Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-09

| shipboard. coming koneA we held q camp.
FIRE in midocean. and showed the passengers
| with respect and attention"
General Blackmar concluded his address
| with an eloquent word picture of the end
| of the war. He was member of Custer's
division Of the cavalry corps of the Army OF
| the Potomac. and he described the scene on
the day when the cavalry was WITHDRAW n
| from the front of the infantry hosts and
| the leaders of the confederate forces had
their first glimpse q the manner in which
had been given for the commander-in-chief
| Mr.. Jasper Dean McFan sang Schuman'
1.-TWO Grenadiers." and Gen. John C. Black,
respond to the toast, '"rhe American Vol
| unteer."
A Mastery Effort,
| General Blacks address was a mastery
effort, in which he fold the story of the
volunteer soldier from Lexington to the fall
| of Peking He spoke of the hardships and
| priyations that were endured unhinchingly
| and of the fighting qualities that were de-
| yeloped where they had lain latent. He
| declared that war is not savagery, though
| horrible. He took exception to some state
ments that have been made by President
Elliot of Harvard University against the
| soldier and in favor of the man of peace.
War he declared is the final arbitrament.
after ALL the arts of~peace have been ex-
hausted to heal the breach.
War is often if not always. for the estab-
Iishment of a righteous cause and the pres
eryation of a principle of light and en-
lightenment to the people of the world. The
American volunteer, the speaker continued,
has never yaged war except for the pres
ervation of those high standards of lib
erty, Justice and truth which were set by
the founders of theScountry. AT the time
when the country was in the midst of it's
greatest upheaval, Gen Black related,
when the men were scurrying back to the
Capitol from Bull Rum the Congress of the
United States had made solemn promise
to the people of the country to care for
the soldier who had given his all for his
country and to succor his widow and Or
phan This promise the speaker hoped the
country would keep. There Is no man who
deserves more at the. hands of his country
men. and no man who demands less. The
speaker then made@an eloquent plea for
pensions and the extension of the system.
1.-THE month We meet In is auSpiciouS,
he said. for il is the natal month Of the
first and greatest of American volunteers.
of him who was first in war, first In peace,
first in the hearts of his countrymen; the
birthday of him who was once volunteer,
and later commander-in- chief, the beloved
Lincoln Think of what has been done in
the civil war and that will tell you more
than any faltering human tongue Of what
the American volunteer has done. See at
the end of the war how the great blue wave
broke into little waves. scaled all heights,
dived into all depths, accomplished for the
republic what war could not accomplish,
the peace and restoration of this nation.
The volunteer had left the land strewn
with the graves of the fallen, but every
where are monuments not erected IN
hatred but in remembrance of deeds enact
ed that liberty might live. No marble
statue can be erected high enough to rep
resent what the American volunteer has
done for his country
To the Honored Dead.
The formal toast to the honored dead
was then drunk and Speaker Cannon was
introduced. Mr.. Cannon said he felt more
embarrassed than at any other time Of his
life. He said. with regret, that he was not
one of those who was privileged to call the
men he saw about him comrade. But he
received an invitation as Speaker of the
House of Representatives. and he felt that
he should not allow his personal feelings
to intervene when he was called upon in
such manner The Speaker of the House
should always come at the call to the
man who had served his country so we'll
and so faithfully The great thing about
the veteran of the civil war, he said, is
that while he performed great deeds in
war he has done just as much In time of
peace. All who wore the blue have not met
with just reward from the treasury of
their country, the Speaker declared. 1t
is not possible to make a general law
which will cover all cases. But there can
be no complete, no adequate compensation
for the deeds OF the men VINO raced the
cannon and lead the charge. 81. to..
He then discussed the pension business
of the country. About one-thfrd of the rev.
enues of the United States are paid out in
pensions. country such as ours cannot |
be run on an economical basis, he de- |
clared. 1t is easy to understand that. |
1t is not possible to go among so many |
millions Of people and not find opposition |
people stand by them. Gold cannot repay |
the men who suffered for the Union and the !
constant care OF the people shall be that |
they are properly provided for.
q Greeted With Cheers.
Senator Alger was greeted with cheers as |
he rose to his feet after an eloquent intro |
duction by General Burdette. General AL |
ger said many honors have come to him |
during his lifetime, some deserved and some |
undeserved. but none of them did he treas
ure SO highly or take more pride in as much |
as the fact that his service gave him title |
to wear the badge of the Grand Army of |
the Republic and his, comrades had SO es-
teemed him as to make him commander
n-chief of the organization. He referred
briefly to the rapid decrease of the number
OF veterans. STANG that when he reviewed
the hosts in 1890 as commander-in-chiefb be-
tween 100000 and 500, 600 men passed before |
him, and that now there are but 100000 on
the rolls. He then spoke of the pension.
and declared that he was glad to have heard
the views of the distinguished gentleman
from Illinois, and was doubly glad because.
as member of the pension committee of
the Senate, he could inform the Speaker
that two baskets full of pension bills favor
ably acted upon by the Senate, would be
dumped at the door Of the House this morn
Ing. He related several stories of the PEN
sion question, which showed clearly his
standing on the matter. In concluding, Sem
ator Alger declared he hoped the time would
come when every man who served the coun-
try would receive pension.
Representative Lacy of Iowa made short
speech In which he thanked the members
Of the department of the Potomac for in
viting him to be present Col. William l..
V1sScher made a short address, which he
by reading some verses, and Com
missioner Mcfarland brought the speech
making to a close with a tribute to the vet
iran from one of the younger generation.
American Soldiers.
Il, too, was in arms during the civil war,
but the arms Of my nurse and not of war.
represent. therefore, the new generation,
the men who envy you your great oppor-
tunity and reverence your great service
with gratitude. 1t was not to be measured
in dollars and cents. 1t left us a spiritual
Peace hath her heroes as well
IS her victories no less renowned than war.
GU have been heroes in peace as well as
n war. And now, none advocate interna-
-ional arbitration more earnestly than war
veterans he snyjf washington and |