The Omaha morning bee. [volume] (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927, 1922-09-25
$4,000 Veterans
of C.. A. r. Gather
for Encampmen1
Civil War Soldiers Assemble
in Des Moines-Officers
Occupy Pulpits of
Many Churches.

! Des Moines, Sept. 24.--All that is
! left OF that army I'm blue, which. go
/ years ago, stretched itself half way
across the continent and fought to a
| finish the question Of a nation be-
| coming "house divided against it.
| self" is represented here tonight in
| the presence OF 1000 veterans OF the
Grand Army OF the Republic, which
| opens its 56th national encampment
| tomorrow morning.
National officers Of the G.. A. r.
occupied pulpits Of many churches
here today.
Knots OF venerable men in faded
blue uniforms and with faded, old
eyes, looking out from under wealth
er.beaten caps of black. felt cam
paign hats, are grouped on every
downtown street corner. The hotel
lobbIes are piping with voices so thin
that their aggregate suggests the
wind whistling through the trees.
Perhaps they are back again on the
bloody field of Antletam, or mayhap
they are fighting once more, az they
have so many times these years, at
Gettysburg, in The Wilderness, the
battle above the clouds" at Mission
ary ridge, at Shilo. or Chicamauga.
Other Things to Consider.
Perhaps--but that is just by the
way For there are other things to
consider, things of which they are
n. ,.rh,o 2ntht
will come officially before the en-
campmenj,
What, for instance, is to come to
pass in that day not long distant
now, when the last of those men who
fought that fight in blue 60 years
ago, shall have wandered aboard
Sharon's craft and drifted away to
the other shore?
There are 19o,0 900 Of them left, and
they are going at the rate of 1000
month. Two thousand into 1870 900,
50 times; 95 months, S years and they
will be gone.
"Yet a few days, and Thee, the all
holding sun shall see no more in all
his course" quotes Comrade Robert
A, Forgrave. Helena, o., who fought
with the 126th Of that state. He is
thinking, and he is representative of
the veterans here, so that question:
Who Is to Carry On? =
"Who. what organization, If there
is any with right ideals, is going TO
fill the shoes now so soon to be left
standing some morning empty beside
the bed who is TO carry on for the
G. A. II. when the G, A. r, Is gomez"
But in spite of what the men are
thinking. Commander.inC Chief Louis
T, Pitcher does not believe the ques.
tion will be brought up at the en-.
campment. at least not yet.
''They may be thinking about H."
SAYS he. Of hls comrades, but IL Is
a question beyond our control I do
not believe there Is any organization
which possibly can fall heir to what
these men have done or to their
ideals, the ideals for which they went I
out on the field and fought and which I
were p,aitled and subllmated in the .
flame ~ war
Commander Pitcher does not say
anything about The soldier houus-ho .
ds usses u hut does not make any
statements as % whether he ar the .
a. 4 E approve ~ lT What the .
salJIrrz td for their country is
matter that tauHaf he rsd tor I'm
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