Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1897-04-27
THE WORKINGS OF A SOLDIERS
HOME.
NATIONAL MILITARY HOME,
GRANT Co., IND,


EDITOR MARIETTA LEADER
As most all the people of the United
States are interested in Soldiers Homes,
and the welfare of the old soldiers the
sayiors of our beautiful and prosperous
Country, l will give few items about
our comforta BILE home and how the old
war worn veterans are cared for.
Congress passed acts from tine TO
time since the war and made the neces-
sary appropriations for the building OF
National Homes as follows: Central
Branch, Dayton, Ohio; Marion Branch,
Marion, Ind; Western Branch, Leav-
enworth, Kan; Pacific Branch, San
Monica, CAL; North Western Branch,
Milwaukee, Wis; Eastern Branch, To-
gus, Maine, and Southern Branch,
Hampton, Va. Our Home here, Marion
Branch, was the last ordered by Con-
gress, and no doubt but what it is the
last Home that will be built, for with
the State Homes in almost every north
ern State and the new Barracks which
are being built here, the Homes will
| be prepared to accommodate all who
apply for admission. The National
Homes are all full at present. and ad-
missions have been temporarily sus-
pended IN all, but as '96 was year of
hard times the Homes have rapidly fill
ed up.
The ground was broken for this home
in 1890. 1t is situated on a beautiful
tract on the banks of the Mississinewa
River. There are nine magnificent
brick barracks, headquarter building,
three large buildings all connected for
hospital, theatre, quarter-master and
commissary building, dining hall and
kitchen, building that is not surpass-
ed by any for this purpose; it seats
about eleven hundred men. The din
ing hall and kitchen are on the first
floor. The second floor contains the
library, billiard hall, society hall for
the different orders, Gold Club and
sleeping apartments for men working
in the kitchen. These buildings are
all of brick with slate roof, and well
provided with hose and fire eXtinguish-
ers. Barracks No. 0, 10 and II have
been finished within the past year
No 0 was finished a year ago and has
every modern improvement for comfort |
and convenience. 1t is the largest and |
finest building for this purpose ever
erected in the United States, if not in
the whole world. Three more just like
it have been erected at a cost of nearly
seventy thousand dollars for the three.
There is good class of men here,
and our good and humane Governor,
Col Justin II. Chapman, formerly |
Quartermaster of the Dayton Home,
sees personally that the members of
this Home are well treated, well fed, |
we'll clothed, have good beds and am.
pie bedding. We have good and eff
ticient corps of physicians and noble,
devoted band of trained nurses, who
will surely receive their reward in
Heaven, if they do not here on Earth,
for their un ntiring labors of mercy in
caring for and alleviating the suffer
ings of these old heroes in their declin-
ing years. With the care and atten-
ton we get in all departments our
death rate is small for men of our ages
and disabilities. Everything is regular
and systematic.
We have two very f1ne bath rooms to
each barrack, and every member is re-
quired to bathe once week and as
much oftener as he wishes. We have
breakfast promptly at six o'clock a. M,
dinner at II and supper at $50 p. m,
roll call at $50 p. M, tattoo at p. m.
and lights are ont and quiet prevails
until reiveille at o'clock next morn
ing, when all is life and hustle for an
other day. Our meals vary each day
in the week, and do not believe there
is very large percentage of the peo-
pie of the country who live better than
we do here. If a member obeys the
rules of the Home he has all the free
dom he wants or needs. Any day after
admission he can get a pass from his
captain, until so days are up then he
gets from the Governor a card pass,
good week days from a. m until $50
p. m, but he must get pass from his
captain to stay out all night and Sun
days, If he does not violate the rules
at the end OF six months he gets an en-
dorsement on his card pass from the
Governor good for nights and Sun
days, but has to report once in "a
hours. Anytime after admitted to the
Home he can get a pass for days or
less, in which he holds his bed, and can
get furlough for 10, 80, 60 or 30 days.
and can stay out as many years as they
choose by haying their furloughs re-
newed every three months, but he
gives up his bed when he takes a fur
Tough. Some think the rules severe,
but it is his own fault if they are Sc
we're, All public institutions have to
have some dicipline. The members
get all these benefits and luxuries free,
and can get discharge from the Home