| Show Emeritus Professor Dodge I iI i Speaks at Armory Campfire I At Armory hall hail last evening a rousing campfire was as held Good music and clev cleverly cleverly erly related war ar reminiscences made the evening eveni g pass pa s pleasantly One of the most popular features of th program pr ram was as the address of Past Department Commander Le Vant Dodge professor emeritus of political science in Berea Korea college Berea Ky Kj In the course counse of Ms hI address lie he said This year we dedicate in the nations capital a monument to Benjamin Franklin Stephenson which we hope may endure our nation lives That monument mon ment marks him as the founder of the Grand Army of the Republic Who will say that he was not inspired Who ho shall say that others who have given so 50 much of their lives to this th work have not been dl di divinely directed We e have to confess and we do it with deep mortification that more than half of the survivors r of the Union army are outside our ranks We Ve pity them theft more than we blame them The Grand Army gospel has not been be n properly preached to them themI I think it should be an object with us to t o put the old soldiers of the country on record ae as making only such claims and advocating such a policy as will at once challenge the approval and admiration of or those who are in active a Live control of gov governmental go I policy and who give direction to all of the great institutions of our coun country country try That Is far more important to us even from a selfish standpoint than to secure additional pensions for ourselves or to leave lean i more mor of material things thing to our heirs At the same time by so doing we shall ahall be strengthening the very rounda foundations foundations upon which our government rests To live for ones country certainly is isas isas isas as noble as to die for It and no KO dear comrades after aft r all alt that can be said in regard to the influence of the Grand Army of the Republic In conserving the inter interests Interest est eeLs of ourselves and those connected with us not forgetting the abounding joy which comes from these social meet meetings meetings ings with the comrades and those who love them I wish to emphasize the fact that the strongest claim which our organ oran organization organization has haa upon us the tile most nuiet mo t ing work which it has to accomplish Is in the direction of teaching by object lessons and otherwise other ise precepts of patriot patriotism ism Let us have our nur ur encampments until the old soldiers shall hall be merely a rem rent remnant remnant nant of the tI brilliant and Imposing Impo Grand GraDd Army Array of the Republic |
