The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-09-01
TOLEDO WELCOMES
 THE GRAND ARMY Streets Are AbIaze With Signs
 of Greeting THOUSANDS ARE ARRIVING Lively Fiqht Is in Prospect for Com mander With Four Candidates TOT
 the Honor-AtIanta Wants
 the Next Encampment.
THOUSANDS ARE ARRIVING

Toledo O.. August 3l.-What with the marvellous illumination of the downtown streets the ''Venetian night on the river the public reception by the local committee and Commander-in-C Chief Bur ton and numerous other attraeuohs' marking the formal opening of the forty second encampment of the Grand Arfny of the Republic, the downtown streets tonipht were well nigh impossible.
 Fife and drum corps, brass bands, ar irving delegations, and squads of sight seers blocked the pavements rom curp to curb Street orators, side shoWs' catch-penny devices and the like, gath cred their crowds and made 1t seem-that the boundaries of the city had suddehiy contracted and squeezed the whole pop ulation into the compass of few plocks'
 Sunday 1t seemed that the use of elec- tricity and bunting could go no farther.
 Tonight with the formal opening or the re,nion all their batteries of astound- ing color conceptions were turned loose
 F I. Freeman, with 100 army musl- clans. got into action today With ms hie and drum experts and arriving delega- tions marched from the railroad stations to the pulsations of quick-steps
 The arrival of a delegation of veterans and their wives from Michigan and the
 
 of the fife and drum corps brought about a memorable scene. As the old pipers marched off at the head of the column nodding their heads in unison with the heat of the music, the veterans. side by side with their white-haired wives, Tell in behind. cheer came from the crowd on the sidewalks, but it was sob-choked cheer for tears sprung spontaneously from hundreds of eyes, moved by the picture before them.
 There was no keeping accurate ac- count of arrivals Headquarters of hcials decided today they would hazard guess that 10000 or 30,000 veterans were in the city.
 A pair of steers horns stretching a distance of seven feet, and a lone star of electric bulbs in front of the Mag ara hotel tonight acknowledged the presence of a happy party of Texas veterans Another southern state whose representatives are enjoying them selves is Arkansas. The Arkansas crowd is only four strong to date. Each passing hour serves to indicate more clearly that there will be a pret- ty fight on the convention floor for the office of commander in chief. The can i didates are H. N. Nevius of New Jer- sey. l.. T. Dickason of Illinois, former Gov. Van Zant of Minnesota, and Gen. l Adams of Nebraska. All have opened headquarters and are proselyting viz orously among the delegates.
 l The Atlanta, Ga, post wants the next encampment to be held in the Georgia
 metropolis. and has opened headquar- | ters to educate other posts to that idea. | Junior Vice Commander -in-Chief Will l liam M. Scott, citizen of Atlanta, Is l among the active opponents of fur | thering the friendship of the blue and l the gray by bringing the veterans in blue to the southland.
 1 Salt Lake City, Pittsburg, Kalamazoo 1 and Seattle are also listed among the | aspirants for the honor of entertain | ing the Grand Army men next. Tomorrow's programme includes thu dedication of the Fort Meig's monument of Perrysburg, ? miles from the city, and the civic parade in which the vet erans do not take part.