Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1890-03-19

Letter from = Delaware Veteran In tho
Southern Branch.
II may BE- Of interest to the thousands
d readeru OF the REPUBLICAN to hear .
lew items OF eswe from one OF the sig
OF the National Soldiera' Homo
lystem, the remaining five being located
10 the Vicinity Of Augusta, Maine; Mill
waukee, Wisconsin; Leavenworth, Kan
pas; santa Monica, California, and Day
ton. Ohio, which latter ia the parent or
central branch, and contains over 6,OOO
A seventh home is now in
course Of construction at Marion, Ora &
County. Indiana, and an invalid home Il
in c0urss Of incubation by Congress, to
be located ON the (Gov't.) reservation It
Hot Springs, Arkansas. BY official
reports the total number Of residents
10 these homes d IN the neighborLood
Of 20, 600, about one halt Of whom are
pensioners.
Tho laws of Congress and tho rules OF
the Board Of Managers, consisting of
nine members, are extrsmely liberal In
regard to the admission Of member, the
qualifications beiDg an honorable dis
CHARGE from the service and q disability
precludins the applicant from earning .
living.
Formerly ones disability had to have
been incurred In the service In line OF
duty. When the homes wcro established
In 1880 the highest psnsion was % per
month. not sufficient to keep mosQ quito
through the winter months; but now
pensions range ~ high a. S72 per month,
and the rolls Of these homes reveal the
names of hundreds Who receive from $24
TO wa per month, with board, clothing
and medical attsndance thrown In. The
justice Of permitting these veterans 70
occupy these homes has often been ques.
toned. and 10 the constant source OF
trouble and annoyance. Their presence
creates an arIstooracy which 10 not con-
genial to tho tastes Of the less fortunate
but quite - worthy comrades. Congress
never intended, when these homes were
built, that men drawing already more
money than the average laborinR man
supports family on should In addition
be allowed to lord It over the soldier
homes.
But sad - II y, suoh . condition pre-
walls, and these large pensioners are the
hampered ones ~ headquarters ~ else
where. Many, very many, Of them In
addition to their large pensions have
soft positions In the different depart
mtnts At almost an equal salary; and
two or three particular pets Of Gov.
Woodnn have two paying Jobs with the
chance To earn an extra dollar on nights
whom We have smussmen.s by acting rs
d00rkeepers and ushers. 1t appears that
out OF 5000 inmates the governor
can't nnd good men enough TO fll the
offices, but has 10 con olidate on his pets.
On the whole the food, comfort aud gen.
eral welfare OF the men 10 pretty ac-
ceptably looked after and the discipline
Ia a. light a. ono could expect, although
the pass system Il much invei he'd
against aud Ia the source Of constant
complaint.
The beer saloon. (ths only place on
the Peninsula where liquor ia sold
openly on Sunday,) although its reve-
nues furnish Us with amusemeuts and
other people with opportunities. 10 =
curse and should be abolished.
1t gives tipplers starter before break.
fast and BY nigbt-call many OF them flnt
their way to the guard house, from eithel
over-indulgence there or by "jum pina
the fence" TO seek the more ardent stut
from one or more Of the 100 saloons on
the outside Senators Higgins and
Gray might read this letter to come ad
vantage In visw Of the proposed investi
Ratien hy Congress.
The homo grohnds are situated on 81
historic spot, the main building befor,
the war being the site of one Of the mos
aristocratic young ladies' ssminariss II
the South, two miles from Fortress Mon
roe, and one from Hampton. made his
toric BY the burning OF the rebel Ma.
gruder o. the approach Of Mcclellan
army 10 1869.
Opposite 10 . broad sheet OF water,
many miles wide, known Is Hampton
RoAda, whore several important rivers
empty, aud from whore Chesapeake bay
bsgins and follows its way northward ia
the mouth Of the eusquehanna river.
Right In front Of US Is where the csle
brstsd Eight between the Monitor and the
Merrimac took place; the sinking OF the
Cumberland and the disabling OF tho
rebel Merrlmsc. Norfolk lies IS miles
10 our front, with Portsmouth and It's
navy yard, only separated from 1t by .
river. Yorktown, Williamsburg and
the well-remembered bsttlenelds of the
earlier campaigns Of the Union army lie
further ON down the peninsula toward
Richmond. which Is about 90 miles from
here.
The Chesapeake and Ohio railroad has
just completed its line to Old Point Gov
eminent dock and passengers and freight
are now landed direct to and from ocean
steamers. In addition to the magnia-
cent Hygela Hotel at Old Point Com.
fort, designs are drawn and preparations
being made for the erection Of CON-
panion mammoth kostslry by the we'll
known Boniface Chamberlain.
Tie Normal School, whore Indians
aud negroes are educated, 10 situated i'm
mediately to the west OF US and has over
thirty teachers and 200 students on It's
catalogue for 1890. General Armstrong,
I . originator and superintendent, Is q
better hustler than Shsrman's notorious
South Carolina bummsrs ever boosted
of, and II Is . dark commencement sea-
son when he don't bum = gilt Of . new
building from the SIN pathizlug yankees
whom he invites down here to witness
the progress be IL making with the race
educational problem. But he has douo,
and will In future do, great good.
The old men here smuse themselves In
various ways, BY billiards, games with
cards, the use OF an ample library. where
all Of the prominent papers Of the ooun-
try are kept, with thousands Of volumes
Of books ON every subj,ct aud In s'veral
languages. Some OF those amphibiously
inclined have their boas aud fishing
tackle, and while enjoying themselves
make pretty penny besides. By re-
cent order ali Of the lunch shanties and
boat houses on the banks of the creek
which separates the hons from the
Naval School aud National Cemetery are
to BE- torn down to make way for the I'm
provemsnt OF tho breakwater from the
dock to Hampton bridge. Delaware con-
tributes IS members to the grand total of