Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1906-08-22
MIGHTY !. Host Or VETS
STREETS OF MINNEAPOLIS ARE
: 49,. THRONGED WITH THEM
AT ENCAMPMENT.

At ENCAMPMENT.
r. 3. Brown of Ohio Chosen as Cor,
mander-The Fortieth Annual SEES
sion Of G. A. R. Entirely Success
/ fui-Over Is 900 Men in Line.
Minneapolis-More eloquent thar
words, more inspiring than the reveillt
sounded from fife and drum under
countless banners and bullet-riddle(
flags was the uneven cadence of those
$4,000 marchers who, for the love O,
their land, braved the discomforts o,
long march down Nicollet avenue
that the rising generation might catch
something of that patriotism which
prompted them to offer their lives thai
nations honor might be preserved
The people paused for several hours
from the busy rush Of daily routine
and, forgetting 1t all, cheered the sur.
vivors of IS with an enthusiasm anl
love much like that which must have
been. accorded the departure of the
regiments in 81 when in the glow Of
manhood the volunteers marched In
perfect cadence and with elastic ster
to the battlefelds Of the South. The
crowds which filed every foot of space
along the line of march cheered the
veterans and, buoyed up by their en-.
thusiasm, more than one old soldier
kept in line long after he should have
dropped out.
The streets along the line, of march
reverberated with the cheers Of the
hundreds Of thousands who crowded
every vantage point to get a glimpse
Of the boys in blue. Seldom has SO
much enthusiasm been shown at an en-
campnent parade as was seen at this
the fortieth annual march Of the arm
les of 81. It was contagious, and
those who came only to look on for a
time remained to cheer, and the solid
mass Of humanity did not leave until
the last post had passed the review
ing stand and saluted Commander
in-Chief Tanner It is tribute enough
to the patriotism Of the thousands
who gathered to see the parade to say
that they kept up an unflagging dis
play of enthusiasm for three and hall
hours.
Il would give SO to be in that line. u
said one old soldier with a culver in
his voice as with moistened eyes he
saw his comrades passing by to the
martial strains Of the "Star- Spangled
Banner" A lump rose in the throat OF
more than one wearer of the blue who
was forced to admit that his march
ing days are over. More than one
third of the veterans were unable to
Join their comrades on the march, and
1t was indeed pathetic to see the ex-
pressions Of disappointment on the
faces of those unfortunate ones as their
posts went by and received the cheers
IN which they, too, were entitled to
share. Excellent seats were provided
for the old soldiers who could not
march, and If they did not have a post
OF honor in the parade they were well
taken care of at the reviewing grand
stand.
Few who have ever seen an en-
campment parade can imagine what an
inspiring sight it is to see thousands
OF men in line the youngest of whom is
fast approaching the biblical limita-
ton OF three-score and ten. Some OF
those who marched yesterday had
passed their eightieth year, and to COW
er two miles in the heat of the day over
burning pavement Is no small task TO,
much younger men. That the ranks
are fast thinning was evident to more
than one comrade, who viewed the pa
rade, and here and there one might
see tears shed as a post passed by
whose ranks had dwindled and where
familiar face was missed.
The following figures include ever,
person who marched in the parade
and show that total OF 16,149 passed
Tenth street and Nicollet avenue be-
tween the hours Of 1914 and 2:05
These figures are not an estimate by
the commander of any division or by
the men under him, nor were they
taken by guess.
Every person in the parade at the
time it passed Nicollet and Tenth was
counted and Of course the figures in
clude the bands. The bands and other
marching bodies are included with the
organizations which they headed and
were not counted more than once
many Of them doubling back in the
parade after they had passed the re.
viewing stand.
These figures show that Minnesota
was first in point of attendance with
1913, while Wisconsin was second with
1882. Then came Illinois with 1871
and Iowa followed with 1892. Ohio
was close up with 1881 and Pennsyl-
vania had 1853.
The figures by states follow:
Illinois .................. 1871
Wisconsin '.....'............. 2,25z
pennsylvania ................. 1,052
ONO .''................ 1881
I'VE" 1ofk '...'............. 652
Connecticut e.