The Irish standard., 1906-08-18
THE G. A. R. ENCAMPMENT.

history was passing before their eyes.
Did they really stop to think that the
old. gray-haired men who passed be-
fore them were the remnants of that
grand army three hundred thousand
strong that marched down Pennsyl-
vania Avenue III the city of Wash
ington more than forty years ago to
receive the paudits of their fellow
countrymen for a hard work so we'll
done:
If people truly comprehendcd the
story OF the picture presented, the
sacrifice that those old men made on
last Wednesday. when they marched
a short forced march of two miles.
was not without its compensation. 1t
must be remembered that the effort,
small as it is compared with the
great campaigns through which they
passed, was nevertheless a sacrifice.
Forty years has changed conquer
ing host into d tottering remnant
scarcely able to do in week what
i'll the time of their youth and vigor
would be small effort We wonder
how many Of the mighty throng who
viewed the march, stop to think ci
what the different streamers and ban
ners that passed before them repre-
sented. Did they realize that those
carrying the banners OF Massachu-
sets, New York, Pennsylvania and
the other eastern and central eastern
states were the remnants of those
who fought with Mcclellan, Meade,
and Grant at Antietam. Gettysburg,
Charlottesville. The Wilderness and
fredericksburg. Did they stop to
think when the banners of Indiana,
Ohio. Tennessee and Kentucky pass
ed along that the men now carrying
those banners were the ones who
carried them with Thomas at Chick
amauga and Chattanooga. and later
with Sherman from Atlanta to the
Sea-: And as the old heroes from
Iowa. Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas
and the other states of the Missis-
sippi Valley passed i'll review did the
thought of Vicksburg, Murfreesbor-
ough and Shiloh suggest itself: If
the picture was understood and APP
preciated the citizenship and patriot
ism OF those who saw the parade on
last Wednesday was bettered. But
somehow. no matter how striking the
picture. time has a way OF destroy
ing the effect No doubt those who
have passed the age of three score
years and who have vivid recollec-
tons of the awful struggle apprcci-
ate to the full what a history was
passing before their eyes; but those
who have grown to manhood in the
last forty years could not appreciate
without much reflection what was so
easy for the old veterans and the old
people to understand. If Grand
Army encampments do cause the
younger generations to reflect. we
ought to hesitate to ask the old men
to give p making further sacrifices.
but il the lesson is lost upon those
who are doing the work OF the
country. now it is time and it is fit
ting that the old veterans should
cease to tax their strength in future
years by marching in their cncamp-
mcntS.
There must have been along the
line ni march thousands who stood
just ten years ago along the line OF
march in the City OF ST. Paul and
viewed the parade of the Grand Army
OF the Republic at its annual encamp-
ment in 1896. Those who were for
tunate enough to see both parades
could not help last Wednesday motto
ing the difference. Ten years the
majority OF the men in blue were be-
tween the ages of fifty and sixty. still
III the vigor of their manhood aud
able to do the hard work of the
world. On last Wednesday the con-
clusion was irresistible that the pa
radc was the beginning OF the end
of the Grand Army OF the Republic.
Thousands who marched will never
march again. We felt as we viewed
the parade that the Grand Army Of
the Republic was truly passing by"
That it was the rear guard OF the
greatest army ever assembled. pass
ing on its last march to the Great
Beyond We wondered at first, re-
alizing that more than forty years
had passed since the end of the strug-
gle. that there were so many left,
and we wondered next that there
were so few, recalling that no army
i'll the history of the world equalled
those that were assembled to. pre-
serve the Union. The Grand Army
OF the Republic is passing by. What
all aid to good citizenship and patri-
otism it would be if people could only
know that these men preserved for
the world the principle of free, self
representative government. How