The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1889-08-22
EXPLANATION
HISTORY OF THE PRESENT STATUS
AND SITUATION OF THE
CONFEDERATE HOME.
Important Information That Every Texan
Should Read, Profit Thereby and
Help the Home.

The following important correspondence
needs no explanation:
FORT WORTH, Tex, August 10, 1889.
To the President and General Manager of
the Confederate Home of Austin Tex:
Gentlemen-Having noticed in THE
STATESMAN a call made by Gov. Ross and
other distinguished citizens of Austin, with
regard to the necessities of said Home, at
least call made upon the people for aid
| thereto, am DESTROYS of knowing the exact
status of said Confederate Home. That is,
how many inmates; to what brigades they
! severally belong; how much money is
necessary annually to keep said Home in
proper condition for their comfort and
| maintenance.
! am a citizen of Fort Worth, and have
talked with the leading people of this city,
and | know they are DESTROYS of doing
something to aid in said enterprise, and |
propose, together with other citizens of
| Fort Worth, to call a meeting in order to
| organize for such purpose, and | desire to
know what is needed or wanted by the
Home in order that l may explain to them
when the meeting is called what's desired.
That is, whether you want contributions in
money all at one time, or whether you
want the contributions made quarterly, an
nually, or how.
And, i'll this connection | would like to
be able to explain to the meeting how much
real estate you have; how it is improved,
and as full history of the present status
and situation of said Home as possible.
Our people are liberal and generous, but
the fact that this home is located at Austin
and they have never been fully appraised
of the management of the same, and, in
fact, what it really is, they have some
hesitancy until such information is fur
nished them.
Hoping these questions will not be re-
garded as impertinent, as they are prompted
by deep interest in the welfare of said
enterprise, and that they will be answered
in the spirit in which they are made, | am,
most respectfully, your obedient servant,
X. NJ. WYNNE.
AUSTIN Tex, August 90 1889.
To r. NJ. WINNIE, Fort Worth, Tex:
Dear Sir-Yours of the 10Th inst ad-
dressed to the President and general
manager of the Confederate Home of Aus
tin, Tex" came duly to hand to-day, and,
as the official representatives of the said
Home, we with great pleasure reply to the
same, as we certainly do not regard the
questions contained in your letter as ''im-
pertinent but eminently proper and ask
ing for information which we desire the
people of Texas and the friends of the eX-
Confederate soldier to be fully advised of;
anu VIC lllSlClOIO DIOCCCu W Icply W your
questions and give some account of the his
tory of the Home, its assets, its inmates, its
government and its wants.
First-In the fall of 1884, number of eX-
Confederate soldiers residing at or near
Austin, Tex, organized themselves into an
association, adopting the name of John B.
Hood Camp, of Confederate Veterans and
on the Goth day of November, 1884, OBJ
tanned charter from the state of Texas,
such charter declaring the objects of such
association, among them being for the
purpose of raising means to establish a
Home at Austin, Tex, for manned, dis
abled and INDECENT Confederate veterans"
In accordance with the above declaration
the camp proceeded at once to raise funds,
and in the fall of 1886 purchased tract of
fifteen acres of land with two-story house,
situated on commanding elevation just
outside the corporate limits of Austin, on
West Pecan street, where in November,
1886, the Home was formally opened.
Since that time seventy-eight ex-Confed-
crate veterans have been admitted to the
Home, of whom thirty-seven have been
discharged, ten having died, leaving thirty
one still remaining there; of those dis
charged some were cured of their ailments,
and some left to go to friends in other
states.
OF the present inmates, six have lost
leg, one an arm, two are totally blind, two
are hopelessly paralyzed, two are paralyzed
but not totally helpless, six are chronic in
curables, and the remainder, TENN number,
are disabled by reason of age.
OF the seventy-eight persons who have
been inmates, forty-One claimed Texas as
their former home, six were from Louisiana,
four from Missouri, three each from Ala
bama, Arkansas, Georgia and Virginia,
two each from Kentucky, Mississippi and
North Carolina, one each from South Car
DINA, Tennessee, Michigan and New
Mexico, and five from the navy or I'M
Second-The assets of the Home
consist of fifteen acres of
land with improvements and furniture suf-
ticlent to accommodate thirty-four inmates
(plenty of room to place Improvements
sufficient to accommodate 100 inmates)
value at least $1,000; 5000 loaned out, Sc
cured by real estate and personal security;
$3,037 in the hands of the treasurer besides
which the state of Texas leased the Camp
the building in Austin, Tex, known as the
temporary capitol at an annual rental of
80, which is sublet again by the Camp for
the sum of 81, 800 per annum.
In addition to the above amounts, there
has been subscribed, but not paid in, about
$500, and we learn from the papers that an
entertainment given at Dallas on the 18th
inst, for the benefit of the Home, will net
about 1000. The Home owes no debts
whatever, having gone on the plan of pay
ing as you CO."
Third-The inmates of the Home are
worthy, needy and disabled Confederate
soldiers and sailors, who have been admit
ted from all parts of Texas, without refer
ence to whether they served in Texas or
other commands during the war.
Fourth-The Home is governed primarily
by the John b. Hood Camp, but
the Home fund and the direct man.
agement of the Home is placed in the
care of board of fifteen directors, who are
elected annually by the camp from its own
members and from citizens of Texas not
members. The board of directors again
delegates the active management of the
Home to an executive committee of three
who serve for one month, make all pur-
chases of supplies, clothing, ETC., for the in
mates, and report to the board monthly
This committee visit the Home almost
daily.
The salaried officers of the Home are two
the cook at the Home, there is no super
intendent, and the secretary of the board
of directors who keeps the books of the in
stitution and who is paid a salary of $50
per month.
The average cost of maintaining, clothing
and furnishing medical attendance for
each inmate, including all expenses of adj
has been so far less than $40
per month per capita, less sum we believe
than any charitable institution in the