gation that love imposes is eternal. We cannot rightly love our country and forget our obligation to that God to whom we prayed when our nation's life was trembling in the balance, and the lives of our fallen comrades, as well as our own, seemed the only sacrifice that could be offered to save it. God's might delivered us and His mercy has strewn flowers all along our pathway, and with gratitude should we remember that once, under God, it was ours to battle for the rich heritage divinely ordained, and handed down to us by our fathers. With equal joy and zeal should we now royally serve our God, and in love minister to our fellow beings as long as life shall last.

To the Commander-in-Chief especially, and to all the comrades with whom I have been brought in contact, I am profoundly grateful for unfailing courtesies, and for assurances of love which I know were sincere.

To you, Comrade Burmester, I gratefully tender my best acknowledgments for valuable assistance and kindly support. To those brother Chaplains who have faithfully performed their duty and thus assisted me in my work, I can only say, I thank you with full heart.

For my successor in office I bespeak the same cordial, courteous, and loving consideration that has been accorded me, and express the hope that he may in some way discover a greater number of honorable and self-respecting Post Chaplains to supply him with needed material for his annual report, and thus save him from the chagrin of being officially connected with men who could not be induced to do as they had promised to do. As to Department-Chaplains, I sincerely hope that five Departments will see that the next Chaplain-in-Chief is not totally ignored, and left without a particle of data with which he would gladly save those Departments from disgrace. God help and bless us all. In the living bond of Fraternity, Charity, and Loyalty, I am sincerely yours,

MARK B. TAYLOR,

Chaplain-in-Chief, G. A. R.

REPORT OF THE ADJUTANT-GENERAL.

HEADQUARTERS GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC,
OFFICE OF THE ADJUTANT-GENERAL,

T. S. CLARKSON,

OMAHA, NEBRASKA, August 15, 1897.

Commander-in-Chief, Grand Army of the Republic:

Comrade:

In compliance with the Rules and Regulations, I have the honor to submit my report of the business transacted by this office from September 5, 1896, to date.

MEMBERSHIP.

The total membership of the Order in good standing June 30, 1896, was 7,302 Posts with 340,610 members; on December 31, 1896, 7,276 Posts, with 327,412 members; on June 30, 1897, 7,106 Posts, with 319,456 members. The gains and losses for the official year just passed being shown by the following

To this should be added the membership of the Posts lost by delinquent reports, they really being still members of the Order, 2,380. Making the total membership, 364,859.

It will seem from the above that a new element of loss has introduced itself which might be said to mark the "beginning of the end," the "loss by surrender of charter." One by one the "boys" have dropped away, joined the "Posts" on the other shore, until there are not enough left to keep up the organization, and the charter is surrendered, and the remaining few affiliate with another Post in the neighborhood, or remain afloat with a Transfer Card. It appears to me that right here is where good work can be accomplished with the system of "Outposts" provided by the last National Encampment to keep these "orphan" members within the organization.

I append the customary statistical tables brought up to date for the information of the comrades: