Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1898-09-22
THE WAUPACA HOME.
Where Soldiers, Their Wives and
Widows Are Cared For.
THE COTTAGES BUILT FOR TWO.

Members Eat Together-By 1o45 the Sol
diers Of the Civil War Will All BE Dead
The Cost of the Institution and the
Allowance Given by the Federal Gov
ernment -Contentment and Peace Marks
the Beautiful Spot on the Lake.
Madison, Sept 20.-If there be any
more peaceful spot than the Soldiers
Home, three miles from Waupaca, l
know not where to find it. 1t is lit
tie village in itself-over fifty buildings,
and forty-eight of them cottages for
cid married couples-old soldiers and
their wives, whose working days are
over, in the sunset of life, watching the
fiery globe go down over Hicks lake
from the Yeranda of their homes, or
sitting about the CHEEKY evening lamp
as from a distance they read of wars
and rumors of wars and events in the
great world, part Of which they once
were and all of which they saw, 20
quote a college classic.
Without this retreat they would be
in the poor house; or, at least, the man
would be in soldiers home Gas the
one at Milwaukee,, separated from his
life partner Here they may be to-
gether and as one strolls about the for
est retreat, he sees many pretty pct
ures of affection not dimmed by the
flight of years, of married life enriched
and sweetened by adversely, poverty
and sorrow.
Every day report is sent down to
the G.. A. r. headquarters in the Capl-
tai at MadisOn--for that organlZa-
ton has the naming of the executive
board that conducts the affairs OF the
institution. A recent report showed 44O
men and women on the grounds-2fS
men and 162 women. They are divided
into companies A, b, C, d, e, with six
ty-eight in the hospital. There were in
addition seventy men and twenty
five women, nearly all with leave.
The women have a company of their
own, under q matron. The government
is military, with commandment, adjutant,
quartermaster, acquisitions, etc. Ihe
veterans wear an undress uniform, ana
no one is in doubt as to the nature OF
the institution.
Saves Them from Poor House.
The aging soldier has his cares but
the fear of a homeless old age need
not be added to it if he has an honora-
BILE discharge, dated now nearly thirty
five years ago. Most of them can earn
their living in the years that remain
to them, or they have a nestegg to
draw upon. Byron tells us that avar-
ice is the vice of old age; and as the
years fit by there is tendency on the
part of all of us to save against that
day when age incapacitates us for Ia
Dor.
But for ex- soldiers whom poverty or
ill-luck have shut out from food and
lodgings, the doors of many a home
swings on easy hinges AS one visits
the Milwaukee home, with its 1000 men,
he wonders where are the women-the
wives of these men-and lamentS the
absence of the refining influence of
woman. Soldiers at Waupaca Will
"blow in" their pension on riotous liv-
ing, and there is a guardhouse as dis
cipline for folly; but the moral tone is
markedly better at Waupaca than in
the federal soldiers homes.
Pride of the q. A. X.
The Waupaca institution was founded
in 1887. The state owns the plant
which is valued at $150000 and appro-
PIRATES $500 a week for maintenance.
To this the United States government
adds 500 year for each male inmate.
In 1891 the state gave a lump sum of
$4,000. The G. A. r. of the state and
the Woman's Relief corps have given
$50, 900, and many individual posts, cit
les. and individuals, among them
brewer barons'' of Milwaukee, have
given and furnished cottages which
bear their names. Since establishment
in 1887 some forty of the inmates have
passed away, leaving places for others
to fill. Twelve men and two women
died last year. Nearly all are in the
enjoyment of pensions; and while some
part of it goes to support, the federal
congress has put such safeguards
around that precious document that its
free enjoyment by the beneficiary is
difficult to encroach upon, as any one
may see by reading the conditions on
the back. The picture on the front
page of the annual report is significant.
1t represents a soldier in the strength
of his manhood, standing, mustket In
hand, amid the smoke of battle, with
shells bursting about him. There Is a
dauntless look upon his face. In the
This inscription appears:
For what he was and what he dared,
Remember him today"
1t costs about $4,000 a year to oper-
ate the Waupaea institution-an aver
age of $127,32 per member. and with this
the lives of 400 or 500 people are glad
dened, who have a righteous claim upon
the republic and their fellow-country-
men. The federal governments annual
contribution is about $4,000 year.
Pensions of from SO to III.
OF the men. according to the report
dated Dec. 81. 1897, forty-three received
no pensions. The monthly pensions
range from Sc to $l7 a month, seventy
seven receiving the former amount and
eight the latter. or the seventy who re-
ceive IS a month, eight are widows and
five of the ninety-three who receive 81
are widows.
1t is significant that the average age
at death is just n trine below 70-the
palmist's three score years and ten. OF
the ACC members on the day OF the re-
port 500 We're men and 151 wom-
en-, of whom thirty-six We're wild
ows. The average, age Of the men Is
6o.5, and 81 per cert. are foreign born.