Omaha daily bee., 1902-05-23
VETERANS HAVE BUSY DAY
Evening the Occasion of a Campfire Which
Evokes Much Enthusiasm.
GENERAL TORRANCE AND OTHERS SPEAK
At Day Session Reports of Department
Commender ana other Ohicers
Are Received and Greet
tnEs Exchanged,

Delegates to the state encampment Of the
Grand Army Of the Republic, Woman's Re-
lief corps and Ladies OF the Grand Army Of
the Republic have had their camphres,
elected some Of their principal executives,
received the reports of those retiring and
put themselves in general readiness for the
work of this, the last day Of the gathering.
The elections accomplished yesterday were
those Of the Woman's Relief corps, which
made Mrs. Annie J. Kinney Of Blair the
new president and Mrs Elizabeth Lescher
of Beatrice the senior vice. The corps is
to elect its other officers today and the
Grand Army Of the, Republic will elect i'm
mediately upon being called to order at
o'clock this morning at Washington hall,
where 1t is proposed to have joint installa-
tion this evening. General Ell Torrance,
national commander, leaves at 10 o'clock
for his home in Minneapolis.
For the campfire last night the orpheum
theater was well filled. Judge Lee Estelle
presided and had on the stage with him
General Torrance, General S. II. Towles,
adjutant general, also of Minneapolis;
Major Wilcox. department commander Of
Nebraska; Past Commander Reese Of Broken
Bow, Captain II. E. Palmer OF Omaha, Gen
eral Cole Of Juniata, Captain Culver of Mil
ford DR.. Stone of the local arrangements
committee, Mrs. Callsta Robinson Jones,
national president of the Woman's Relief
corps; Mrs. Anna Askwith, department
president; Mrs. Wealthy Kemp and others
of note.
EsteIIe Compliments the Women.
Judge Estelle, in firing the first shot,
made the women a target Of his compli-
ments and said that IL 1t wasn't for them
no post in Omaha could exist until tomor-
row night. Then he spoke OF their sons in
the Philippines and declared his heart was
with them and with all other soldiers of
the nation.
After a stirring contribution by the drum
| corps that had previously played in front OF
the theater, he introduced Captain G. E.
Adams Of Superior, who dwelt at length on
the patriotism that has cost great sacri-
fees but inspired great examples. Let
us, by these camp fires keep alive patriotic
sentiment in our own hearts and create II
in the hearts of our children, that yellow
journalism that has created criticism Of
the governments methods in war and sought
to induce mutiny should not be needed.
The fighters make no such complaints. 1t
has ever been the American soldiers way
to make the best Of the necessarily rigorous
| COuulllOuS Oh war. rive udyb alter DdL-
tie Of Chickamauga the men of Rosecrans'
army we're picking up the grains Of corn left
where the horses had been fed, but there
was not one word of complaint because OF
! the fare"
The Elks' Club quartet sang ''The Two
Roses" and responded to an encore with
I"Tenting Tonight to the delight OF tho
! veterans.
| General Towles was then called and said
| "Can you wonder that we are drawn to-
gether when you think how rapily the SOL
diers are crossing now to Fame's eternal
| camping ground and when you remember,
too, that during the war one in every sixty
five who enlisted was killed in battle, one
in every hfty-six died OF wounds, one in
every nine died of disease and one in every
seven captured died a prisoner? l would
brand as false as hell the statements OF
those who have dared to say that pension
ers are perjured lot and to sustain my
assertion l need only to say that the PEN
sion department has convicted only ten
among 100000 and two of the ten were de-
serters and not real soldiers. Some there
are, too, who have charged that there was
cruelty in the Philippine campaign, but
they can never make us believe that our
old comrades commanding the armies there
were as described"
Speaks for Relief Corps.
President Jones of the Woman's Relief
corps spoke briefly, saying LAS repre-
sentative of the $4,000 and more women
who constitute the corps I am glad to be
with you and to bring you greeting. Our
objects are to assist the needy soldiers and
sailors of the civil war and as proof OF
our doing that may report that we have
| han in Iai
: work, of which more than $163. 900 was ex-
pended during the last year. We are seek
ing to foster patriotic teaching in the
public schools and have accomplished much
along this line during the last nine years
But particularly must We now give atten-
tion TO Memorial day exercises for our irst
thought is of the veterans, noblest war.
riors of the world, and every year we senC
flowers to the cemeteries in the north and
} in the south, that the living and the deaC
} may alike be remembered"
} Miss Blanche Sorenson, with plano ac'
compartment by Miss Elizabeth Greene
} sang "A May Morning" which was SO wei
received that she was recalled to sinl
Song of Heart"
Warm Greeting for Torrance.
General Torrance was received with sucl
enthusiasm that he had to wait some min
utes before he could be heard. He cham
, pioned the American soldiers and sailor
} from the earliest to the latest history o
, war. saying: who dares stand in the opel
I and assai the Continental soldiers VIII
blazed the way for liberty at Lexington
Who won't speak praise for Washington
men, remembering their defeat of the Brit
ish at Yorktown? Who has not praise 70
the intrepid Paul Jones' after his gloriou
, victories on the water? Who dares malig
the heroes of Gettysburg and Vicksburl
OF Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge
Who dares sneer at Farragut as we reca
his attack on Mobiles batteries when h
T had himself lashed to a mast that he migh
( see and direct the better? Who dares be
K little the men who followed Roosevelt u
1 San Juan Hill? Who dares speak i'll {
0 Dewey and his men AS" The speaker
o remarks we're drowned by cheers Resum
ing. he said:
S 'There seem to be some who wish to re
S verse the Grant plan Of demanding uneon
1 ditional surrender and to haul down th
d flag where 1t has recently been raised, bu
$ that flag is never coming down, my CON
q rades. "a voice. you bet 1t amt, gen
o eral) Shame on those who propose IT.
5 believe there has been no war in whic
] this country was not in the right ! belieV