Omaha daily bee., 1902-10-10

Pecepted and without the fOrmality OF a
Idl call the business Of the meeting pro-
.eeded. The meeting was secret.
Al the outset a resolution was adopted
expressing the grief Of the convention over
the death Of President Mckinley and its
regret over President Roosevelt's indlsposi-
tion.
A collection Of photographs Of most Of the
past national officers Of the order was pre-
scented TO the convention BY Delegate Beath
OF Pennsylvania. with the condition that
they are to be preserved in the congress
sionsl library.
mmander in Chief Torrance then deliv-
cred his annual address. He was received
with cheers and was frequently interrupted
by applause! III
Address OF General Torrance.
General Torrance began bis address with,
n touching ~allusiou to the assassination OF
President Mckinley, eulogizing In strong
terms the dead presidents character and
c%ondemning in bitter language the crime
that struck him down. He advocated the
enactment Of laws by congress which should
make certain the punishment OF any person
who should make an assault on the chief
executive. No bubble concerning constitu-
tional rights he commended, should be al
lowed to stand In the way OF such legisla-
ton. 81
Within the memory of every member OF
this encampment the most notable steps IN
oar countrys progress have been taken IN
the face OF imaginary constitutional dlin-
LII ea,u ma bnya eost TOO mucb IN sacTI-
hce and suffering to be put N jeopardy Tor
a single hour, and the gallows and the
anarchist who sets foot upon our shores or
attempts to put in practice his doctrines OF
universal hate and chaos.
- Ia 49, I---I.-va.g ~
speech usually precedes lawiessness Of act
and added;
We have never had a president who de-
served to be caricatured and we, never will.
never viii lave one that a self-respectIng
Preessss OF people Gan anora 70 no nod r, ipP NJ
speech, with less appetite for sensational
ism, will do much TO wither the evil pas
sions of men and to promote the safety and
security OF both life and property in this
republic.
ResiEnatIoh Of Evans.
Taking up the question of pensions. Gen
eral Torrance relkted the circumstances
connected with the investigation Of the
charges, against Former Pension Commits
sio4er Evans. Speaking of. the report made
by the Grand Army's committee on pen
sions General Torrance said that the &C
c~eptanos Of the resignation OF ommis-
sioners Evans by the president Immediately
followed the presentation OF this commit
tees report to him. Referring further to
the effect produced BY this inquiry he said.
One most gratifying result of our inves-
tiGattOp was to find that no ground existed
for the wholesale charges Of fraud so often
made against the pensioners, so large a
partS OF the last report OF Commissioner
committed. or tempted to be committed,
against the government during the pre-,
ceedinG thirty years. but when Analysed
It appeared that very few who had seen
any military service were parties to such
frauds, The yiolatoTs Of the law 9S were
r rs11h sSTdsSFl SSnvicted Of ne "Tim mum" hiring iSy
/ per cent OF the total number Of the PEN
sion roll. We challenge any other de-
paftnient of the government to make as
favorable a showing. - .
Names on Pension Roll.
The commander-in-chief also took cogni-
zanee Of the charge that the pension 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 appear on the roll at. ALI, He .adyo.
Gated legislation in. their behalf, saying:
Few Of these old veterans have a hos.
comprise the men who marched with sher.
Appomattox. They took part in the grand
review in 1865 and formed a part Of these
splendid armies Of bronsed and we'll sea
eoned. veterans that thrtved on the very
hardshlps OF war. They were the last e
leave the field, and among the last to apply
For more than a third OF a century theS
have borne an honorable partin advancing
the interests of the country. and at thil
for help, they should not be regarded with
disfavor BECAUSE they did not apply earlier
No P~eouniary Compensation.
General Torrance declared that no pecu,
MARY compensation ever could be made t.
those who preserved the union. for tina
was a debt Of gratitude which could not b,
paid with dollars and cents.
The patriotic impulse that moved us Il
pay all on the altar OF our country had,
he said. mo Fellowship with mercenar,
motive. We did not belittle the grandeur
Of the cause in which we engaged by cal
culating on personal gain. The lnadequac!
OF our pa but added to the dignity OF tn
penalties We suffered. Under the pitiIes
skies thousands OF our comrades suIere,
as prisoners of war, but no complaint es
capped their lips. Release on terms OF re
nunclation Of their feslty to the flag wer
rejected with their expiring breath. o.
the held of battle ~fruitless assaults wer
often made in the face Of certain death
but no one faltered in response to the un
wise command. s
"These were days OF uhquestloned heroisI
and unparalleled sacrifice, and in these lat
ter days the rear guard OF that immorta
army should exhibit a spirit no less heroi
han that manifested by these who fell (
The foreground OF the conflict so many year
lgo."
Tribute 20 the women.
General Torrance paid high tribute to tn
work OF the Women's auxiliary organize
ticns. Including the Relief corps and tn
Ladies. Of the Grand Army OF the Republic
and also made an appeal for the propt
recognition Of the Sons Of Veterans, sayin
on the latter part; "Posterity for whol
we fought will soon become the ~exelusiS
eustodians Of our country's destiny and WI
more wOrthily than our sons can take q
and carry forward the unfinished work
the Grand Army OF the. Republic?
He devoted considerable space to the cor
slderation OF the statue OF the ex-confet
crate soldier. repeating his plea of a mon
ago for the manifestation Of good will al
brotherly kindness toward the late advet
saries OF the members OF the Grand Arm
He said he had been prompted in makir
that appeal by the belief that such actor
would tend to bring still closer together