The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1889-02-21
CONFEDERATE HOME,
Major Joe II. Stewart in the City
of Boston.
Interesting Dots About the "Hub''
and Graphic Descriptions OF
Some Big Houses.

OOLhO LIB LAOuoOo'
The following interesting extract !
from a letter written by Major Joe L
Stewart, who has been in Boston, wher
he raised several thousand dollars for tn
Confederate home in this city:
BosroS, January 81, 1889.
To the Editor of tn, Statesman.
A letter from this great city may be O
interest to your readers. | met a cordia
reception here, and especially so from tn
John A. Andrew Post 10, Il. A. R., and ex
Federal soldiers generally. have foun,
but little antagOnism and pref udice t
combat among the men who fought on tn
side of the Union. / could have don
nothing here for our Confederate home i
Pos 10, G. A. R., had not endorsed the en-
| terprise. Commander White and Adiu
tant Robinson have been worthy co-adju
tors, and l am especially indebted to Mr.
| Oliver Downing, of Post 10, for the per
so ial aid he has extended me in project
| ing plans for action and assisting me il
p occurring contributions. This post is tn,
best known of any in the United States
and has done more to help bring about {
better state of feeling between the nortl
and south than perhaps all other G. A. R
posts combined. 1t was through the in
5trumentality of JohnA. Andrew Post 10
that the large fund was raised in Massa
chusetts for the Confederate home a
Richmond.
The Il. Il. Lee Camp at Richmond in
vited this post to visit Richmond, as the
guest of the Lee Camp, over two years
ago, and a right royal meeting the
'Yanks" and "Rebs" had on Virginia soil
Soon after, this post invited the Lee
Camp to Boston, and the ovation extended
the wearers of the grey in Boston was not
only immense but wonderful. II ia much
talked of now here and at Richmond, and
those "Rebs" of the Lee Camp simply
took this city by storm. Never was such
a demonstration made by Boston over
any body of men that had ever visited
this city before, or that has
visited it since. Thus the bringing to-
gether of Post 10, G. A. r., and the Lee
camp did more good in cementing the
men of the blue aud grey than has been
tr)ught about from any other cause
ThaC action by this well known post has
been supplemented by the endorsement of
our Home at Austin and my efforts in its
behalf The people of Boston are emil
nently conservative and are slow to act in
a y n w fed, and it was some time before
they became interested in the movement
to procure aid In behalf of the manned
Confederate soldier. Something over
$4,000 has been subscribed in Boston and
other contributions will go forward from
here. | am endeavoring to effect a per-
manent organization here among the good
women to procure merchandise, clothing
and money for the support of the Home,
and the prospect is very encouraging. l
shall leave here for New York in few
days and will doubtless do much better
there than l have here and in a much
shorter time. Where one is int rested in
Texas trade l fnd him more
disposed to help the crippled Con
federate so,dier-it ID because men
who deal with the south under
stand the people and their conditions
best. OF course politics has nothing to
do with so great charity, but the fact re-
mains That about five out of six of the
@ jntr butors to our Home in Boston are
republicans, and yet this is democratic
city. There is much orthodoxy, much
heterodoxy, much infidelity and many
very wealthy people in Boston; women
are greatly in excess of men, and they have
some advantages and occupations that
our women do not have;they vote upon
all matters affecting the public schools
and perform two thirds of the clerical
work in stores, offices, etc. At O'Clock
p. IN. the SHOP girls" quit work, and
fhnf al
they throng Washington and fremont
sire is, and stranger might infer
that Barnum's circus was at
one end or the other of the street, and this
army of women was hurrying to the exhi-
bition.
This is the city of free thought and free
speech. No one cares what another's
opinion is upon any question. Even the
"rigidly righteous" has due respect for
his un1odly neighbor. The truth ia, the
future state seems not to be so much the
question in Bos on. How and what to do,
and at the same time to do right without
for the other world, seems
to be the summum bonum. They are
great people, charitable and educated
Boston has more lecture halls, lyceums,
free libraries and reading rooms, homes
Tor the distressed, charitable societies of
every character, more monum ents and
in squares, parks and public halls
and civic characters, more two
wheeled public carriages, more short,
narrow and crooked streets, more rosy
checked and handsome yet fatigued-!ook-
ing women, more young men who keep
their seats on the street cars when gray
haired ladies are standing up, more indie
pendent thinkers, fewer tobacco ohewers,
more drinkers and less drunkards, than
any city Of its population on the globe.
And, since October, it has had more pleas
ant sunshine mixed in with more clouds
and more rains and more mud than any
place of its dimensions on the continent,
though it was as pleasant here on Christ
mas and New Years day as it was at the
capitol of Texas. l should add that this
Is the center of original ideas and notions,
and moral and intellectual philosophers
radlate from this great center. Religions
run the gamut from Christianity to idola-
try. Brahma and Budah, even, have dew
otees and shrines within these gates.
Many wonderfully pious peo-
Pile are here, representing all
the ancient and modern religions.
These are a Estates rights" people, too,
md boast of loyalty to the "old common
wealth" first, but are most vehement in
oyaity TO the general government. 1t
would hardly do for US in Texas to speak
tut for state rights" and estate SOW