St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-01-08
SKIPPED IN A huff.
Second Annual Report of the
Trustees of Minnesota
Soldiers Home.
Pensioners Kicked Against
Just Regulations and Quit
for Other Chimes.
Splendid Showing by the
State in It's Relief for Old
Veterans.
Roasting the National Gov
eminent for Inadequaey
OF Its Pensions.

the soldiers rellet fund, has been pub
lished. he report covers the year end
ing July 81. There are composing the
board:
Henry A. Castle. president St Paul; r. r.
Henderson, vice president, Minneapolis; l.,
a. Hancock. Red Wing; William p. Dun
nington, Redwood Falls; T. +. COwing, Fergus
falls; r. II. Pressnen Duluth; j. X. Par
shall, Far!oault; .. NJ. Sawyer, secretary,
Minneapolis.
AT The beginning of the fiscal year
the home was occupying temporary
quarters at Minnehaha fails, within the
city limits of Minneapolis, while the
new buildings, provided tor bv an ap-
preparation OF $50, 900 in the year 1887,
were in course of construction. The
plan for the institution, adopted
by the board in the beginning,
was the cottage SYSTEM" Two cot
tages" were ,mpleted and occupied i'll
January. 1889. AS they were our only
quarters, it became necessary to eStab
llSh the headquarters i'll one of them
and the hospital department in
the other, thus considerably re-
Stricting the space available for
the living and sleeping apartments
of the men. Consequently it became
necessary to crowd officers, employees,
members and patients 10 an extent in
compatible with comfort or heaithful-
ever, been borne most patiently, i'll the
confident expectation OF more adequate
provision i'll the not remote future.
APPROPRIATIONS.
Meantime, f0reSeeng the Inevitable
rapid increase in the necessities of the
institution, this board asked of the leg
islature of 1889, an appropriation OF
S20u.000 for the erection of additional
buildings during the ensuing two years.
lENE .s. rNf
mUnwealth finances, and :. the. de-
mands of other institutions, did
not Justify the authorities i'll granting
this request. Only $4,000 for the two
years was given, and the trustees were
obliged to content themselves with this
quarter allowance, and make the best
possible use Of it. With this money 1T
was determined to build hospital. The
building has BEEN located on the eX-
IRENE southern portion of the home
grounds, and is about ready for occu-
pancy.
OFFICERS.
The officers of the home are:
Capt. Thomas Mcmillan. commandment;
CUpt. Ralph Van BrunL adiutant and quar-
termaSter; Dr. a. A. AmeS. surgeon; DR.. j.
Ii. Murphy consulting surgeon; Rev. Horace
Worden, chaplain; ". \. j. Burns, hospital
steward.
Their salaries are: Commandant,
$1,000 per annum: surgeon, LOCO; adju-
tant and quartermaSter, 5000; chaplain,
$500; hospital steward, $500; consulting
surgeon, fees when called. The men,
bers of the Home detailed with pay are:
SergcantS. ?: corporalS, ,; orderly, |; Sta
bleman. |; gardeners, .; cooks. helpers,
3: tailor, l; shoemaker, l. The custodian
employees are: Cooks, 3; walters, 3;
hospital nurses, 2; laundreSSeS, 2, No
outside help Is employed to DO work
that can he done by members of the
home, and much work is done by mem
berS without pay, working short hours.
EXPENSES.
The current expenses for the year
were:
RECEIPTS.
Balance Aug. l. ISSS..-......... 50 Is
Annual appropriation .... ....... 10000 90
State -. ..,..,.,........ ........ 1901 36
Total e. announcements 5, 900 81
EXPENDITURES.
To warrants drawn by state audi
iOr.... ....,...... ......... ....S21,JS5 10
Balance July 81, lS59............ 4 IS
Total ....... .... ............S 25, geo 81
As the average membership of the
home for the year was l01 men. the cash
expense of maintenance. per capita, is.
shown to be S2414S. But as this covers
not only food and clothing, ibut all
expenses of fuel, lights; medi-
cine, medical attendance, laundry
ing, administration, furniture, fix
lures, plumbing, repairs, beds and
bedding, and extra expenses for fitting
up sleeping rooms in atticS, and dining
rooms and kitchens in Easements, eX-
ppnSes of moving everything that could
not be drawn from an exhausted build
ing fund, it will not, on analysis, be
found excessive. ...... .---...r.
PENSIONERS KICKED g. -,....s 20
The law under which we were acting
expressly stipulated that the benefits of
the Home were TO be limited to such
persons. otherwise eligible, as ''are
unable to earn their living and
have bo adequate means of support"
Some Of these pensiOned inmates
had been admitted because their small
pensions did not, in our opinion, consti-
tute adequate means of support"
Others had been admitted on a sup
posed temporary tenure TO tide over
special illness. Others had concealed
from us the receipt Of Il pension. And
still others had been granted pensions
after their admission to the home.
The time had evidently arrived TO put
this rule in operation, or to modify or
repeal it. The commandment was called
upOl 'uI d X pOlJ III inc ultilluSIS VI Tic
home in receipt of pensions, which re-
port lie submitted as follows:
One pensioner at $50 per month; pen
sioner at S24 per month; L pensioner at SI6
per month; . pensioners at SD per month;
3 pensioners at Sl2 per month; 3 pension
ers at SO per month; Z pensioners at SIS per
month: ) pensioners at SO per month; 10
pensioners at 81 per month; L pensioners at
81 per month.
Here was a total income of s31S per
month received by members of the Min
nesota soldiers home. This income was
paid to them by the United States gov
eanment avOwedly as "means of sup
port" And yet all these men were being
bountitully provided for by the taXpay-
erS of the state of Minnesota. They had
no dependent families to send their
money to. They could Only donate it to
relatives too Indifferent to them to offer
them 4 home, or hoard it, or squander it
to their own injury and that of their
fellow inmates. Neither Justice +
humanity demanded that they
should be twice Supported-once
by the United States, and once
by the state of Minnesota. Both justice
and humanity demanded that such. of
them as received full pensions now
comply with the terms Of their admis-
sion, and vacatc their places for the
benefit of less fortunate comrades now
implOring food, clothing and shelter at
our hands.
This was the cold logic OF the situa-
ton, but the trustees did not wish TO
deal harshly with the old veterans. A
compromise was struck. Pensioners
nnuid vppain in tho homo pr0vidad