Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-24

Joseph w. O'Neall, who also had something
to give the correspondent on timely topics.
The new commander of the G. A. r. has
a striking personality. He is a Scotch
Presbyterian, with all that term implies
He has been referred to as "a human mag
| net" and when he is on the rostrum he
speaks clearly and beautifully. using stories
and anecdotes as Illustrations at times
What he says at public gatherings cannot
be placed In the category of talks lad
dresses or speeches" His forceful and
| ringing words clearly belong in the cate
CORY of "orations."
When he had finished welcoming the In
dependent Order of Rechabites to Zanes-
vile at Rechabite Temple the other day
the high chief of the order. Mr.. Wayne w.
Cordel, went up to the commander rim chief
Of the grim and gray veterans Of the sixties
and. extending his hand. said: rf7"ss
General. thank you for what you have
said Such an grafton as you have just
delivered it has not been my good fortune
to listen to before. and I am fresh from
Washington. the city OF orators, orations
and culture"
Gen. Brown is not only forceful as pub
lie speaker, but he is also forceful busi-
ness man and a model citizen and a most
devout Christian. always pointing his audi
tors to the higher and better life. The peo-
pie of GAINESVILLE love him. and to the old
soldiers Of "the disappearing army" he Is
their prophet and their priest. There was
CLEAN of deep earnestness in his tone and
manner when he informed The Star CORE
spondent that his watchword for the Grand
Army during the ensuing year would be
Recruit the ranks.
Parade a Prominent Feature.
When he was asked for his opinion on
| the many articles that have appeared in
the newspapers advocating the adjustment
of the parade feature of the Grand Army
encampments in the future owing to the
sudden deaths of several OF the venerable
paraders during the recent ceremonies at
rlois Cen Brown replied with mOCn
vigor and earnestness:
..The parade feature of our encampments
will never be eliminated so long as any OF
the old boys in blue are able to totter
along Marching is the soldiers second
nature, and when there Is marching to be
done he wants to be present and counted
The commander said there were only two
sudden deaths of Grand Army men at Min
neapolis last month. One OF these was a
solder from Texas. who died from an at
tack of heart disease and Col. Thomas
Martin of Washington. D. c., while at the
encampment at Portland. Me-, In 1885,
twenty years after the war. when there
were many thousands more marchers, there
were three sudden deaths
Il do not believe the holding of national
encampments will be abandoned by the G..
A. R. for many years., added Gen BroWn
I'VE now have 100000 survivors OF the civil
war-a large army fit to defend an empire.
OF that number $4,000 are members of the
Grand Army of the Republic, and the an
nual parade is one of the most attractive
the old soldiers, but to the public.
Shows Responsibility.
Touching upon the internal affairs of the
grand old soldier organization of which he
"a the head Commander-in-Chief Brown
continued:
THE present administration of the G. A.
r ia not to be a one man administration,
but every official elected at Minneapolis;
every member of the personal and general
STATS throughout the forty-five departments
of the organization. will be expected to take
his fair share of the burdens and response
R. is not to be a one-man administration,
very earnest effort will be made from gen.
eral headquarters to push the recruiting
| this year and thus to supplement the good
| work of Past Commander-in-ChiefT Tanners
! administration in which he stopped the
backward movement and again inaugurate
| a movement to the front. While his gain
| of 35, 900 members was not large. 1t was a
| gain against the loss which has been expert
enced for some years past.
1T seems to me there is absolutely no
reason why an honorably discharged SOL
| dier or sailor may not or should not worth
| lily wear the bronze button. To put on the
| fve-pointed star Of the G. A. r. is no
! longer privilege, but duty which presses
| and should press upon the attention OF the
| veterans of the civil war. The g. A. r.
| was organized to keep alive the spirit OF
| fraternity, to promote charity and to In
| culcate loyalty. No human organization
| on this planet ever was or Is formed on
such broad lines. There is absolutely no
| bar to any man Of any sect, race or condi-
| ton in life who qualified himself by service
| in the army or navy from 1861 to 1866 from
| becoming a member of a post and thus ad-
vancing the interest of the whole people.
THE fraternities of the old line cannot be
| wholly appreciated by the citizen who
| knows nothing Of soldier life.
| 1.-The charities of the G. A. R. cannot be
| estimated in dollars and cents, but if so es-
| timated for the past forty years would rep
| resent no mean sum. The loyalty of those
| men who still esteem 1t an honor to wear
| the blue and discharge their duties as cit
liens of a reunited country is unmatched in
| the annals of the nations of the world.
| Record Of the Union Soldier.
| 'In all the scandals, the looting' of
| banks and schemes of graft. trusts be-
| trayed. etc. accounts of which have recent
| ly filled the public prints. not single name
of Union soldier has been mentioned
| II want to say for my comrades of the
civil war. that class. upon all of the
great political. moral and economic prob
lens presented to the public from the close