The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-10-13
SOLDIERS ORPHANS HOME.
How a Great and Noble Charity Has
Been Diverted from Its Purpose.
Interesting History Of the Movement for a
HOme-SOldiers' Orphans Insulted by Be-
ing Subordinated to the Feeble Minded.


Extract from a speech of Col J. b. Black. at SOL
diers' reunion. Anderson. Oct. s.
In May. 1865, upon the suggestion Of Governor
Morton, meeting was held, at Indianapolis. at
which it was resolved to establish an Indiana
Soldiers and Seamen's Home. An organization
effected by the election of board of direct
ors and the appointment Of officers, and arrange
ments were made for the solicitation of donations
from the people. Applications for admission OF
disabled soldiers speedily followed and the use
of the city hospital building of Indianapolis hav-
ing been given to the association. the Home
was opened there, in August. 1861 under the
superintendent of Dr. M. NJ. Wishard, to whose
patriotism and humanity throughout the war
many languishing soldier had been indebted.
The appeals of the directors for voluntary con-
tributions were so far successful, that in the
spring of 1866 they purchased the Knightstown
Springs property, consisting of fifty four acres
of land beautifully situated, with medicinal
spring and frame hotel affording accommoda-
ton for about one hundred persons There the
Home was established in April, 1866 Up to
the end of November, of that year, there had
been expended as the price of this property and
the cost of maintenance, the sum of $25, $50. 81,
raised by voluntary contributions, In 1867.
upon the urgent and repeated recommendation
of the Governor. the Home adopted by the
General Assembly as one of the institutions of
the State. 1t was estimated that there were
then in Indiana 2,070 orphans whose fathers had
persisted in the army many of them in destitute
circumstances and without relatives or
friends able and willing to provide for their
wants " a number of these being in the
county poor houses. Arrangements for the es-
Enlistment of national soldiers and seamens
homes had been commenced and it was sug-
gested that if such provision should be made by
the general government, the Homo at knights
town might be converted into soldiers orphans
home. In it's act of 1867 the General Assembly
provided for the reception of such necessitous
orphans into the Knightstown Home. board
of trustees was created consisting of three mem
bers, who were to be elected by the Legislature
and were to receive a per diem compensation
when actually employed, but the compensation
could not exceed $l20 year to each.
A new brick building was erected, to which
the disabled soldiers were removed, and the old
hotel was appropriated to the use Of the orphans
1t was quickly filled, and the applications for ad
mission became so numerous that in 1870 as
am informed, the soldiers were transferred to
the hotel and the orphans to the new building.
In the winter of 1871 the hotel was burned and
soon thereafter the soldiers were removed to the
National Home at Dayton o. In the autumn Of
1877 the brick building was destroyed by fire.
1t was soon rebuilt, with somewhat increased
capacity. In the summer just passed, the build
ing thus reconstructed was burned and it is now
being rebuilt In 1879 the Legislature abolished
the Office of trustee Of the Soldiers Orphans
Home, thereby legisating out of Office the trus
tees then serving and established an Asylum for
Feeble minded Children, to be located at the
Soldiers Orphans Home, the institution to be
under the charge of board of three trustees, to
be appointed by the Governor who at that time
was Hon. James D. Williams, an adherent of
the political party then dominant in the Gen
eral Assembly. These trustees were given a
salary of 5000 year The management and
control of the Soldiers Orphans Home were in
trusted to this board.
In 1885, Hon. Albert G.. Porter being the Gov
ernor, and not being in political accord with the
majority of the Legislature, the power of ap-
pointment of the trustees was taken from the
Governor, and it was provided that they
should be elected by the General Assembly
that the first election should be held upon the
takiuseffect of the act, which had an emergency
clause, and that they should Immediately sue
coed the then serving incumbents, on the LIST of
April. 1883. Thus, again, were the trustees
Iegislated out before the expiration of their
terms, and new board was legis!ated in. In
this act the compensation of the trustees was in
the institution by the State the purchasing
power of money had increased in more than one
sense.
Again, in 1885, Hon. Isaac P. Gray being Gov
ernor, and ia political harmony with the major
itv in the Legislature, the mode of consti-
tuting the board Of trustees was changed
by providing for the appointment of its
members by the Governor The existing
Office of trustee of the Asylum for Feeble mind
ed Children was abolished. and provision was
made for the creation of a new board, as trustees
Of the Soldiers Orphans Home To this nav
board was given the control of the Asylum, as
that of the Home had before been given to the
trustees of the Asylum To each of these new
trustees was allowed salary of $500 year.
There are other provisions of this act Of 1885, to
which | will refer further on. Ipause here to
ask you whether it is credtable to the State of
Indiana that this institution. with its utterly
helpless inmates, has been subjected to such vi
cissitudes2 1t is not pleasant to have to direct
your attention to the bad taste and want of the
common instinct of fairness In thus dverting the
voluntary gift of generous people from the no.
BILE purpose for which it was bestowed. to one
which could not have been contemplated
by the loyal donors. What spirit
could have prevailed in the minds
Of the representatives of the people that an in
stitution which person of patriotic impulse
must wish to make, in truth, home, whose oc-
cupants might regard themselves as recipients
of evidences Of the gratitude of a saved State
should be thus transformed into an asylum
whose pensioners cannot fail, every moment of
consciousness, to endure sense of pauper de-
pendence2 Was it an absolutely necessary ex-
cuse for the legislation of one board out and
announcer III InaU VIC OrpuduS home SnOulu DC
made a subordinate department of the asylum
and that the very name of the institution should
be changed to one less suggestive of purpose of
providing an honorary entertainment for these
children of the STATED
Leaving out of question the unwisdom Of the
homogeneous mixture and the manifest impossi-
bility of promoting, under such circumstances
the highest welfare of either of these two class
es of worthy objects of public benelcence, I
ask you to consider the unfairness to both class
a n a fhn arci-
monious littleness of the great and rich
State indebted for its prosperity, if not for its
continued existence to the patriotic endurance
of the fathers of these orphan wards In strik-
ing contrast, observe the growth of the salary of
the trustees of this little partisan footb ball
which, with every variance of political fortune
must receive another vigorous kick
When we go home let US get away off by our
selves and pummel our heads and see If we can
find out why we are Indifferent to any unfair