The National tribune., 1906-07-26
THE 10th NATIONAL ENCAMPMENT.
The Commercial Club Hardly Onto Its Job-Raes for Accommo
datons to Be Reasonabe-Free Quarters -Reunions-The
Parade-Rates and StopOyers- -Vaidaon Of Tckets-The
Program

Headquarters National Tribune, West
Hotel, Minneapolis, Mimi, July %.
/ am hazarding a guess which I sin
cerely hope l shall be forced to change.
My guess Is that the Commercial Club
of Minneapolis is not acquainted with a
National Encampment of the Grand
Army OF the Republic, and that when
| 1t Is properly introduced it is going to
have the surprise OF its life. 1 make
this guess after having seen and talked
| with lot Of people who are interested,
and lot Of people who are just on
lockers and still another lot of people
who have attended and had to do with
numerous National Encampments and
who know what a tremendous under
taking 1t Is. From the three lots Of
people 1 have drawn my conclusions and
made my guess, and it was cinched, SO
to speak, by the very intelligent young
man Of color who attends to my wants
at table, and whose grandfather lived
to tell the tale Of Fort Pillow: 1T seems
just like the Committee does not recog-
milton things right, and they are mighty
SLOW"
To begin with, Minneapolis is at the
present time torn up from stem to stern
with cobbiestones and mortar, cut stone,
vitrified brick. cedar blocks, sand
heaps, lumber yards, and what not piled
along the sides of her broad streets. SO
that about the only thing that can navi-
gate them is the trolley lines which
honeycomb the city. BY dint Of dodg
ing. If you are very agile. you can wade
through the debris on your own two
feet. Without any suggestion from me
you can realize that Minneapolis can't
be looking very pretty in the downtown
<1fcf rfot -
upness extends all over the Flour
City," but. Of course. is much worse in
the business section.
| Trying to Clean Up.
am informed that the Mayor Of this
mans town has promised cross his
heart-hope-to-die'' that everything will
be done and the city streets be as
smooth and clean as a tiled marble
bathroom when her guests arrive.
am sure l hope they will; but, frankly,
they don't look 1t at this writing.
Another evidence that the Mayors
promises are believed by the citizens to
be like pie crust made to be broken"
II found In the columns OF one OF the
city papers. the Minneapolis Tribune.
That paper ris offering prizes amounting
to q goOdly sum to the children OF the
city who will on a certain date show at
a prearrsnged dump the largest pile OF
tIu C<iilS, Oiu DOXeS, DdTfeIS, TN buckets,
stovepipes, dead animals, paper litter
and the like! The city has been divided
into SO districts for this purpose by the
newspaper mentioned, and five prizes
are offered in each district, the last be-
Ing a large American Flag. At least,
this STRENGTHENING business will spread
patriotism to the extent of SO American
Flags, and the children understand that
they are working to make the city look
neat and clean when the Grand Army
OF the Republic arrives. The so sta
tions where the various dumps are to be
made are each marked with Flags, and
the women OF the Minneapolis Improve
ment League are in charge Of these sta
tions Each child who works will have
its own little spot to dump in, and at
night the piles of refuse and rubbish
will be measured up, and the child CIV
en- credit for SO many cubic feet OF
work"
That something Is necessary to be
done is shown by the fact that there is
not a street in the downtown district
where the veterans could march over
two blocks without dividing ranks, and
the further fact that the line Of march
Is not yet fully decided upon, being liza
BILE to change IL certain streets are not
In shape by the time needed.
Hotels and Boarding Houses.
There has been some complaint that
the hotels are going to charge way
above ordinary prices for accommoda-
tions. l have looked into that COM
plant pretty carefully and I think this
Is not borne out by fact. Minneapolis
has few hotels and fewer first-class
ones. She needs about one dozen big
first-class hotels tS accommodate her