Future of the Grand Army
Written for The lice by
Commander K. S. Wilcox
UK Grand Arm of 'te H- ; .11 s
a ' last man' Mub The n.crr.
her are rapidly dropping s
When th lact etran Is gor.e
he Grand A'tny will ceae to exist, ex' i
r. the memories of an "W-srHt- ful peo. .
Propositions have been made from tin.-,
o time that the life of the Grand Arm)
prolonged by extendlm; Its membership
include aona of veterans and the Spanish
American war veteran However plain.
Me may be the reason advanced, this will
never be done. The veterans of the great
civil conflict are 10 distinct from those of
any other war that assimilation Is as un
w e as U Is unnecessary Organizations
of the veterans of the revolutionary.
and Mexican wars have not been perpetu
ated by the addition of an outside member
ship and there Is no good reason for doing
so in our organization After the old boys
in blue are gone no society will be needed
to keep alive the memories of their valor
. u deed. They made it possible for th
t'ntted States of America to become the
greatest nation upon the face of the earth
and a united Intensely patriotic country Is
hlr nobleft monument
The wavering ranks ar thinning fas'
Father Time Is reaping his own and one
one the veterans ar.- Wing gathered to
OK V.N b I:.MV MEN USE. tlj AT FLVTTSMOCTH
their fa:htrs Ten or fifteen years fr. a,
now i mi war vit-rans will be as s ur e
as Mex;an war eterans are today Thi
average age of the eterans is 4e Some of
those who entered the army during the
closing years of the rebellion, and many of
them went In at 13 to 11. will be with us for
some years to onie Hut It cannot be a
great while until the latt pott Is mustered
out by the (!rett Commander Then other
loMng hands will drape the char'er In
mourning and no more will the roll b
called until the final muster-out In eternity
Statistics contained in the reports read
at 'he h r f r u a. tt ampment of
the Ciranl ra.y i V lUfut , held in
""hi ago on August . ' J. sh w- huw
rat. illy the veterans d'i gome The mem
berthip gradually increased from the
rrganlzatlon of the first post In lvj until
the high water mark in membership a
reached in WW when the total In good
standing was f9.4S Each year since has
seen steady decline I.st year the num
ber was 401. and for the present year
the figures will be even smaller The loss
by dea'h at the present time is about 3
per cent and other 'auses make the rate of
Ji '. j h high' r Tim llgur-a for the
dtpar'n.fn if N'ebruska are in proportion.
The membership on June 30, l'JOO, was
6 H; .V.jw it la barely 5,800. There re
main, of course, comrades who aie not
members of the Grand Army, but as the
years go by they realize to a greater extent
the need of fraternnllsm. The member
ship is being constantly added to from that
source, though not to a sulllcient extent
to offset the death roll.
Thu parsing of the Grand Army means
the dissolution of an organization that has
no equal in its unique objects ami mem
bership. II Is a fraternal and reminiscent
order and tho greatest patriotic society In
Gut world. Tho comrades arc all growing
old, and with Increasing Infirmities there
In urgent need of u closer touch and larger
Hyinpathv with and for each other.
Much ha h heeii accomplished In th
thirty-live years of the Grand Army's ex
Istuice. Tho widow and orphan as well
as tho old veteran himself have been nr d
for Through Its efforts national ceme
teries have been established and buttle
field marked with suitable monuments
S.-tomnile efforts have been made with
great success for the Introduction of pa
triotic civics in the public schools.
In all Its work the Grand Army has been
ably assisted by that band of noble women,
tho Woman's Relief corps. Wherever there
Is n corps a good post will always be found,
and many posts would bo compelled to give
up tho struggle If It were not for the
loving help of the women. Tholr unselfish
work, watchful care nnd loyal devotion are
known to every comrade.
The Grand Army veteran Is neathig the
end and his work Is mainly done It Is
his aim to so live that his example will
Inspire our youth with a higher patriotic
love of country and thus secure a citizen
ship worthy of this great nation.
11. S. WILCOX.
Physical Culture for Women
Written for The Bee by
Helen Woodsmall, Physical Director V. W. C. A.
HI. Young W mei, t'ht iati.tr. as
sociatlnn stands for all tha
I rogreive and ip--o-date .n "i
durational and phMcal c
velopment of oung women, and in a large
and well organized association such as we
possess here In Omaha the physical cul-c
department constitutes one of Its most a'
tractive features. The fundamental alr f
this department Is the promotion and tnar
tenance of health, and the association fctl"
that "physical training and spiritual Icf'i
ness are not two duties, but part of n"
duty that of living the completes! life
which It Is possible for one to live" The
young women of today are realizing -c
and more that they must be strong In b. dy
in order to properly perform the duties as
signed them In life, and therefore must
have systematic physical training.
The ph)slcal culture work In all '1k
Young Women's Christian associations cf
this country has rapidly increased In im
portanc during the laH ten years. Hog n
ning In almost every Instance with a small
room and only a few membrs. the wrrk
has steadily grown in popularity until r.ow
it has reached such proportions that ncs
of the associations have provided large an!
well equipped gymnasiums under the dlrcc
lion of competent Instructors. There are
evening as well as day classes tn crder tha
the business women, the women at h mc
and the school girls may all avail thmi
selves of the excellent opportunities offered
Upon entering any one of these classes
each member Is given a thorough phys
leal examination. which in ludes -hr
anthropometric ineatsurtmeuts and exami
nation of heart and lungs, thus enabling
the director to know what work will b
txst adapted toiach pupil's nerds, and als
how much she can stand. The class work
given In thsse association gymnasiums con
slsts of rollitnry marching, artistic gym
nasties, gamin and the use of heavy and
light apparatus. Clubs, dumbbells, wands
ar.d bar bells are classed under the hend
of light apparatus Spc ml attention is
given to free-hand gymnastics known as
the Swedish system and which consists of
successive movements in flexion extension
etc , of the legs trunk arms pelvis and
Hi
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ni'ih No weights are held in the hands,
t each part of 'he body does work in pro
portion to the strength of its own mimics,
for It moves only by its own weight. The
work Increases In strength according to
the Increase In power of the lungs, heart
and digestive organs, so that It may be
suited to both children nnd adults one
principal law of the Swedish system is
unity, which means that movements must
bo so given that in developing one part
the growth of another is not decreased.
Kach movement has some defined
physiological value, so that the o fleet of
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solutely ill perhaps, yet never well. A few
months of such work will make her forget
she ever had such a thing as nerves and
"he will begin to learn how much Joy there
s in life. Our Omaha association rccog
t the fa t that phxsnal exercise Ju
,ousl taken is essential to the average
u.rl and it has therefore provided every
t.. ans for such training
Local Hurl. N (irottlnu.
luring the last uo years our gymnasium
1 fjr'tric h..s made rapid progress, ln-
they have sulllclcnt exercise from tholr
home duties, a fact which is not disputed.
However, systematic physical training
brings in n dllferent set of muscles from
those used In the routine labors of tho
home. The devoted mother who dally
practices soms system of training finds
these labors of love less fatiguing, at the
same time bringing a spirit of rest and
exhilaration Into the entire hoi s hold
llilNUet Hull ii I'enttire.
During the last two or three years has-
Y i , HASKET UALL TEAM
r) cvr .se is dtflmtei) known making
of grtai benefit in correcting special
faults, su-h as spinal urature. flat chest,
weak ba k anl round shoulders
One man object of physical training is
i it), rcasc the etlb ietn y of the ilnula
ion and r-.-siiiratlon. for If these two
fundamental functions of the body are in
good working order the musilei will meet
any reasonable demand. In all our class
wrk the condition of the chest Is given
speiul attention, correct methods of
rc bing being a very Important feature
J the work; also the proper poise and
arnage of the body as affecting the con
i i on of the vital organs and their
'ions are always Insisted upon. For
. x.imple of Incorrect poise take the
aw rage girl between the age of II and 16,
or the formation period, and notice that she
iiirru-s the weight of the body on the
heels, with hips and chin forwnrd Instead
of weight on the balls of the feet and
chei: leading The sooner these faulty po
sitions are corrected the easier they are
to overcome.
Wllllt t'llllll'a llf It.
Some of the results of physical education.
Including all the different systems, taking
tho bet from each, briefly given are Hot
ter health, greater strength, co-ordination,
symmetry, endurance, grace and the Im
provement of the observation, memory and
attentl:n Clumsiness and awkwardness
generally are only signs cf want cf nervous
-ntrol over the mus ies Af'er all grace
is simply muscular 'U'rcl and this is
gained by oncen'ration of the wi.l n exer
is- taken by command. Thus the rruseieg
are trained to respond more reality and
easily to the will, thereby gaining grea er
self-control and self-reliance as well as
organized thinking and concentration cf a -tention.
qualities so essential to success
and which are in constant demand through
life -Thefe same qualities very materially
aid In the formation of character, the aim
of all true education, of life Itself.
I leu r ee of i:ertloli.
A woman will rarely ever be found who
takes systematic exercise every day who Is
not strong and healthy By this we do not
mean simply the dally walk, which Is ex
cellent, but not sutflclent. Care, however,
should be taken not to overdo. Women
very frequently say they cannot take exer
cise. This is because they have not given
it a fair trial. Having so much nervous
energy, they are Inclined to go beyond their
strength by taking up something new, such
as rowing or long rides on their bicycles,
without tlrst preparing for such active work
through the use of simple exercises Bas
ket ball, tennis, walking and general gym
nasium work will make a vast difference In
a girl who before was languid, never ab-
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HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS I1SKET B U. T. M
js ng .'s membership from forty-four
' .' . ht- trcstn' enrollment The ob
Je if. 'haraiter of work done and the
effects are practically the same as those
Just described There are large classes of
High sihool girls and children. Their in
tellectual powers will be much stronger
for having developed tho physical side of
their nature, and, besides, in them lies the
hope of the future woman for better health
and more perfect bodies. There are also
morning classes for married women and
evening classes for the business girls.
Those who are Indoors during the day and
have little or no exercise find an hour spent
In the gymnasium proves a delightful
recreation, and. by thus woiklng off an
excess of nervous energy, a feeling of rest,
toth physical and mental, is experienced.
This Is particularly applicable to the home
keepers, who are so often heard to say
ket hall has become an attnutive feature
in gymnasium work In our own Young
Woineu's christian association gymnasium
tho two best teams have played several
match games beforo tho public, as well ns
having parilcipated in tho ton. mini nt
given recently by tho gymnasium girls of
the rntverslly of Nebraska. This tournn
mem was of unusual interest, as It was
the first eer held In Nebraska. The exhi
bition Friday night closed the Indoor work
for the year. Immediately following will
be the outdoor sports, which proved so
delightful Inst year. The outdoor work
consists of tennis, quoits, bicycling and
outing parties, for we believe 'tis
m-EIV-V0 M,unt. lu lU1',, f,,r li'-tlth unbo-iglit.
1 han fee the doctor for a nain-eoiis draught;
The wise for cure ..n exercise depend:
God never made Ills work for man to mend,
HELEN WOODSMALL.
Physical Director.
