. The American Legion Weekly [Volume 3, No. 50 (December 16, 1921)]. lieve Memorial Day helped alot. By that time it was getting prettyfirmly established everywhere with theGrand Army always presiding. It wasa beautiful ceremony, which broughtus all together once a vear as com-rades. No Democrats _,o Republicansthat day. We stood tViere together ascomrades. It wasnt any cold appealto a fellows intellect. It touched menshearts. An</ deling is, I guess, about the biggest thing in the world. BlackJack, General John A. Logan, startedthat custom in 68 with an order to theGrand Army which he call
. The American Legion Weekly [Volume 3, No. 50 (December 16, 1921)]. lieve Memorial Day helped alot. By that time it was getting prettyfirmly established everywhere with theGrand Army always presiding. It wasa beautiful ceremony, which broughtus all together once a vear as com-rades. No Democrats _,o Republicansthat day. We stood tViere together ascomrades. It wasnt any cold appealto a fellows intellect. It touched menshearts. An</ deling is, I guess, about the biggest thing in the world. BlackJack, General John A. Logan, startedthat custom in 68 with an order to theGrand Army which he called the proud-est act of his life. It was one of thefirst things that brought the GrandArmy into favorable attention with thepublic. And maybe Memorial Day didmore than anything else to make usex-service men stop squabbling amongourselves and get together again aspals. Thats right, they chorused. Thats right, a third veteran re-peated. But by that time, you wantto remember another thing that wasntjust sentiment. We were all gettingolder. By 1880 most of us had some. 1970 1875 1830 1835 1300 I305 The rise and fall of G. A. R. membership. Each vertical rule represents fiveyears, each horizontal rule fifty thousand members. The dotted portion ofthe membership line covers a period for which authentic figures are not avail-able. Even the drummer boys of the Civil War are seventy years old today grey in our hair. We were gettingaround thirty-five or forty and doing alittle thinking. We had more sensethan we used to. No offense meant toyou young men— he smiled, as he wenton, but youll soon find out what Imean. Youll see the same thing hap-pen to your American Legion in anotherten or twelve years. A lot of you ex-service men are so darn busy rightnow trying to make a living and raisea family that you never stop to thinkabout whether its worth while to joinup. Like me. I didnt join up tillaround 1880. You dont see what itgets you. Neither did I. You all blow up now and then anddamn the
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