Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1896-04-28
OUR POSTMASTERS.
They Are Useful Citizens in
More Ways Than One.
Mr.. Hawley's Plea For Them--Sur-
wing Veterans Of the War;
Where Tncy Are At Present Locatcd--Pcnsion
Facts Other Facts.

Not in a long time has there been heard in
the senate chamber moro interesting
speech than that which Mr.. Hawley of
Connecticut made short time ago in de-
Tense of the country postmaster. The SEN
nte had under consideration u proposition
tn extend tho civil service rules in limited
sort Of way to country postoflices, and Mr..
! Hawley, whose remarks often have tho
genuine New England flavor to them,
greatly to tho delight of his fellow sena-
tors, came to the front with an argument
against tho plan which was almost elias
steal. The senator said he did not like the
idea of making mere substations of coun-
try postofficcs. He preferred the old fash
Toned postoffice In the suburban villages
and country districts. He was fair enough
to admit that in Boston and other large
cities, perhaps, where there are a half dozen
municipalities practically one. with easy
methods of communication between them
by electric and steam cars, it may be well
enough to establish branch postofficos re-
sponsiblo to the central, or metropolitan,
Office.
Fountains of News.
'sBut that 10 different thing said
Senator Hawley, ssfrom reaching out 5, 10
or Is miles into the country and taking
the old fashioned, rural postoffice, which
is an institution in the affections and ira
ditions and feelings Of the people. Going
out of my own town in Now England, or
any other town you care to name, VIC come
upon some suburban village or country
settlement where one country store, by
general consent, has contained the postof-
flee for generation or several generations
in the past. Very likely it is place of
resort. 1t is fountain Of news. 1t an
swers tho purpose of a clubhouse, in GER
tain way, for the people of the neighbor-
hood.
"The postmaster and his father before
him knew everybody in the town. If he saw
a country wagon moving along he would go
to the door and hail the man to know if
no was going by Oak lane. On receiving
an affirmative reply he would say; Well
take along this letter and this copy Of a
religious paper to the Widow Jones, who
lives out there. She hasn't been in town
this week and perhaps she is ILL., OF
course tho mail is taken out. This sort of
thing is going on all the time 1t is one Of
the regular incidents OF the country post
office. Now under the proposed new
scheme there would go to that postoffice
your young man who has been lucky
enough to pass civil service examination
in tho city, 20 miles away. He does not
know anybody out there, he does not I'M
dcrstand tho people, he has no house, he
has no wife, he has no shop, he has 10
place toput his postoffice, and the old post
master does not look upon him with friend
ship and does not intend to let him have a
corner of his store. What is he going tc
dos Who wants him anyway"
Veterans Both Sides.
Odd things are coming to light every
day to show us what great and magnii-
cent country we have. just to thing it is
30 years since the great war of the rebel
lion closed, and according to the census
figures of 1890, now first published, it
would take seven enormous books, each So
big that small boy could not lift it, to
contain tho names Of all tho veterans of
that war still living. The official figures
show that nearly / 800, 600 men who took
part in tho rebellion were alive when the
census was taken about six years ago.
The exact figures arc rs follows:
Union soldiers sailors and marines. 1,034 G13
Confederate veterans. $1,000
A'toi
III but 5 per cent Of tho mon who took
part in tho war on the Union side We're
white and tho remainder were colorcd or
civilized Indians. OF the white soldiers
10000 woro born of foreign parents and
10000 were born in foreign countries. In
other words, considerably moro than one
fourth OF the Union soldiers were foreign
ers either by birth or parentage. Quito
different arc the facts as to the Confeder-
alto soldiers. In tho armies on that side OF
the limo tho colored troops numbered less
than | per cent of tho whole, and tho sol
diers who were foreign born or born of
foreign parents numbered only $4,000 out
of a total of 1872, 900.
Distribution of Old Soldiers.
Some interesting facts concerning tho
geographical distribution of the surviving
veterans have been CLEANED from tho Off
cial reports. A surprising number Of
northern soldiers have settled in Dixie
since the war Union veterans arc
sprink1ed all over the south, from 30, / 80
in kentucky down to 2,063 in Georgia,
but tho number of Confederate veterans
in the north is much smaller. The entire
northeast, including New Jersey and
Pennsylvania, contained in 1890 only
100, VI Nllo1u IA WcTG III IcUiSylNuIlId
and 1877 in New York. There were only l /
lonely upholders Of "the lost cause in
Vermont, but they had the sympathy of
II Confederate widows. The western states
along the Ohio river make a little better
showing for the southern veterans, Ohio
containing 1,277 Indiana 1858 and ILL
nois 1859 and Kansas has 1,9lG, but the
number dwindled to lis in Wisconsin and
4Sin North Dakota Southern widows were
much fewer in these western states outside
OF Missouri, where they numbered l $40,
against II, 55S southern veterans.
Texas now contains larger number of
" Confederate veterans than any other state,
or u, 900, against 40, 900 in Virginia, AZ,
600 in Georgia and "A 600 in North Caro-
+ lima.
PENNSYLVANIA contains the largest num-
Der OF surviving veterans from the Union
SIDE, or 110,7S0 Ohio is second with 1O1,-
oo2, New York third with $4,000, Illinois
fourth with II 900 and Missouri fifth
(greatly to the surprise of many people)
(. with $4,000.
A comparison of these figures of the sur
wing veterans Of the Union with the num-
Der borne on the pension rolls indicates
Jhat more than two-thirtis Of the veterans
are already drawing pensions. The num.
Der OF veterans pensioned under the gen.
erai'iaw i'll 1895 was 1852, 453 and under
the act of 1901 oes