Daily Kennebec journal., 1905-12-11
From Sons Of Veterans
Of State Of Maine
To Grand Army Of the Re-
public, for Assistance.
Commander Cram Issues Circular Ask ag
Encouragement From Parent 0rgi nizati):.

Division Commander Clarence H.
| Cram. of the Maine Division of Sons
! of Veterans has issued the following
appeal for assistance to the Maine
| department of the Grand Army of the
| Republic. from the division headuuar-
| tcrS in this city:
Full two score Years have passed
| since the Boys in Blue" were mus
tered out of the service of Uncle Sam,
after terrible struggle that resulted
! in the loss of thousands upon thous-
ands of brave men. To the survivors
| Of that deadly conflict there was left
Il duty to perform Il duty that was not
simply of the moment, but one that
should embrace the years to come,
| that of pcrpctuating the memory of
those who wore the blue, and how
| Loyalty they fulfilled their duty.
Soon after the war. there was found
cd that peace army known, today,
as the Grand Army of the Republic,
whose main object was the prcscrva-
| ton of the memory of the Nations
heroic dead. Forty years have done
much to lessen the ranks of this noble
body, and each year sees the number
grow less. anI the time is not distant
away. ANA then whose duty is it to
*,iA <" j ;i." memory Of '61-'G5 ever
shining brightly?
You. members Of the Grand Army,
cannot but answer. the Sons of Vetc-
rams. This organization. an auxiliary
Of the Grand Army. was formed il
1884. and since its inception has ever
acted in conjunction with the parent
LnI ;,, q
the soldier dead. While not so strong
in number as the parent organization,
it is yearly growing larger. and bids
fair to be Il worthy successor of men
empancllcd in their growing larger,
and again assure you of our hearty
cooperation in the spirit that ami
mates you.
Will it be out of place to call your
particular attention to the work of
| love that has been performed by the
Sons of Veterans of Maine, the past
year? Memorial day, the greatest day
| Of the year to a soldier of 81 and
'65. has come and gone. We are par
| ticularly proud of our record on that
day. No less than 500 Sons of Vete-
| rams turned out and assisted in the
| obscrvanceS Of the day, and in the list
of orators for that day we were rep
| resented by 2S Sons.
| And thus we hope to do better each
year. Some of us find it hard to keep
banded together. for one reason and
another. and it is to those that we
would call your attention. While il
| is our avOWed purpose to help i'm every
way our parent body. it sometimes
happens. through unavoidable circum-
| stances, that we are weakened. and
| the result is discouraged camp
| IOftentimes. the advice and counsel of
| Il veteran. given at the right mo-
lment, would be the means of reViving
| the dropping spirits Of the boys. and
with renewed interest they would
again be an active factor in our ranks
| And 50. members of the Grand
Army we appeal to YOU in this way
Have at heart the interest of your
successors, remembering that it is to
them you must look for the pcrpet,la-
tion of your memory, and should the
opportunity present itself, be not
| backward III encouraging the s. of V.
to greater efforts. one aim, one pur-
pose. one ideal, brings US together.
Let us not forget our soldier dead.
Hoping that the foregoing will he
favorabIy received and acted upon bv
leVery G.. a. r. Post in Maine and
trusting that God will spare you in
your work of love for many years to
come. we remain very fraternally
IyourS, in +. c. and L..
CLARENCE H. CRAM.
Division Commander.
official:
GEO. H. BANGS.
/ ixri..;