The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-07-03
THE BIG CELEBRATION.
Old Veterans Sent by States Will BE
Provided For But All Others
Will Suffer HardshipS.

Herbert Corey writing to the Oma.
ha World Herald, does not speak
very complimentary of the arrange
ments at Gettysburg for the care OF
the old soldiers who are gathering
there for the big celebration. He
says:
"Perhaps 100000 people will visit
the peace jubilee of the union and
rebel armies at Gettysburg. About
So, 900 of these will sit down to a
regular meal Maybe 10000 will
sleep in bed. The rest will walk
and walk--and walk!
| gettysburg is a town of 1000
population. 1t is completely sur
rounded by hills, and is reached by
two one-legged railroads. 1t has the
resources of the average town OF 81
600, except that catering to visitors
| to the battlefield has produced two
or three small hotels and several
boarding houses, and various livery
stables and a dozen or so eXtraordi-
nary shiny, black hotel runners,
who meet the two trains which Will
be unloaded in the middle of the en-
campment, which is a mile from the
town. EXcursionists must go to the
camp before they can so to the town.
In the camp they Will md nice,
narrow camp streets. Each street
will be padded with about three inch
es of fine dust-unless it should rain,
in which case-Oh, Lord. At thirty
street intersections are sanitary
fountains charged with ice water. 1t
requires no effort Of the imagination
d. Of or n NO
in line before each fountain or to
fear that each nozzle will be worn
warm by contact with many thirsty
Fuckers. Major E. J. Normoyle,
quartermaster of the United States
army, built the camp. He did the
very best that could be done with the
money at his disposal. Even now
Secretary of War Garrison is COM
planning that the money has run out,
so that not more than 10000 veter-
ans can be cared for. The Gettys-
burg commission says that $4,000
will come.
RAILROAD men think that a maxi
mum of 100000 persons per day may
be dumped in the camp. 1t will be
open from June 20 to July 6. but the
jubilee proper only covers the first
four days of July. When the visitors
get there they must walk. The 5000
tents are damned tightly together,
so that their ropes interlace. No.
where is there a bench. Nowhere is
there an open park in which weary
men and women can sit upon the
grass 1t is military camp, pure
and simple, with no other provisions
for visitors than the ice water foun-
tains and the comfort stations.
Folks who get tired must drill to
the hills for squatters' rights. The
hills are two miles from the center
of the 27S-acre camp. There will be
no provisions for feeding visitors on
the camp grounds, although SOU
venir cards may be bought 9there
Those who can may pack their Us
kets with cold fried chicken and
brown doughnuts- and large wedges
Of apple pie. Then they can enjoy
the quaint facial amics of the camp
police gathering the discarded bas-
kets. Others who are hungry must
go to Gettysburg.
"All right, All right! And after
they get to Gettysburg, what then!
Remember this is town OF 1000 peo-
pie. Those 1900 expect to take in
100000 from the visitors to the
will be considerable
taking. To do this they must not
only utilize every resource, but every
inch of space. Lunch stands Will
line the streets. Chicken dinners
will presumably be served on every
church lawn-on the usual plan, by
which the ladies furnish all the chow
and the church gets all the money.
mo matter how we'll managed
everything may be, Gettysburg is due
to be a bedlam during the week OF
the jubilee, unless the attendance
falls enormously short Of what is eS-
pected. Imagine any town OF 1000
of your acquaintance, trying TO take
100000 in and shove 100000 out
in one day, on two tracks. And then
shudder. And as for beds! Well,
how many people can that size town
put in beds, anyhow? What if all the
houses have been engaged? What If
the nearby towns have been put I'M
der charter? What if all the farm
houses nearby have been rented for
the occasion? And when all that's
done, what proportion of such a
crowd can get near enough "a linen
sheet to tear it?
Take the conservative view of it.
Suppose that $4,000 only reached
town on the low days, and that the
highwater mark of 100000 is reach
ed only on the glorious Fourth-and
then where are you? Remember
that these figures do not include the
900 veterans who are expected in
camp, and who will add to the tur-
moil, although they are provided
with food and bed. Ten thousand
people would cover Gettysburg like a
pancake over a peanut. There's one
comfort. The hospital facilities will
be excellent-up to the point of sat
uration. Persons suffering with
shooting pains in the heels may be
able to faint. Still, army surgeons
are rough with cheaters. Mighty
rough!
1.-The veterans have all the best of
it, Most states have made appropri-