The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-23
PATRIOTISM AND PENSIONS.
,,-not A Grand Army Man Has to Say
about the G. 4. r.

Ito, of the soldiers of the civil war held
,si- year have, in the changed conditions
- which they were held, many les
~ We have become so accustomed 20
,.,l;ns 60 these gatherings as centers of
rp',triotic teaching that any questioning on
r. line will be regarded as heresy. l am
,.,ra Of the fact that he who questions
a. D9trio,sm of the Grand Army of the
Dl,nblic may feel the power of a strong
,-i-iea1 organization. Patriotism may be
r ,nother name for selishness, and any
imitation that sets up superior claims
- expect to have those claims ques-
4 Toned.
,rba civil war closed so many years ago
.tat those of us who were boys at that
- now find our locks frosted with the
uir,er of age. In that struggle the North
rs right. but on the questions that di-
,i1ad the two sections men might hon
sly differ. The right of a state to secede
,,s eortended for by the South and OPP
.ssd bv the North The right to take
,nertv into any territory was claimed by
Il ~ south and denied by the North when
No. uroperty was a slave. On these two
n i.sues ire South invited war and was de-
f,sted giving up not only the right of
secession. but the right to hold slaves.
-7h. war was terrible punishment to
South. l. OF lOuI yNdiS they Nlldliildlll-
n tbe struggle against great odds. At its
Io.s the gallant men who believed they
rs-a 6ghtng for their rights returned in
ta humiliation of defeat to ruined
homes. Returned penniless and in rags
=, find their beautiful Southland ruined
nv tbe raVages of war. They built up their
bones They accepted the issues of the
wan and asked to be restored to citizenship
again. they buried their dead and
cared for as best they could those
Who had suffered by the war. Without
anv help from the general government
thev built UP their country and cheerfully
p3id the taxes that gave pensions to the
men who had defeated them in battle.
They patiently bore the wrongs heaped
mon them by the political demagogues Of
The North who for selfish reasons kept
alive the animosities of the war.
The soldiers of the North returned
though triumphal reviews to land that
had prospered by the war. He was well
clothed. and brought home more money
tban he had when he left. The best of
everything was his. A grateful nation
made him the object of it's special care.
4 pension is his for the asking. If he
wishes TO secure a free farm, the time he
snent IN the service will be counted on his
homestead If he wishes to enter the pub
lie service he is not debarred by an age
limit. If he takes the civil service exam
nation he may pass at a lower average
than one who is not a soldier, and his
II name Is placed at the head of the list, thus
giving him the first chance for appoint
ment to office And, If the appointment
is not given 10 him, he may demand it, and
the rules will be set aside and room made
for him by arbitrarily removing a man
who was unfortunate enough to be born
since the war
By a secret organization, the soldiers Of
the North have become a powerful polid-
cal factor. 1t is the part of political sa-
gacity to consult them in making up
ticket They cheerfully demand the best
as theirs by right of conquest.
The last report Of the commissioner of
pensions shows that the pension roll has
passed the million mark, and the amount
expended for pensions each year Is more
than 100000, or an average of $l2 per
month for each pensioner. Thousands are
drawing pensions or1aIIeged physical dis
ability while earning and receiving the
wages of able-bodied men.
In view of all these facts the most I'M
patriotic utterances of all the year came
from the national encampment of the G.
A. R. held in Cincinnati. They arraign-
ed the administration and demanded more
liberal construction of the very liberal pen
zion laws that their pensions might be in
creased. Has it come to pass that the pa
trotism of the heroes of the civil war is
measured by their pension? They further
showed their want of patriotism by re-
fusng TO recognize as soldiers of the re-
public the men engaged in the war for
Cuban Independence.
What is patriotism? When the civil
war broke out my mother, a widow, at
Lincoll's first call for volunteers gave her
eldest boxr 10 y fry and nv
es they became old enough she gave two
more On me fell the burden of maintain
ing the home. One of my brothers sleeps
in a national cemetery. Both of the others
served to the close of the war and accord
10 NE the credit of having done my duty
as faithfully as they. When the war
closed my mother died, just as surely kill
ed by the war as though stricken by
bullet from the battlefield. Sine gave her
boys to her country, she gave her life
for her boys. 1 did no more than thous-
ands of others. I did the duty nearest to
me. If l could have enlisted even for
short time | would have received a large
bounty and would now be drawing pen
sion for the nffrmities that have come on
me with advancing years Then l would
be patriot.
Is it not about time for us to revise our
notions of patriotism? The civil war is
% f'it vi puI lilStOiy, anu inc aOilSo 'AieAN
were 50 full of meaning sound strangely
ouI of place in the changed condition that
has come with the lapse or years. Is
Marching Through Georgia" patriotic
song? Should the sentiments in that soma
he taught to the children in our public
schools? Is ii patriotic song in Georgia?
III not it is not in Nebraska. l attended
lne last reunion held in our state and heard
'ne Old boys sing, and ask children to
hns. Down With the Traitor, Up With
the Stars? What traitor? Fitzhugh Lee?
Joe Wheeler? or Hobson? Such a song
might have had a meaning once, but it
Is Hiotc now. Many of the so-called pa
ulouc songs are sectional in their teach
ing and very unpatriotic in their senti-
meut
,Spcaking through the prejudice of
-,oflhern man l am compelled to admit
mat the unselfish loyalty of the South as
SHOWN since the close of the civil war
PRESENTS a higher type of PATRIOTISM than
mat of the North.
N'eping alive the memories of war
WITH your fellow counrymen by wearing