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Show VETEffiNS JRWW Off ' . TO TGfi LAST Wlf IES1 Reports Show Deaths in Grand Army Ranks in Same Proportion as Year Previous; Abolition of Canteen in Soldiers' Homes Subject of Discussion! i Tlie total membership of the Grand Army of the Be- . public is declared in the report of Adjt.-Gen. Tweedale, to be 235,23, an increase of 3368 during the last six" months. The losses by death for the year ended Decern- ! ber 31, 1905, were 9205, or 3.90 per cent of the total mem- ' bership. In the preceding year the losses by death t reached exactly the same percentage. MINNEAPOLIS, Minn, Aug. 16. The business sessions of the Grand Array of the Bepublic began today. About 1500 delegates were present. The most important questions to be taken up wero the abolition of the canteen can-teen from the old soldiers' homes and the proposed erection of a monument to Henry Wira by the women of tho 8outh. ., - On the "canteen question llie delegates dele-gates were apparently about evenl li-vided. li-vided. On the question of a monument to Wirz there was on all sides a bitter feeling of opposition. After the formal opening exercises reports of officers were submitted: . Incorporation Urged. The suggestion is made by Adjt.-Gen. Adjt.-Gen. Tweedale that, the organization be incorporated, with a provision requiring requir-ing the annual reports of . the organisation organi-sation to-be submitted to Congress. ,The receipts' from, the per capita tag imposed on memberr are declared to be insufficient for. toe proper conduct of tho affairs of the Graad Army. The suggestion was made that the tax be increased in-creased from SH to 5 cents per annum, which will increase the revenue of the organization about $3500 'early. To Increase Beceipts. The Adjutant-General also suggested sug-gested that certain things now issued gratuitously to members of the Grand Army be sent out at a slight charge, increasing the receipts in this manner also. The items for which the charge was suggested are; Commissions for appointive officers and to individuals. For copies of the journals of the national encampments a charge of 25 cents a copy would, it is declared, -pav half . of the expense of publishing the journal. Soldiers' Homes. The report of Inspector-General M. J. Cummings was largely made up of statements from the assistant inspectors-general throughout the country, all of whom asserted the various soldiers' homes -in their respective States to be in flourishing condition. Some complaint com-plaint was made that many of the assistant inspectors could not be induced in-duced to make reports at all. Barred From Membership. Judge Advocate-General C. A. Clark submitted a synopsis of the decisions prepared by him during the year. These are, in brief: . A citizen who was impressed into the Confederate armv deserted, joined the Union forces and received an honorable hon-orable discharge from the War department de-partment is not eligible for member-- w ship in the Grand Army, because he has at one time borne arms against the United States. Members who have been dropped for non-payment of dues may be admitted -s. to their old posts on the payment of not to exceed one year's dues; or to another poet on the payment of the nsual mnster-in fee. A man who was honorably dis- charged after bis first enlistment and dishonorably discharged after a re-en- : listment is not eligible for membership. . The election of a post commander who procured the resignation of a duly elected post commander by threatening to impeach him because of acts wholly outside the G. A. R. is invalid. Finances of Organisation. According to the report of Quartermaster-General Frank Battles, the amount of cash received from the retiring re-tiring quartermaster-general was $9583; the total receipts during the year have been $10,889, making the rec-'-ts for the. year $20,472. The total expendi- . tores have been $18,115. leaving a balance bal-ance in the treasury of $2357. ' The apparent shrinkage in the amount of available cash on hand is accounted for by the fact that no call , was made during the last year for the Southern memorial. The transfer from the quartermaster-general quartermaster-general of a special fund amounting to $2700 and the early date of the present pres-ent encampment, "which necessitated, the closing . of the books before any of the per capita tax for the term ending end-ing June 30 could be taken, likewise contributed toward the shrinkage. After the formal opening exercises . reports of officers were submitted. Eeport of Commander. i The report of Commander-in-Chief Tanner covered the work of the Grand Army last year. No mention was made of the canteen question, but as to Wirz the recommendation was made -that the Grand -Army enter -a dignified and emphatic protest against the erection erec-tion of the monument. The heat, which has caused much suffering, continues with no prospect of cooler weather. It is estimated ty the police today that the prostrations during dur-ing the parade numbered over 100. The great majority of these were women who had become exhausted bv standin" . in the streets waiting for the parade to pass. Many have left the city for their homes on account of the heat. |