| Show THE GRA GRAD ARMY AT ST LOUIS tim encampment of the grand army ot of the republic now going on OB at st louis is 13 one ot of the largest and most enthusiastic ever hold held in the country notwithstanding th the fact that the list is not so long now as it was last year and is shorter by an amazing figure than a twelvemonth previous Ito that each succeeding year cuts into the ranks with greater destructiveness nav than io the early days ef ct the organization for the reason that the members are all past the average allot ment of years to man and t they hey no longer go by ones and twos but by platoons and companies as the seasons between the meetings come and go it requires but a effort of the m mind I 1 nd to de determine terraine a period within which there will be no one left to respond to the standing rule tor for a yearly meeting because all will have gathered fathered elsewhere and that period will not lonz lone outlast the century then all that the incoming generation will know of the grand army will not be the knowledge acquired by association but what they hear from others and what they read in books A great and splendid volume is the ah astory the veterans of the war have made view it from whatever standpoint we may theirs is a story of sacrifice ac fize untold and sorrow unspeakable of suffering in the imminent deadly breach of a war which for a space did fail then trebly thundering swelled the gale till at last a victory was gained which erased sectional lines and blazed the ato of empire with a new an and glowing r lard light ight they performed the hard and cruel work well and faithfully and a generous people will never forget them or their achievements the grand army at use the outset of its iza tion disclaimed entertaining political views dr favoring political parties as a body and while this is an article of their creed we have all seen how far it has been departed from on many occasions by those who wear its it baete and s speak eak in its name asa As a body it has been geen pressed into partisan service 0 of f the most ansa vory character stud and through its spokesmen and self constituted directors has compromised the entire rank and file to the upholding and pushing forward of principles and practices against which many if not a majority must have revolted it t I 1 is unnecessary in this connection to refer to any particular case or occasion ian in fact it Is ia only with the hopp hope that it may he noticed and corrected that it is mentioned at all it if the grand army of the republic would continue to wear well the honors it has bas won it should cease to be sectional and sectarian let it as a principle know only the union sot not certain parts of it and above all keep out of discussions and wrangles in which politics and religion are the principal figures we trust that their sojourn at st louis may be a pleasant and profitable one resulting in a better feeling than prevailed sl a short time ago when two or three firebrands fire brands were ready and anxious for a renewal of the struggle long past better judgments have prevailed and with the commingling com mingling aboul should come a better under understanding sta anding all around |
