Evening star., 1918-05-26
N the eve Of that day wherein
the nation commentaries its
soldier dead 1t Is most fitting
to turn aside temporarily from

~ N the eve Of that day wherein
III ~ the nation commemorates its
" ~ soldier dead 1t Is most fitting
to turn aside temporarily from
the stress Of the world war and allow
ones thoughts to bark back to those
who answered the country's call in 1861.
whose sons and grandsons are now
striving to uphold American honor on
trench-lined fields of France.
Rapidly the hand Of death has been
thinning the ranks Of the Union veter-
ans. According to the latest pension
Office records from May 1. 1917, to May
1. 1918. 31.545 answered to taps"
The death OF Rear Admiral John X.
Upshur. dean of the American Navy.
at the age Of ninety-four. was the most
notable one Of the year in the Navy
arm Of the service. His passing away
on Memorial day appears significant.
ing graduate of the United States Naval
Academy. Rear Admiral Upshur served
with distinction in the Mexican and
CIVIL wars and assisted at the first
siege and capture Of Vera Cruz.
circles was that Of Gen. Edward Hayes
of Bloomfield. N. J., aged ninety-seven
years Prior to his demise he was the
oldest living general. In addition to this
he was ono OF the few surviving found
ers Of the republican party. which was
organized in Pittsburgh in 1854. Tho
general attributed his long life to tenn
perance. plenty of exercise in the open
air and a clear conscience.
X X
OF the 1918 soldiers who fought in
the Mexican war only 3s4 remain. When
t.
since the termination of hostilities ono
cannot wonder at the woeful decrease
among the number Of its participants.
Only three survivors Of this war are
members of the National Soldiers
That nearly one-seventh Of the men
who served in the Army and Navy dur
Ing the civil war are still on the PEN
sion roll Is not at all surprising when
between the north and the south was
primarily a young mans war. There
were 25 boys who enlisted in the Army
who were under ten years of age; 225
under the age age Of ws
2.ibS,79S were under the age Of twenty
one years. At the present writing
S03. 400 pensioners. in round numbers,
survive; survive The estimated number Of in
2.21S.ss5.
Despite the fact that the inaugu-
ration Of q military system by the
government of the United States fol-
lowed close upon the Declaration of
Independence, the current year marks
the Tooth anniversary Of the enact
ment Of law for the relief Of rev.
olutionary war soldiers. The act pro-
vides that every person who had
served in this war until the close
and was in need of assistance from
his country for support should re-
ceive q pension. II an officer the
rate was 500 per month. and II
non-commissioned officer or private,
$50 per month during life.
The soldier who attained the sole
distinction of having outlived all his
comrades Of the revolution was Daniel
F. Bakeman. He died at Freedom.
Cattaraugas county. N. Y. April IS.
1860. aged 100 years. six months and
eight days. Thus one Of the heroes
of the revolution. who fought to
bring the United States into being,
lived to see the Inauguration Of
President Grant and to see Alaska
purchased from Russia and added to
the Union.