New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-05-28
RAIN MARS HIGH MASS.
MEMORIAL SERVICE HELD
Drenched Soldiers and Sailors Kneet
in the Mud.

in the Mud.
Hundreds Of soldiers and sailors. officers and
men IN fun uniform. stood At attention in the
poaring rain and. though wei 10 tho skin with
heads bowed in devotion. later they knelt in the
mud yesterday morning. on the Marine Barracks
campus At the navy yard, while the Rev Father
". H l. Reaney. the Rev. John P. Chidwick and
tho Bey. John 2. Nash conducted a solemn me-
mortal high mass for the dead.
Il was a sorry but an impressive spectacle,
FOR the water was streaming from the richly
embroidered robes of the priests and from the
white zesrn7ents Of the acolytes and incense boys
&c they faced the great white altar. 1t had
heen erected at the west end Of the campus
tointlv by Gloucester Camp. No. ., United Span
,sh War Veterans. and the Knights of Columbus
for this great public memorial service, said to
have been the largest ever attempted.
1-nrindful Of the downpour which began
while the services were in progress, the priests
continued he ceremonies 10 the end. a choir of
eighty voices singing. under the leadership of
A s Casweu, and accompanied by Ihomas r
shsnnon's 23d Regiment Band.
The celebrants who assisted Father Reaney
,r .be ceremonies were the Revs. William Ohm
stead. who was brigadier general of volunteers
arrinr the Civil War; John P. Chidwick, for
-osrlv cf the Tl-fated battleship Maine; John
? Nash nastor Of the Church of the Sacred
Heart. Brooklyn, and the Rev. Fathers Baxter
Burke. McGrath. Porcele and McGoldrick
Those who know Father Reaney. who is chap
lain IN chief Of the United Spanish War Veter-
ans Of the United States, and who has had four
teen years service ia the United States Navy
did not wonder that he and Father Chidwick
trayed the elements 10 carry out the ceremonies
rather than disappoint those assembled
THOUSANDS OF SPECTATORS.
Thousands Of men and women. some of whom
had come from all the boroughs 10 be present at
the ceremonies that were given in honor Of their
dead relatives stood. wet and bedraggled' in
that torrent Of rain. forgetting their own dis
comfort so impressed were they with the
sojennity of the occasion and with the picture
Of the soldiers and sailors with their wet flags.
wet uniforms. obedient to the orders Of their
officers. not a man seeking shelter.
Only few hundred Of the visitors were able
10 find shelter under the caves Of the marine
barracks Several women tainted, and We're
cared for by the members Of the corps. Hats,
dresses and shoes by the hundred were ruined.
and still there was a spirit of good nature pres
ent through it all
The hour preceding the time set for the be-
ginning Of the ceremonies. 10 o'clock, saw 4
ceaseless stream Of humanity entering the big
gate Of the marine barracks, I'm Flushing avenue.
None were denied admission. The was
shining bands were playing and flags flying as
command after command of United Spanish
War Veterans marched in There were Camp
Hubbell. one hundred strong. under Captain A.
F Young: Camp Lawton, of Brooklyn. Captaia
Joseph Lutz: Camps Admiral Sampson and Ad-
miral Schley each with fifty men, the latter
commanded by Captain Morian: Camps Admiral
Philip. Roosevelt and Overton, jr- the latter
from Whitestone, and Lafayette Post, G. A. r..
with 40 men, under command of Captain Fred
c Barger.
Al the command, Squads right" given by
Commander Bartholomew Hunt Of Gloucester
Camp the 1st New York Regiment of Knights
of Columbus. $50 strong, commanded by Lieu
tenant Colonel Day, which had the right Of line
marched down the centre Of the campus west
toward the altar forming company front when
they came to halt. The officers of five COM
ranies were Captains William Buckley, T H.
Hasger,y. A J. AicCauley, y. B. Dorney and w.
Il Thomas In their rear. in the same forma-
ton were the boys of ST Leo's Battalion. 12O Of
them accompanied by Colonel ". ]. Crawford
Then came the various camps Of Spanish War
Veterans. and 1anl1ng them were a company
CT marines from the United States ship
Chsrlcston, commanded by Lieutenant Camp
bell seventy men from Company B. 47th Regi-
ineni, under Captain Janickey; a company from
The 18th Regiment, under Lieutenant John
Creighton in their khaki uniforms; fifty jackies
from the United States ship Alabama, under
Lieutenant Franklin d. Karns. and like num-
Der from the cruiser Pennsylvania, under Mid
sHpnlaa Wilson.
Filling IN on both tanks and forming
rectsngle in which the other military bodies
stood facing the altar, were detachments OF
marines detailed by Major Albertus W. Catlin.
IN Command OF the barracks. The visiting pub
Ac formed fringe outside the military, and
They were kept in check by one hundred police
men fran the 57th and other precincts
The altar, which was suTnounted by a cross
of gold and which was set in crescent shaped
space az the west end or the campus, had great
American flag for its background. and in front
there were potted flowers and tropical plants.
CEREMONIES DELAYED AN HOUR
The ceremonies were delayed for nearly an
kour TO give ali the military bodies time TO az