For Vice-Presidents. LIEUTENANT R. H. COCHRAN, Ohio. GENERAL T. T. CRITTENDEN, California. COLONEL M. H. FITCH, Colorado. COLONEL S. C. KELLOGG, District of Columbia. MAJOR D. HOLWAY, Florida. COLONEL J. W. SCULLY, Georgia. LIEUTENANT W. H. PETTIT, Idaho. COLONEL J. LEVERING, Indiana. PRIVATE G. S. ROBINSON, Iowa. SERGEANT H. J. ATEN, Kansas. GENERAL F. FESSENDEN, Maine. COLONEL S. SIMMONS, Missouri. GENERAL C. F. MANDERSON, Nebraska. GENERAL N. KIMBALL, Utah. COLONEL W. C. SQUIRE, Washington. SERGEANT E. R. BLAKE, Wisconsin. Now, Mr. President, in submitting this report, I want to say that the Society, when it was organized, was fortunate enough to secure the services of efficient officers, and these officers have served very faithfully from that time to this, and we have therefore made no change from our former officers except as to Vice-Presidents. The report was adopted. THE PRESIDENT: The next is the report from the Committee on the SHERIDAN Monument, of which GENERAL ALGER was Chairman, but he not being present, I believe he will not be here until to-night, GENERAL FULLERTON will report. GENERAL FULLERTON: GENERAL ALGER, as Treasurer of the Committee, sends to me this report of funds collected. It will take a long time to brief this because there are a great many names, but I will give it in gross. You may remember at our last meeting a resolution was passed, requesting the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army to send an order to that army asking that organization to make a subscription on a certain day for the SHERIDAN monument. GENERAL ALGER, Commander, found it impracticable to make that collection for the 30th of May, Decoration Day, but he issued an order asking them. all to send contributions, small contributions, as an offering at the annual meeting of the Grand Army which was held in Boston. He received, as he reports here, from 104 posts out of the many thousands of posts which composed that army, just $1,086.21. That, taken together with other subscriptions which were made by the regular army officers, $286, added to the dues which we turned over to him by myself, as Treasurer of the Society, collected since the Chattanooga meeting, amounting to $775, makes a total collection to date of only $2,147.21. Now, as chairman of the Committee on the Sheridan Equestrian Statue, I am pained almost to have to make the report which I am compelled to make. Our collections have been almost nothing, and something has got to be done about that, and done right away. I have tried very hard to get different persons to take hold of the matter, but the times have been inopportune. You may remember that there was a large subscription made for the family of GENERAL SHERIDAN, amounting probably to $200,000. That prevented a great many of his intimate friends who were large subscribers from subscribing to the statue fund. Then there was a GARFIELD celebration at Cleveland, which came at an inopportune time, and a large amount was subscribed to that. And our members didn't feel like making a call upon the old soldiers for this subscription. We have got now to take hold of this thing to carry it through. We have got to get it by small subscriptions. There is no other way to do it. I have prepared papers and subscription notes which I would have distributed before this, but waited until after GENERAL ALGER'S report of his collections made from the Grand Army. I hope that every member of this Society will take some active interest in this matter and help us with this fund. It is utterly impossible, so long after the war, and so long after a man's death, notwithstanding his great deeds, to expect the fund to be raised by voluntary subscriptions. We have got to take the papers around and have the people subscribe. I feel very much discouraged about it, but if the Committee be continued, I will take a personal interest in the matter, and not trust further to chance subscriptions. We may have to send collectors around, and be put to some little expense, but we have got to do it, and it has got to be done by the Society of the Army of the Cumberland. We want to raise $30,000, and That looks discouraging, but we have only got $2,000 in two years. I still have hopes that we will get the greater part of that money this year. GENERAL MORGAN: It is rather a poor showing in two years with the purpose of raising $30,000. I was a good deal surprised at the report from the Grand Army. Our papers state that there are 400,000 members in that organization. The number of posts I do not know; but I want to ask this question, and see if I can get an answer. Is there a single member of any of these posts that constitutes these 400,000 men, who would object to a five cent assessment? If any of you figure up that, that will amount to-I am not very good at figures, but I think it will foot up to $20,000. Now my idea is, that every commanding officer of every post in the United States should receive a notice from this Society, asking them to collect their various posts together, and by vote assess every member of each post five cents, and the difficulty will be settled. GENERAL FULLERTON: GENERAL ALGER has already done that. He sent an order to every post of the Grand Army in the United States, and requested them to make a ten cent subscription. That would have brought $40,000 if they had made it. They have got, instead, just $1,086. MAJOR MCGINNISS: I belong to the Grand Army post of Illinois, and I never heard that we had been called upon for this subscription. If the Secretary of this Society will write a letter to every commanding officer of a post, and ask him to appoint a man or a committee to go around and take up a five cent subscription from the soldiers and people of the town, we can raise that money. I venture to say that in my town I can raise $100. I may not have been present, but I never heard it discussed. Such a thing as getting up and reading an order amounts to nothing; there has got to be somebody take hold of it. If the Secretary of this Society will write to each and every post of this country and have a committee appointed, they will raise the money. LIEUTENANT COHN: It is a fact that possibly all the posts have not taken action on it. Of course there may have been only twenty or thirty members who were present, possibly out of a post of one hundred and fifty members, but the posts have contributed who are able, and for our Secretary to send a request to each of the post commanders would not be a good thing. I think another opportunity possibly might bring it. It is possible the thing was hurried. The request was that the subscription be sent to GENERAL ALGER in Boston. May be the Posts were not represented. They may have failed to return their money. I think if the order was issued again to the Posts by GENERAL ALGER for a five cent contribution, it might be a good thing, but for the Society to request the post commanders, I think, will do no good. THE PRESIDENT: The Society has first to take up this report. Shall the Committee be continued? CAPTAIN DOWLING: As the matter of the Grand Army of the Republic has been referred to in this matter, I want to say that I fully agree with the sentiments expressed by COMRADE MCGINNISS. I think most of the Encampments have taken such action in the matter as would preclude taking a subscription direct. I think it would be impracticable to send out the order referred to. Most of the Grand Army men are poor. They have got a great many calls made upon them at home, and matters of charity to look after and take care of. I know that that order was promulgated by GENERAL ALGER, and in this state was sent out by the commander whom I succeeded. I believe that it was properly set forth, and if members who are in the habit of attending posts would be brought in and talk the matter over, an interest would be easily aroused in the post by which a large |