The National tribune., 1906-07-26
AN OPEN LETTER.

the Grand Army of the Republic. to be
held in your beautiful city next month.
If this is true. it will be a serious mis-
fortune to you, to your city and to the
veterans of the Grand Army of the Re-
public. Let us begin by striving to I'M
press upon your minds few facts that
it is vital you should know and appre-
ciate:
1. The National Encampment of the
Grand Army of the Republic is always
by far the biggest event of the year in
the way of gatherings in the United
States 1t attracts many thousands more
people to the city. they stay longer and
they spend incomparably more money
than any other gathering, convention or
concourse of any kind, no matter what
it represents or of what elements 1t is
2. The entertainment and provision
for this vast host of people is something
quirements of other assemblages which
you may have had in your city. You
must take the biggest crowd that you
ever before entertained, and treble or
even quadruple it. and where ii has
stayed within your gates for two or
three days you must expect the Grand
Army of the Republic to be with you
a whole week.
g. 1t will leave immeasurably more
money per capita in your city than any
other assembiage you have known. A
little explanation will show this. The
ordinary delegate or visitor to politi-
cal convention, National meeting of
secret society or similar great function
goes to the hotels and is much in evil
dence there The bar-rooms are fayorite
resorts. The aforesaid delegate or spec
tator may or may not have his wife
with him, and much of the money that
he spends in your city, beyond his hotel
bill, is likely to go for bottled goods,
cigars and livery hire. If he has mis-
bargains, but not likely The amount
of money. therefore. that any National
convention brings to a city is quite linn
tied and spent in limited number of
places. Not so by any means with those
in attendance upon a National Encamp-
ment. These gatherings are very dear
to all of the men who served In the
Union army during the war, and they
look forward to them as the great event
of the year. So do their wives and
families. Much the most of the vet
Grams have succeeded fairly well in life.
having developed good farms, estab-
lished themselves in business or profess
sions and accumulated a modest COM
petence. The National Encampment is
to them what going to Europe or to the
seashore or the mountains is to wealthy
people. They save up all the year to
provide for their outing at the Encamp-
ment, to which they will take their
wives, children and grandchildren. They
dafer the purchase of very many arti-
nfL
until they can go to the EncampniSnt
in some large city and have a better
assortment to select from. The good
old veteran and his wife, we will say.
want to present their daughter with a
new gown or set of silver OF some
addition TO her home. They defer Ibis
purchase until they can go to Mime
apolis. to the Encampment. and buy it
there, when it will have an additional
value as a souvenir of the occasion.
Therefore. while with other great
gatherings, the hotel-keepers, the 81
looms and the livery stables are the chief
beneficiaries, the stores are most largely
benefited by holding a National En-
campnent in the city. This has been
the invariable experience of all the
cities which have been fortunate enough
to have a National Encampment held
there. The last National Encampment
at Washington brought at least $1,000
900 into the city. The Philadelphia
merchants estimated that the amount
expended there by the veterans was
S2,5O0,0 900 The Detroit merchants es-
timated their receipts at s2.000.0 .00e, and
this has been the experience of all the
other cities. The only men who have
not made money out of the Encamp-
ments have been the saloon-keepers and
the fakirs. The veterans are too old
| TOO experienced. too settled to squander
their money on beer and liquors and
cheap jimcracks. The leading jewelers.
| in Washington were astonished to find
| that during the Encampment they could
goods. This is not condition Of things
| which rests in eny measure upon oul
assertion, since it is one that you gen.
| tjemen ran verify by confereDca With