Evening star., 1902-07-31
TO BE ATTRACTING
WIDESPREAD INTEREST.
Unification of Vote Of All Persons Who
Fought for Their Country
Anticipated.

4 that would be interesting to the readers OF
| the press, even startling If may use the
| word, yet the conditions are such that 1t
| would not be good policy to disclose what
is being done at this time However, l
am not averse to saying that, in all my eX-
perience in connection with organizations,
political and otherwise, have never seen
| anything to equal the almost phenominal
spontaniety of sentiment that has been
| aroused all over the country in favor of a
| widespread organization of the league. L
| shall be surprised If there are not at least
! a thousand subleagues organized through
| out the country before the Grand Army OF
| the Republic encampment meets here In
October, at least before election day.
Why It Was Organized.
What has given rise to this sudden up
rising on the part of the old soldiers to
unite politically for a common object?'
| Col. Stratton was asked.
MY answer to that question is simply
| from an individual viewpoint when 1 say
that it is a matter of patriotic impulse
| born of q desire to thwart the machlna-
| tions of those who are in position to dis
| criminate. humiliate, relegate or degrade
If you please, the old soldier simply on the
| ground that he is old soldier. In other
| words, the old soldier has learned from CX-
perience not to put his faith any more in
| princes or pretenders; that latteriy he Is
! only looked upon as good material for
| spread-eagle speeches on the Fourth Of
| July or Memorial day exercises. He has
awakened to the fact as well as to full
realization of the situation that his future
| hopes and fortunes lie in the direction of
being able to command or demand through
| the medium of his political strength that
for which he has heretofore had to Suppli-
antly beg, and he has tired Of it and pro-
| poses to assume the aggressive in mad
earnest. In fact, never saw him SO earn
| est and determined
Estimate of Political Strength.
| What do you estimate the soldiers po-
litical strength at the present time, if
united?'
well, one can only approximate, but, IL
there are million survivors on the pen
sion rolls Of the government 1t is fair to
presume that, with the large circle of re-
lationship, both male and female. running
down to grandsons and granddaughters.
| married and unmarried, that surround and
are interested in 'paps' pension, not men
tioning persons in every city, town and
hamlet in the country who get a slice of
this quarterly government stipend, l would
| say that the solution Of the 16 to l problem
had been at last discovered.
I'm other words, whereas the old soldier
a few years ago had only his own solitary
| vote to cast for a favorite candidate. he
| has now sixteen to bear it company. This
| estimate might be subject to revision, but
IN my opinion is not far out of the way
| and l think a practical test will be made at
| this falls election in the way of selecting
| some shining mark in the way of polti-
cal lamb for slaughter if for no other pur-
| pose than to give a practical demonstra-
| tion of what long pull a strong pull a
| pull all together will accomplish.
| "If successful, the unification or consoli-
| dation of the soldier vote is complete and
needs only organized effort to hold 1t in
! line. If some of the combinations now con-
| templated materaliZe, other elements " i'll
be fused with the soldier vote which will
| make it the most formidable political Or
| ganiZation in the world
Advantage of Secrecy.
why make the organizat ton secre. ?
Could you not accomplish as much without
| secrecy?"
mo, because If It were not secret many
| Of it's members might be easily led into
temptation and otherwise deoauched. There
| is nothing like machine methods to run
politics.
What is meant by machine methodist"
We'll, take the municipal system of the
city Of Philadelphia as an Illustration. That
city is divided into wards and precincts.
Over each of these is a political boss, or
ward leader, who belongs to the party in
power. Every policeman, fireman or other
employe who holds his place, no matter
how humble it may be- holds it under ten
ure of fealty to the machine. By this
means is built up and maintained strong
and powerful organization that is hard to
dislodge or disrupt So, likewise, this or
ganization will be formed along just such
lines, with the exception that the environ
ments that surround each and every MEM
Der will be more binding or strenuous than
the Philadelphia plan, because we haven't
the patronage as yet to dispense. But the
man who seeks to betray the order or sell
it out to the highest bidder, will do so on
the explicit understanding or penalty of
being branded as perjured villain or cow
ardly traitor. No man, however high his
station, boundless his wealth, or little,
will receive the aid or cooperation OF the
order who cannot produce the ticket. The
| last ditch has been reached and we propose
| to stand or fall in it's defense.
Civil and Political.
| Some Of the soldiers organizations have
taken up the political feature. The Union
Veterans Union. for instance, has incor-
porated such a plank in its platform, but
| the trouble is that the order to be success
| full, must of necessity divest itself of ell
| the old-fashioned soldier paraphernalia that
| now surrounds it and which really could
| not be done without destroying the identity
| of the order.
| Therefore, the patent lever attachment
about to be engrafted on the parent trunk
| would not suit the boys who are now clam
| oring loudly for a brand-new organiza ton
with politics it's principal feature, and
with just enough of the old-soldier season.
| ing introduced to give it a military flavor
| ing.
Its equipment will, therefore, partake
more Of the civil and political than of the
military usages that abound at present In
| all our fraternal soldier orders. The Grand
Army Of the Republic forbids politics TO be
| discussed in that order and it is best that
| the custom should prevail for obvious rea-
sons in that old parent organization.
| "A great many misguided. miSinforn ed
and quasi friends Of the old soldiers who
write articles on the theory that the main
| object of this new order is to increase PEN
sions, are to put it mildly. numbskulls.
| These the fellows who would pass
| law if they could making it a penal offense
| for old soldiers to combine politically for
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