New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-06-25
FIVE, THOUSAND VETERANS.

rrrr NATIONAL SOLDIERS HOME Al DAhlo
- rr,,. VETERANS ARE CARED FOR BY THE GOV
,,x,,rNr-THEIR LABORs AND RECREAIioN0
,,.xn,oTU DOMESTIC ESTABLISHMENT
,vpon An OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT or in| ii'i''
DAYTON. Ohio June 15.-Two hours Journey US
-.u.no-tb from Cincinnati carries one through the
-.;o,,roscne valley of the Miami TO Dayton anu
a. ,ho National Soldiers Home overlooking from
range of hills the city and one OF the most
of Western landscapes. In an older cNlnHa"oi
sncb n country would be rich Win STORY anu
lccend Buk il is scarce o century since IL was ~
Snon,o1 from primitive wilds. and the American
nioneers were too busy with the actuallles Oh llo
20 cultivate the imagination. They have lett 'he
,,,or;ol that NAV 1ipen some day for the romancer
his one of the oldest settled regions IN ONO nj
,ho ,cbest Every stage of growth has left It's I'M
,ress The Revolutionary soldier only dropped HIS
,npsket 70 swing his axe in Miami woods; tho reno-
raae Simon Girty encountered the hatoOat"on VII
;,s river hanks Mad Anthony Wayne p'lrsucu 'no
savages over its hills In later DAYS II va" ~
rendezvous where tho great wing le"ue,S 49, -,
Clav and "Tom" Corwin assemDeu 'ho'i Ci''n'
Nv the tens of thousands; and WlVhii pon'i"'
,oom,ronce VaIlandiCham, the Willy pOIl'lclan' O0"
,rod bere the attention OF the country A'''"0i
,eminiscence suggestive of different Grass "a "'0
-. concentrated in the person of an old stage
,,,op,s life He was a hale, grizzly, demons'rauNc
aId tollo,v who might have been kin to the elder
y,ouor aud he reverted with relish to the days
ho, no drove a coach-and -four from Cincinnati 'o
D,.+or esncciallv TO an occasion when one Ihai'es
D;ckens"a big English author" was passenger.
q . s,nortish young Teller he were" saio tnc oiu
stacer; "he rode outside that frosty morh'h anu
obinnored away right smart, and peared to ENJOY IL
mighty well, tell ye" ~.
CO ,nucb for the past and its associations lrim
Colds and tasteful cottages tell of more "s'heuc
o,d lesurelv race now to which the Soldiers lio"e
hos contributed no small share the past ten years.
,Tbese homes constitute one OF the greatest an"
most interesting undertakings prolecteu ny ,n'
Government France has her Hotel de' ihF"Iiu's
cd ENGLAND her asylums designed for the care Of
cr;,nled and aged soldiers The Soldiers Homes oil
no r,itea States differ from other eleemosynary
;stitutions in the effort to approach as nearly as
,,,..i,la tbo home of which the soldier has been
a,r;voa Fxcent what is received bv the wives OF
- Presidents not a dollar is paid 10y the Govern
,oent ~ n uenson fora civil service but millions
ore disbursed annually to those who have served III
as wars. OF this sum the Soldiers Homes receive
q norton that makes "a permanent showing Du'-
;rc the war three million men were enlisted IN
Nortborn armies and az the close of the struggle
,here were few villages in the North mat had NOT
come veteran crippled IN body or wrecked III CON
,itntion Each State ut first cared for It's own dls-
ollcd soldiers assisted by the sanitary tommls-
49,, nhoso aid had accomplished so much during
the contest This system, 1t was soon seem was
oDlv nartiollv effective, and it eliminated IN the
Establishment of the National Homes. The project
&C diroctlv due to the efforts of benjamin +.
p,tler Robert L. Schenck and l.. g. Gunckcl. then
Ne,ber of Congress from the Dayton District. a
Loor1 of twelve members was appointed by an act
NJ Congress. with the President of the United
States. the Chief Justice ana the Secretary OF
War cy oficio members. -Four homes were
established one at Milwaukee, one at Augusta,
Moinc one at Hampton, Virginia and the central
and LARGEST at Dayton Each is under the charge
If = Commandant OF Governor, and the business OF
all is transacted by the board. ANY volunteer
soldier who can show a disability resulting from
sor.,co undcr the Government is eligible for ad-
mission. aud his application being made with the
regiment and company in which lie served, his
recor1 i examined and, all proving satisfactory,
he is admitted
A CITY OF VETERANS.
Tho Dovton Home has nearly 5000 inmates, or
ohon. rs many rs all the others combined. A
dummy train from Dayton places one within the
grounds in few inmates. 1t is little city OF It.
self with It's rows and squares of buildings The
mon one meets on its streets survivors OF the
war and to use a forcible though not elegant ex-
preston of a veteran, they have "most OF them
smelt HI score of times" There are few now
whose heads arc not tingcd with gray the figures
that few years ago straight and elastic begin
10 stoop with years. They all wear the UNIFORM OF
che rerula1 army One of the younger men, still
stalvort and in his prime, who must have been ;
heardlcss youth when the war ended, salutes yoI
with military courtesy as you step from the traih
His dress lis a mixture of the civilian and the mill
g., ue directs the visitor where TO 60 and vii
nrocure a guide If desired. The grounds weft
chosen on account of their hcalthfuness as we'll a
their beauty. They comprise some 800 acres
about the extent OF the Central Park in New ork
IN which in some respects there is o resemblance
Place a town Of several hundred attractive build
inps in tie centre OF the Park. and one may have
fair idea of the Home. The grounds are hand
somely cultivated laid ont n'fine drives and shady
foot-paths groves with pleasant retreats lakes
that are dotted with swans, parks tenanted 10y
deer and beautiful gardens. portion is reserved
for farming purposes. and from it is supplied mucl
of what is daily consumed at the Home. The Dulld
;nOs are of brick and frame, two or three stones II
Insight. and arranged in regular streets. Those II
which the veterans live called the Barracks
The several officers haYe their residences htti
apart from the rest All meals are eaten in larg
buldnc OF two stories capable of seating Z,ooo per
sons at one time. Inc Offices are io0d'ou III I" VI ~
buildng centrally situated and known as Head
ouarters There fine large hospital, an amuse
ment hall in which is OF the cosest OF theatre
with full stage appurtenances. seating 900 pei
sons and stone chapel of Gothic structure, Wit
.vv vines twining all over it. William EarnshaW
cbonlain of the Home, was one of General hoinaS
soldiers. and was styled by him the fighting pal
SON" A Catholic priest also oibclates every sur
dav in the same building This church, for 1t
more than a chapel, occupies an important pos
ton. 1t is perhaps the only religious structure
the world where Protestants and Catholics worShl
- .ho carnn rnnf IL IS the only church that th