The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-04-29
RURAL POSTMASTERS.
Useful Citizens In More Ways
Than One.
MR.. HAwLEY's PLEA FOR THEN.
Odd Things MIR. weiIman Unearths at the
National Cspitai-surviving Veterans of
the war-where They Are Largely Lo-
cated-Pension Facts.

/ INC w w Antt f&Ee LaIktiy Ao
cated-Pen.ion Facts.
WASHINGTON. April ss.- Especial. =
Not in a long time has there been heard II
The senate chamber a more interestin,
speech than that which MIR. Hawley o
Connecticut made short time ago IN de
Tense Of the country postmaster. The sen
ate had under consideration a proposition
to extend the civil service rules in a limit
I'd sort OF way To country postoflices, anc
MIR. Hawley, whose remarks often hav,
the genuine New England flavor to them
greatly to the delight Of his fellow sen
ators, came to the front with an argument
| against the plan which was almost class
ical. The senator said he did not like the
idea Of making mere substations OF coun.
| try postoffices. lie 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
,ities, perhaps. where there arc half
dozen municipalities practically one, with
easy methods OF communication between
them by electric and steam cars, il may be
well enough TO establish branch postofiices
responsible To the central or metropolitan
office
Fountains of News.
"But that is n different thing" said
senator Hawley, from reaching out 8, 10
or Il miles into the country and taking
the old fashioned, rural postoffice, which is
an institution in tho affections and tradi-
tions and feelings of the people. Going out
Of my own town in New England or any
other town you care to name, we come
s1phnrhan vi ,t,-x
settlement where one country store by
general consent has contained the post
office for a generation or several genera.
tions in the past. Very likely IL is a place
OF resort. IL is fountain of news. 1t
answers the purpose of clubhouse, in
certain way, for the people Of the neigh.
borhood
The postmaster and his father before
him knew everybody in the town. II he
saw country wagon moving along, he
would go TO the door and hail the man 10
know II he was going by Oak Lane. On
receiving an affirmative reply he would
say Well, take along this letter and this
copy OF n religious paper to the Widow
Jones, who lives out there. She hasn't
been in town this week, and perhaps she
is III. or course the mail is taken out
This sort Of thing Is going on all the time
IL Is one OF the regular incidents of the
country postoffice. Now, under the pro-
posed new scheme, there would go to that
postofiice your young man who has been
lucky enough to pass civil service exam
ination in the city, 20 miles away. He
does not know anybody out there, does not
understand tho people, he has no house. he
has no wife, he has no shop he has no
place TO put his postoffice, and the old
postmaster does not look upon him with
friendship and does not intend to let him
have corner of his store. What is he 90.
ing to dor Who wants him, anyway"
Veterans on Both Sides.
Odd things are coming TO light every
day TO show us what great and magnifi.
cent country we have. Just to think, 1t
Is 30 years since the great war of the re-
bellion closed, and according to the census
figures of 1890, now first published, Il
would take seven enormous books, each SO
big that small boy could not lift IL, to
contain the names of all the veterans OF |
that war still living. The official figures
show that nearly 800, 0O0 men who took |
part in the rebellion were alive when the |
census was taken, about six years ago |
The exact figures are as follows:
Union soldiers, sailors and marines. l,O34, O73
Confederate veterans, .................. 4J2,O2O
Total ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. l. Acc, Oes
All but per cent Of the men who took /
part In the war on the Union side were
white, and the remainder were colored or
civilized Indians. OF the white soldiers
~, 900 were born of foreign parents and
1900 were born in foreign countries
In other words, considerably more than
OF the Union soldiers were for.
'igners either by birth or parentage |
Quite different are the facts as to the Con.
federate soldiers. In the armies on that |
'ide OF the line the colored troops numbered !
ess than per cent of the whole, and the |
soldiers who were foreign born or born of |
oreign parents numbered only 20, 900 out
If "a total Of I32 coo.
Distribution Of Old Soldiers
Some Interesting facts concerning the |
geographical distribution OF the surviving |
veterans have been CLEANED from the Off
lal reports. A surprising number of
lorthern soldiers have settled in Dixie |
ince the war. Union veterans are sprinkled |
III over the south, from 30, $50 in Kentucky |
Town To 1908 in Georgia, but the number |
II Confederate veterans In the north Is |
much smaller The entire northeast, in.
luding New Jersey and Pennsylvania,
ontained In 1890 only 2, 438, of whom |
,074 were in Pennsylvania and 7s7 in
Jew York. There were only / / lonely up
Ulders Of the lost cause in Vermont. |
mt they had the sympathy of IA Confeder.
to widows The western states along the
)hio river make "a little better showing .
Or the southern veterans, Ohio containing
,277, Indiana /, 1853 and Illinois /, 700, and
KANSAS has ,gl6, but the number dwindled
D 10 in Wisconsin and AS In North Da.
ota. Southern widows were much fewer
. these western states outside Of Missouri.
here they numbered $40 against IL, 55s |
Duthcrn Vet rams.
Texas contains a larger number of |
onfedci. oterans than any other state,
r 81, 600, against 40, 600 In Virginia AZ.
Do in Georgia and "A, 600 in North Caro- {
ma
Pennsylvania contains the largest num-
or OF surviving veterans from the Union ,
de, or 40, $780, Ohio is second with lOI,
%, New York third with SO, 900, Illinois
,urth with 1900 and Missouri fifth T
greatly to the surprise Of many people, q
it'll "a 900.
A comparison of these figures of the sur
wing veterans Of the Union with the
lumber borne on the pension rolls indi.
ties that more than two-thirds Of the vet. G
ans are already drawing pensions. The
lumber OF veterans pensioncd under the
,neral law In 1895 was Boz, 453 and un.
n the act Of 1890 365, llS, exclusive Of H.
"a navy pensions This made a total of
70, 1893 invalid pensions growing out of =
70 civil war, or considerably more than /
20 thirds Of the l,034,073 veterans living O
1890 WALTER WELLMAN.
/
Michigan Dye Works .
q. Greek, proprietor OF the Michigan
% works, wishes to thank the public of