The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-05-14
THE SONS OF VETERANS
COMMANDER OWEN REPoRTs ON WORK.
statement Made te Commmander-fn- Chief Fayssoux of Patriotic Emdeavor of Camps in the
 Alabama Division.


 The report Is as follows: Montgomery. Ala, May 12 My Dear Comrade:
 "In response to your valued favor of late date. requesting information con- corning the organization and officers oi the Alabama Division. U. s. c. ", and any further information of interest, or benefit. to the confederation have the honor to respectfully report this Divis- ion in excellent condition, thoroughly alive to the grave responsibilities resting upon it's members. and active in the ac- complishment of the purposes of our no- ble organization.
 "First.-Although our Division dates from August 10, 1897. we have not yet deemed 1t necessary or important to srbdivide it into brigades. The enclosed copy of my General Order No. !, new series. will give you in full the oficers, | staff and committees for l90s-1s0i. I was chosen as my own Auccessor to the re- | sponsible post of Division Commander at the third annual reunion in Birmingham, November {. 1903
 "Second-The official records in your hands. will show not only the condition of the camps of the Division but also the progress for the year next succeed | ing the last reunion May 1922 1908. However, F must be permitted to empha- l size one or two points bearing thereon, which may not readily occur to you. Up to and including the reunion period of 1903. there, were in the Division twenty six camps, one of which was dormant fNo. 62, Camp C.. 0. Pegues). leaving twenty-five active camps. Since that date there have been organized ten new camps. and I have advice that several others will be formed prior to the reun- ion in Nashville. An examination of your camp record will show how large a percentage our list forms of the entire number of new camps. It is altogether out of the ordinafy for one Division to have to it's credit more than one-fourth of the new camps during any one year.
 The minutesfof the last reunion show that only i've camps tincludng the dor mant camp named above). of the twenty six in the Division. were in arrears. These I hope to see in good condition. also hope that by the 14th of June prox., every one of our camps will be paid up for the current year.
 'Third-The Division held its third an- nual reunion in the city of Birmingham, Ala, November 4 and 5. 1908, simultan- eously with the reunion of, the Alabama Division, Confederate Veterans. The at- tendance was general, and the occasion was altogether profitable. The annual orator was Judge Thomas Goode Jones, gallant survivor of General John B. Gordon's stan. By special request his oration was delivered in the Jefferson Theatre. before the Veterans, Sons of Veterans, ladies and visitors. Thomas M Owen, the writer. was reelected com mander as his own successor.
 "Fourth-In General Order No. 5. new series, October 19, 1903, issued by me eon- vening the reunion, in order that l might be advised of the condition and work of camps. required a written report on a number of points as indicated below. While did not obtain satisfactory re- plies in all cases, the responses were sufficient to indicate a healthy condition. The following are the points of inquiry.
 70 General condition of the camp.
 "(2) Historical work accomplished dur ing the year.
 "(3) Contributions made by the camp to patriotic causes, giving names of the objects to which help has been given as (for monuments. Soldiers Home, etc.)
 "D How often meetings are held by the camp, with a general account of what is done at the meetings.
 "(O Has local reunion or anniver- sary of the camp been held and if so state when, and whether or not the oc- caslon was a success.
 "(0 Does your camp work in harmony and concert in all patriotic matters with the Camp of Confederate Veterans and the Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in your locality?.
 "(O State the causes, if any, which initiate against the successful operation os your camp.
 "(0 What, in your opinion, should be done by way of arousing more interest and in securing better results in our camps; and finally
 "(9 Furnish a complete roster of the active members of the camp in good standing, accompanied by ten cents per ca pita tax for each. Unless the roster is furnished and this annual per capita tax is paid, the camp will be in bad standing. and will not be allowed repre- sentation in the Teunion.)
 s"In preparing this report, use commer- cial or legal size paper, and write in ink on one side only.
 "Fifth.-The activities engaging the camps of this Division may be said to embrace the entire range of objects and laid down in our constitution.
 At the second annual reunion, Novem- Der 12, 1902, the Division adopted a reso lution declaratory of its purpose 10 erect a monument to commemorate the name and fame of John Pelham The move ment has not been pushed strongly as yet but already a good sum has been collected.
 "In addition to Division work, several camps have undertaken special work. Camp William H. Payne contemplates the erection of a Confederate monument at Scottsboro, Jackson County. Camp John H. Caldwell, Is collecting funds for the erection of a monument to John Pelham in the city of Anniston, a movement all together distinct from the Division eff fort above noted.
 "Sixth-Referring to that provision of our constitution which lays down as one of the objects of our organization the duty to mark with suitable headstones the graves of Confederate dead wherever found desire to report that MT. Charles McCalley. of Huntsville. Ala, has erect ed one hundred and flfty-three monuments to mark the graves of unknown Confed- crate dead buried there. In this work he had the sympathetic cooperation of Camp N. B. Forrest, No. 120, U. s. c. V., of Huntsville. The Division at the third annual reunion formally thanked Com rade McCalley. through resolutions in-