Comrade DINEEN, department of New York. Commander in Chief, I make such a motion.

Comrade HAUNSON (Georgia). I second the motion.

Commander in chief HERRICK. You have heard the motion made and seconded that where resolutions are at this time read by the chairman of the resolutions committee and no objection is made to their adoption the same will be, by the chairman, declared carried. All those in favor of the adoption will say "Aye"; those opposed "No." The "ayes" have it and the motion is adopted.

Past Commander in Chief SMITH. The first resolution is as follows:

RESOLUTION No. 1

(Presented by the committee on resolutions.)

Whereas the Congress of the United States some years ago issued a medal known as the Philippine campaign medal, to be given to soldiers and sailors who served in the Philippine Insurrection; and

Whereas the soldiers and sailors who are entitled to this badge have been charged 50 cents, and in recent years 65 cents, for the mintage of said medal: Therefore be it

Resolved, That the Twenty-seventh national encampment of the United Spanish War Veterans, in convention assembled, request that Congress pass a resolution or law abolishing all charges for service in the Army and Navy and Marine Corps.

(Adopted.)

RESOLUTION No. 2

(Presented by Alphonse Gaston, commander of Naval Camp No. 49, department of New York.)

Whereas, while the operation of the existing retirement act, dating from August 4, 1920, effecting 450,000 classified civil service employees in the United States Government, has fully confirmed its wisdom and practicability as an agency to improve the public service, it has also demonstrated that its provisions are utterly inadequate to meet reasonable service and employment needs; likewise, experience has disclosed many defects that require prompt correction; and

Whereas, in the convening of the Sixty-ninth Congress on the first Monday of December of this year an appeal will be set forth for a more liberal retirement law in view of the fact that there is now in the Treasury of the United States the sum of $42,000,000 all contributed from the salaries of the 450,000 Government employees: Therefore be it

Resolved, That the present annuity of $720 per annum be increased to $1,200, that optional retirement be granted after 30 years of service at the age of 55 years, and, owing to the continuous reducing of the forces in the navy yards throughout the country with the possibility of closing them altogether, that employees with 30 years of service regardless of age who are discharged through no fault of their own, be given the full annuity; and be it further

Resolved, That this convention go on record as adopting this resolution and that the adjutant general be instructed to send a copy of this resolution to the public press, to every member of the Sixty-ninth Congress, and to any person of influence who may be influential in aiding this worthy cause.

(Adopted.)

RESOLUTION No. 3

(Presented by the committee on resolutions.)

Whereas, for many years the position of Commissioner of Pensions was filled by veterans of the Civil War; and

Whereas in March, 1925, one of our comrades, Gen. Wilder S. Metcalf, was appointed to this post; and

Whereas upon his resignation, effective June 30, 1925, the Hon. Winfield Scott, one of our comrades, succeeded him: Now therefore be it

Resolved (by the twenty-seventh national encampment assembled), That we heartily appreciate this recognition of our war service, and especially the fact that both appointees to the post of Commissioner of Pensions are active members of the United Spanish War Veterans; and be it further

Resolved, That we urge that the precedent thus establish be followed in the future.

(Adopted.)

RESOLUTION No. 4

(Presented by the resolution committee.)

Whereas Maine memorial exercises have been held by various camps and departments of the United Spanish War Veterans and during the past year have been broadcast over radio stations: Therefore be it

Resolved, That the twenty-seventh National Encampment of the United Spanish War Veterans in convention assembled do propose and urge that such Maine memorial services be continued and extended by the camps and departments of the United States.

(Adopted.)

RESOLUTION No. 5

(Presented by the department of Illinois.)

Whereas the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers has cared for the disabled veterans of the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection from the days of their active service in the field; and

Whereas during all this period the comfort and welfare of our comrades have been considered as the chief object and aim of the home which has always been operated efficiently and economically to the best interests of the Government; and

Whereas the veterans of the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection constitute the largest group in the membership of the home: Therefore be it

Resolved, That the United Spanish War Veterans in its annual encampment assembled request that no change be made in the control of the National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, so that our comrades now members of the homes may remain under their present control and not be transferred to other agencies of the Government; and, be it further

Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the President of the United States, to the chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs in the United States Senate, and to the chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs in the House of Representatives.

(Adopted.)

RESOLUTION No. 6

(Presented by the resolutions committee.)

Be it resolved by the national encampment of the United Spanish War Veterans in convention assembled, That we heartily indorse the activities of the veterans' joint committee of the District of Columbia, composed of representatives of the different accredited veterans' organizations, in their efforts to maintain and make secure for ex-service men the preference in appointment and retention in the service of the different bureaus and departments of the Government, and the elimination of the different boards having jurisdiction over matters of efficiency ratings and the transfer of their authority to the Civil Service Commission under one head.

(Adopted.)

RESOLUTION No. 7

(Presented by Leroy S. Smith, department of Michigan.)

Whereas under General Orders, No. 40, and under similar conditions, various men volunteered and were enlisted in the services of the United States for the duration of the war with Spain, who were fully entitled to discharges upon signing of peace on April 11, 1899; and

Whereas certain of these men patriotically reenlisted and continued to serve in the Philippine Insurrection and otherwise, and were entitled to receive honorable discharges with the enlisted travel pay, such as was paid to other enlisted men up to and after the closing of the Spanish War; and

Whereas these men were not paid the travel pay over the water and land distance between certain points and points of original place of enlistment, were not paid the usual enlistment money; Therefore be it

Resolved, That this encampment indorse and recommend this resolution to the national commander in chief for presentation to the national legislative committee of the United Spanish War Veterans for action at the next session of Congress.

(Adopted.)

RESOLUTION No. 8

(Presented by the committee on resolutions.)

Be it resolved by the annual encampment, United Spanish War Veterans in convention assembled, That our legislative committee be instructed to have enacted such legislation as will enable the Government to provide for the Spanish War veterans artificial limbs, false teeth, and other substitutes for parts of the human body as is provided for veterans of the World War. (Adopted.)

RESOLUTION No. 9

(Presented by the committee on resolutions.)

Be it resolved, That the Twenty-seventh National Encampment, United Sparish War Veterans, in stated session in St. Petersburg, Fla., indorse the plan for a memorial to Maj. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, and that as an organization composed of Union and Confederate Veterans, their sons and others, the United Spanish War Veterans authorize, through the General Fitzhugh Lee Camp, No. 1, Department of Virginia, the general collection of funds from among our comrades, other patriotic societies, and friends and admirers of General Lee. (Adopted.)

RESOLUTION No. 10

(Presented by William L. Grayson, commander Department of Georgia.) Whereas during the past 60 years the Grand Army of the Republic has conducted appropriate exercises in memory of the Nation's dead on Memorial Day, May 30, each year; and

Whereas the ranks of the Grand Army of the Republic are thinning to an alarming extent; and

Whereas they have expressed a desire that the United Spanish War Veterans take up the duties performed by them for so long; and

Whereas there are buried in the national cemetery at Marietta, Ga., 10,961 Federal soldiers and a great number of Spanish War veterans from the States of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, New York, Kentucky, and Michigan, and a great number of other States unknown who contributed to the 3,100 unknown dead now lying in this cemetery, with no appropriate monument from any State: Therefore be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the Twenty-seventh Annual Encampment of United Spanish War Veterans, St. Petersburg, Fla., that all United Spanish War Veterán departments should call upon the States mentioned to place an appropriate monument to their dead in this cemetery.

(Adopted.)

RESOLUTION No. 11

(Presented by William L. Grayson, department commander, Georgia.) Whereas there is being constructed in the State of Georgia a memorial to the South's illustrious heroes, to be known as the Stone Mountain Memorial"; and

Whereas this memorial was heartily indorsed by President Harding, who styled it the "Eighth Wonder of the World," and by President Coolidge, through whose indorsement the United States Government placed its stamp

of approval by having minted Stone Mountain Memorial coins, the sale of which will accomplish the materialization of the memorial; and

Whereas Gen. Joseph E. Wheeler, whose name is inseparably linked with the glory and achievements of the Spanish-American War who proffered his services to the Nation as soon as Spanish despotism and treachery became a menace; and whose services in Congress were such that it has been aptly said of him that only the Congressional Record is large enough to hold all the worth-while victories won by him.

Whereas this intrepid leader of two wars, whose escutcheon of civic and military life was without stain or blemish, has to date received no recognition on Stone Mountain Memorial: Therefore be it

Resolved, That the United Spanish War Veterans, in national convention assembled at St. Petersburg, Fla., indorse the action of the Department of Georgia, United Spanish War Veterans, in its efforts to secure recognition of General Wheeler on this memorial which will stand as long as the everlasting hills, and that a committee composed of one member from each department be named to take up this matter at once with those having the matter in hand. (Adopted.)

RESOLUTION No. 12

Whereas the ex-service men of the Railway Postal Service ask your encampment to pass the resolution to assist in preventing the annulment of the Executive order of March 3, 1923: Therefore be it

Resolved, That we denounce such annulment as being unfair to the patriotic defenders of our country and as an effort to seek abridgement of the rights granted to us by the act of Congress of August 15, 1876, the act of August 23, 1912, and the Executive order of March 3, 1923; and be it further

Resolved, That we believe military preference should be retained by veterans in the Railway Mail Service covered by United States civil service; and be it further

Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent the chairman of the Committees of Congress on Post Offices and Post Roads.

(Adopted.)

RESOLUTION No. 13

(Presented by the committee on resolutions.)

Whereas it has come to the attention of this organization that an effort is being made by civil-service employees of the Federal custodian service to have their conditions bettered through an act of Congress at the coming sixty-ninth session; and

Whereas there is now on the statutes a classification law applicable to the District of Columbia: Therefore be it

Resolved by the Twenty-seventh Encampment, United Spanish War Veterans in convention assembled at St. Petersburg, Fla., That we indorse legislation extending the classification law to all parts of the United States of America and possessions.

(Adopted.)

RESOLUTION NO. 14

(Presented by the committee on resolutions.)

Resolved by the Twenty-seventh Encampment of United Spanish War Veterans in convention assembled at St. Petersburg, Fla., That all efficiency ratings of civil-service employees be posted in such places as will be accessible to the employees concerned.

(Adopted.)

RESOLUTION No. 15

(Presented by the committee on resolutions.)

Resolved, That the incoming administration be authorized and requested to ascertain whether any past commander in chief who is still an active member of this order in good standing has not received a past commander in chief's jewel, and to present such a jewel to every such past commander in chief.

(Adopted.)

RESOLUTION No. 16

In view of the fact that Postmaster General New is recommending for appointment to the position of postmaster many members of the United Spanish War Veterans, many of whom are post-office employees, and in further view of the fact that, according to present civil-service law, these veteran employees thus promoted become separated from the classified service: Therefore be it

Resolved, That this encampment present Congress with a memorial asking that the law be so amended that these employees thus promoted be retained in the classified service.

(Adopted.)

Past Commander in Chief SMITH. There were many resolutions presented concerning the question of pensions, and after much deliberation the committee decided to present to the encampment the following composite resolution, which, it is believed, will adequately cope with the situation:

RESOLUTION No. 17

(Presented by the committee on resolutions.)

Be it resolved by the Twenty-seventh Annual Encampment of the United Spanish War Veterans, at St. Petersburg, Fla., That the incoming commander in chief be instructed and required to prepare a proposed pension bill, which bill shall—

(a) Be limited to the soldiers, sailors, and nurses of the Spanish-American War, Philippine insurrection, and Chinese Boxer rebellion, and Indian wars, their widows and dependents;

(b) Be so framed as to include veterans who served less than 90 days but who were separated from the service by reason of disability;

(c) Be so framed as to bring equality in pension legislation, to the end that there shall be no discrimination for or against soldiers, sailors, and nurses of the Spanish-American War, their widows or dependents; and be it further

Resolved, That this convention approves the recommendations of the commander in chief as to pensions, and that the said proposed bill should be framed so as to embrace his recommendations; and be it further

Resolved, That the bill be so framed as to include all pension laws now in force and effective in favor of soldiers, sailors, and nurses of the SpanishAmerican War, Philippine insurrection and Boxer uprising, their widows and dependents.

(Presented by the Department of Georgia.)

Whereas the majority of field clerks, Quartermaster Corps, and superannuated Army field clerks, are, or are eligible to become, members of the United Spanish War Veterans, having had service in the Spanish-American War, and are now members of the Military Establishment; and

Whereas the privilege of retirement is extended to all members of the military service and civilian employees connected therewith except field clerks, Quartermaster Corps, and superannuated Army field clerks: Therefore be it

Resolved, That the Twenty-seventh National Convention of the United Spanish War Veterans assembled, go on record as recognizing the justice of the claim of these members for retirement, and pledging this organization to work through its national legislative committee to have laws enacted which will grant retirement to these members and that said national legislative committee be so instructed.

(Adopted.)

RESOLUTION No. 19

(Presented by the committee on resolutions.)

Be it resolved by the Twenty-seventh Encampment of the United Spanish War Veterans, That we renew our pledge of loyalty to our country and of readiness to serve whenever and wherever required; and be it further