The daily gazette., 1880-08-12
Corresr ondence for the GAzEr.E. =
NATIONAL HOME, Dayton,
Ohio, Aug. 10, 1880.

Ohio, Aug. 10, 1880.
In my last weeks letter to the
GAZETTE readers l endeavored to
present to their mental visions an
imaginary photograph, conveying or
portraying some of the general
characteristics of this Home; and
now l purpose giving my Will
mington friends a little information
regarding the moral and social status
of this Camp. In regard to the
morality of this Home the standard
is as high as could be expected but
not as high as it ought to be. 1t IS
an old and true saying that old
soldiers will drink, and while there
are hundreds of staunch temperance
men here, yet rum oligarchy has
maay followers. Military life is not
conducive to high order of morality,
and here is great missionary field
for reformers. Everything that can
be done to induce men to live sober
lives is done, but the original Adam
seems to be here in modified form.
Whenever any law is violated here
the offender is summarily punished,
and the punishment is of a very
stringent kind, and to any ordinary
man one dose would act as re-
formatory power, but frequently
here the same dose is repeated over
and over again.
There is beautiful church and
services of very interesting and of
very instructive kind are regularly
held. The Rev. VIM. Earnshaw is,
and has been for the past thirteen
years, the efficient and popular chap
lain of this Home. The Rev. gen
tleman is well-known by many men,
bers of the Methodist Conference of
Wilmington. He is what is known
as the patriotic pastor, having
offered his services to his country.
When Lee penetrated Penna., Chap
lain Earnshaw was then preaching
to hourishing congregation near
Gettysburg. Since then he has
signally demonstrated the oft-re-
peated truth "that he serves God
best who best serves his fellow
men," He has served God by
serving his country and he has made
sacrifices in this service.
1t would seem as though the pres
ence and possession Of such man
would result in the purification of
the moral miasma, but when we re-
member that every nationality is
here represented and that each one
brings with him the customs of his
country, the mystery will vanish,
and | am surprised to find so much
harmony in the midst of so many
Numerically Eopposed customs.
We have few Atheists and some
few that are here if they were in
Wilmington would no doubt join
the Liberal League. OF course this
class is difficult to deal with, and
in addition to the Ten Command
ments very high fence encompasses
this paradise but even these fences
don't always suffice, for we have
some men here that don't hesitate
to break the Ten Commandments,
but they sometimes jump the ten
foot fence. Socially speaking our
Home differs but little from the
Eden that Adam dwelt in. Each
| AQam mere mas not all eve DIS uo
had. In fact, we are in one sense
a camp of aged orphans, but then
perhaps poor Adam would have
been better Off here than in Eden.
He would have had no Eve to have
tempted him here. Then again, if
Adam had lived i'll the Soldiers
Home instead of in Eden and had
yielded to his propensity for steal
ing apples that didn't belong to him,
if he had done that in this Home,
instead of turning him out to become
tramp as they did in Eden, our
good governor would have called
our forefather up and said unto him
"Adam, will give you thirty days
in the guard house for appropriating
those apples, and if you persist in
practicing those unmilitary tricks, ]
will use my influence to have you
sent to Congress, there to be bull
dozed by Ben Butler and Ben Hill.'
| ]. G., BRYANT,