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 Inadequacy
Of Its Pensions.

The second annual report of the board
of trustees of the Minnesota Soldiers
Home, including the disbursements of
the soldiers relief 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; T. IL. Pressnen. Duluth; j. X. Par
SHALL Fari5ault; o. NJ. Sawyer, secretary,
Minneapolis.
At the beginning of the fiscal year
the home was occupying temporary
quarters at Minnehaha falls, within the
city limits of Minneapolis, while the
new buildings, provided Tor bv an ap-
preparation OF $4,000 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" We're C jmpleted and occupied in
January. 1889. AS they were our only
quarters, it became necessary to eStab-
llSh the headquarters in 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 1t became
necessary to crowd officers, employees,
members and patients 10 an extent in
compatible with comfort or healthfuI-
ness. All Inconvenience have, how
ever, been borne most patiently, i'll the
confident expectation of more adequate
provision i'll the not remote future.
AUTHORIZATIONS.
Meantime har 20 NJ.
rapid increase i'll 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.
But the eXigencies of the CON-
mDnwealth finances, aud the de
mands of other institutions, did
not Justify the authorities in 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 adjutant and quar-
termasler; DR.. A. A. Ames. surgeon; DR.. j.
II. Murphy. consulting surgeon; Rev. Horace
Worden, chaplain; ". y. j. Burns, hospital
steward.
Their salaries are: Commandment,
81 ,200 per annum: surgeon, 81, 600; adju-
tant and QuartermaSter, 5000; chaplain,
$500; hospital steward, $500; consulting
SurgeOu, fees when called. The men,
4
Sergeants, 2: corporalS, 3; orderly, L STA
bleman, |; gardeners, .; cooks. helpers,
2: tailor, l; shoemaker, l. The custodian
employees are: Cooks, 3; walters, 2;
hospital nurses, 2; laundresses, 2. No
outside help Is employed to DO work
that can be 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, 1898. -....... 50 Is
Annual appropriation 80. ....... 10000 %
Per capita allowance from United
state .-,..,.,,....... ........ 1891 80
Total e. .................S2 5, 900 81
EXPENDITURES.
To warrants drawn by state audi
tor. ........... ,........ ....S21,9 1896 13
Balance July 81, lSS9.........,.. IS
Total ....... go. ............S 25, OO0 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 S247.4S. But as this covers
not only food and clothing, 7but 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-
penSes of moving everything that could
not be drawn from an exhausted build
ing fund, it will not, on analysis, be
found excessive. ........ ..--.,.-.
PENSIONERS KICKED = -,....5---
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 aud
have DO adequate means of support,
Some of these pensioned inmates
had been admitted because their small
pensions did not, in orr opinion, consti-
tute adequate means of support"
Others had been admitted on sup
posed temporary tenure to tide over a
special illness. Others had concealed
from us the receipt Of 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
upon for report of the members of the
home in receipt of pensions, which re-
port lie submitted as follows:
One pensioner at $50 per month; l pen
soner at S24 per month; l penSioner at SI6
per month; . pensioners at Sl4 per month;
3 pensioners at Sl2 per month; pension
ers at SO per month; Z pensioners at IS per
month; 5 pensioners at SO per month; 10
pensioners at 81 per month; pensioners at
81 per month.
Here was 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 ayowedly as 'smeans 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 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 vacate 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 sitna-
ton, but the trustees did not wish to
deal harshly with the old veterans. A
compromise was struck. Pensioners