The National tribune., 1908-09-10

1
trolmen, the crowd was looked after by
| the 9th regiment. with almost the full
quota of 1000 members on hand. The
| day was ideal for the parade, and pros
trations were very few. And be 1t said
! to the credit of the Grand Army of the
| Republic Gas it has been said in 40 other
! National and Annual Department En-
campments), the people and the police
| OF Toledo were amazed at the general
orderliness of everybody. No drunk
enness Cthere never is among the vet
erans) and very few disturbances of
any kind, and not one in which a vet
eran was engaged.
The Living Flag.
One of the most magnificent features
| of the National Encampment was the
| Living Flag" When the marching. coll
umnS turned the curve from Colling-
wood avenue to Jefferson avenue and
5000 school children burst into soig,
The Star Spangled Banner" shouted
by those young voices in melodiouS
| tones which reached to the blue vault
of the uncloudcd skies. never sounded
sweeter, more thrilling, and the gentle
weaving of the children whose attire
fashioned the Stripes and Stars of the
blessed old banner, made the picture
sentient with life. The flag, the con-
| crete essence of the Government and
what it stands for, never seemed dearar
to the veterans who saved its stars from
dimness, its stripes from stain, than
when they saw it that splendid morn
ing In Toledo. formed by the new gen.
| Grafton of children who must be taught
to reverence and love Ii, as did their
| fathers and grandfathers who fought
for it.
There were boys and girls both In the
living flag, and they sang their Ioudest
for the veterans. who simply went wild
over the beautiful living folds. The
children had been taught TO sing, but
they. too. went wild, and shouted and
| clapped their hands till they had to be
brought down TO earth again and again
by Director Jones. who told them they
must save their voices for the arduous
singing they still had to do.
Did you ever know boy or a girl
who wanted to yell from sheer happi-
ness who could be stopped? Well, these
were just boys and girls, and they didn't
stop, either. When they were not sing
ing, they were yelling and applauding
the veterans.
AS the great flag came upon the Wis
ion every hat and cap came off the
heads of the veterans, and the same
hats and caps, sticks, flags, everything
that was loose, went into the air, and
more often for Marching Thru Geor-
gia'' than for any other song. And what
they asked for they got. Nearly every
division in line stopped before the flag
and gave three cheers, or some evidence
OF their pleasure and enjoyment of the
magnificent sight and the splendid sing
ing.
Flowers, Sweet Flowers.
There isn't anything in all this wide
nr Cyy-a aat for tt<lr, tfxy
girl, except it is a flower. When you
have the two in combination you have
the quinteSSence of sweetness, now
don't you know! Well, in Toledo there
were both, and they We're usually in
company. the pretty girls and the bios
SONS. 1t seemed as tho all the young
girls who We're not around trying 20
help the army nurses and the veterans
belonged to a flower brigade. These
young ladies were dressed in white and
wore long streamers of red, white and
blue ribbons. and they carried arm
loads of flowers, being supplied from
wagons which were loaded down with
the rarest and handsomest of hot-house
flowers, as we'll as the dear old blossoms
of the home garden. As the veterans
marched it was over carpets of flowers
strewn by these pretty girls. The vet
Grams were decorated with flowers. and
had bouquets given them.
"'Tis with rose leaves ye have
strewed our path the while, an give IS
pictures to look at" declared one fine
ouid Irish gentleman to one of the
pretty girls.
Sure, and we picked out livery thorn,
an the pictures amt painted, ye son Of
the biarney stone" laughed the slip of
a girl, who had irish blue eyes under
black brows. And then the old fellow
caught her and pretended to kiss her,
but she ducked under his arm, and,
tossing bunch of flowers at the veteran
who ran to join his lines, she turned to
the next lines of marching men, while
the crowd howled its enjoyment of the
scene.
Oh, the living flag. and the flowers,
and the pretty girls Were great features
of a great Encampment, and when the
pretty girls, their flowers all gone, fnll
in at the end of the line. they received
a full-throated ovation from all.
Past Chief.
How the crowds did cheer when the
carriages drove up with the Past Com
nanders-in-Chief, those who have serv-
ed tfs Grand Army SO faithfully. From
Pennsylvania were Gems. Wagner.
Beath, Goblin and Stewart From Wis
consin came Gen. Weissert; from Ohio,
Kountz and Brown: from Washington,
d. c., Burdett and Tanner; from Mis-
souri,, Rassleur: from Minnesota, Ell
Torrance: from Illinois. Black, and from
Maryland, King. Some of these veter-
ans have but one leg, and one of them
has none. Some carry bullets iii their
bodies, and they are most of them shot
UP in various ways, but they show no
sign of decrepitude They were cheered
and cheered again as they stepped upon
the platform of the reviewing stand.
cor,mander Rosepb-u,,,
A prouder man never wore the blue
or rode in n Grand Army parade than
Col Joseph Rosenbaum. Commander of
the Department of Illinois, which has
the right of the line always as the
mother Department Not so much from
his own honors was he puffed up, how
ever, but for those of his grandson. |
Joseph, Sd. Joseph, Sd, a beautiful lad
of 10 years, was dressed in full uniform,
wearing leggins, gauntleted gloves reg
ulation wartime cap, belt and sword, !
and rode as his grandfather's Chief of
Staff, at the head of the Illinois column, |
q little in advance of Col. Rosenbaum. !
Young Rosenbaum was mounted on a |
superb little pinto pony, and the wayI
he saluted his superior officers was cor-j
rect to shade and too cunning for
The manly little fellow SEEM |
ed to take all the aduiation tossed at !
him as matter OF course, and was only |
a little bored by 1t, but he is too much
all boy to submit to being fused over
by gushing women. His beautiful moth /