Bisbee daily review., 1921-07-17
RANKS IF $. \. R. SUFFER HEAVY.
 LOSS IN YEAR ]
Membership of Famous Old Organization Is Only
 93,000 This Year

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind, July 16. Y When the Grand Army of the Repub lie holds its annual reunion this year many who attended the encampment of 1920 will be counted among the missing as the ranks have been de pleted by nearly 10000 since that gathering.
 The total membership of the G. A. R. today is 93,155 while it's member ship in 1920 was 103,25S.
 The total membership is scattered among 4445 posts in every state. Ohio with 1O,241, has the largest member ship, with Pennsylvania second with 9,122; New York, third. S,795; Illinois fourth, 686S; Indiana, fifth. 5949; Massachusetts, sixth, 5356. No other states have 5000 or more members.
 Property owned by all posts is val ued at $2,075,027; including real es- tate worth SS02,S41.
 Members in the old confederate states total approximately 220O.
 The G. A. R. was organized in Hi nois in the spring of 1866 Who it's originators were is a matter of tra' dition rather than record, says the report made to the national encamp- ment in 1869 by N. P. Chipman. then adjutant general of the national or ganization.
 There can be no doubt that the late Colonel B. F. Stephenson, of De catur, H., was one of the prime mov- ers,' says Chipman's report. Being recognized as such, he organized the first post at Dakota, H."
 By July, 1866, there were 40 posts in Illinois, representatives of which met in convention and organized the state department. Stephenson was by common consent the provisional ccmmander-in-chief, and posts were organized in other states, resulting in the first national encampment being held at Indianapolis, Nov. 20, 1865. After the Indianapolis convention, Chipman records that posts seem to have sprung up as if by magic in all parts of the North" but, he adds there was no record of progress. Ten states were represented at the Indi- annapolis encampment, 21 states in 1867; 24 in 1868; 37 in 1869, having 2050 posts. Y
 At the 1889 encampment a mutual life insurance scheme was proposed, t being said then that the G. A. R. had 240,000 members. In 1867, 1t has been said that the state departments claimed to represent a constituency of over 100000 But there iS no au- thentic record of the number for the early years, the insurance proposal containing an estimate, it is thought. and the '67 estimate being regarded as the number of union soldiers liy- ing in the jurisdiction of the state departments represented at the con. vention. For instance, the adjutant generals report at the 1870 eScamp- ment, when there were S9 depart ments, says it is absolutely impos sible for me to furnish anything like 6 correct report of tls present mem bership." ~a
 In 1890, however. reports taken as authentic state that the membership was 409.4S9, the highest mark record ed. From 1878 to 1890, the growth was rapid, being from 12,000 to S5, 900 annually. Since 1890, the decline , has been constant, except for 3,0OC gain in 1906 said to be due to pros poets of favorable pension legislation Subsequent enrolment figures iron the time the G. A. R. reached it's Ze nth to the present time follow: