quartermaster General Charles Burrows
of Rutherford, N. j., furnished details
concerning the financial affairs Of the or
der, in the course of which he says:
II am glad to be able to report a good,
sound financial condition, the cash In the
general fund and SUPPLIES on hand show
Ing an increase over that of last year.
1.-The southern memorial fund shows a
smaller balance than before, and but for
the generous contribution from the Wom-
ans Relief Corps, would have been wiped
out"
The statement shows a. balance on hand
in the general fund of $9,351.
! The Muster Roll.
The report of Adjutant General Silas
H. fowler Of Minneapolis shows that on
the 30th Of June last the muster roll of
the Grand Army contained 26S,745 names
of members in good standing, and that
there were 6,511 posts. The figures as to
membership shows a net loss since the
preceding year Of 5,s04. The adjutant
general says that the high-water mark
of membership was attained in 1890, when
| it numbered 400, 489, and that there has
been q gradual decline since that date.
Commenting on this circumstance, he
| says:
| 1T is indeed encouraging that, notwith-
standing the inevitable increase in the loss
| by death, the gains by muster in and re-
| instatement overcome it. There are still
living over 10000 Of the men who were
a part of that grand army of the sixties,
and of that number less than rs, 900 are
over 60 years Of age. This suggests to
me to say that, If proper energy were
put forth, the Grand Army of the Repub-
lie ought to increase In numbers instead
of decrease.
1.-THE death loss for the year, as shown
by the REPORT, is 1929. The percentage
based on the number of members in good
standing at the beginning Of the year, is
sos. as against 500 per cent for the pre-
ceding year.