The Van Buren press., 1898-05-28
BILL ARP ON PENSIONS
Present War Talk Brings the Sub
feet to Mind.
Gives Some Statistics Showing the
Amount Paid by Georgia to
Her Old Soldiers and
the widows.

Sad memories come over us about
this time. The tocsin of impending war
carries us back 81 years, when Georgia
and the south everywhere was in
state of feverish excitement-when the
roll of drum and the thrilling notes of
the fife were heard in cities aud towns
and recruiting camps and men, women
and children all seemed TO be wild with
patriotic enthusiasm. Only the aged
men and women were serious and sol
cmn and silently smothered their APP
prehensions. After the state had se-
ceded it was hardly safe for man to
talk for the union. Here and there
could be heard bold, defiant voice like
that of Pettigrew, the great lawyer,
who, when asked by countryman the
road that would lead him to the lunatie
asylum, exclaimed: ANY road, sir;
every road, sir; all the roads, sir. The
whole state is one vast lunatic asylum"
The war fever is as contagious as the
smallpox, and is an epidemic for which
tltlt 10 llO Clllt Dul DlOOu.
April is an historic month. In April
the first guns of the war were fired and
Fort Sumter fell and surrendered. In
April President Lincoln called for 49,
600 men to suppress the rebellion. In
April Virginia seceeded from the union,
and Gen. Robert e. Lee seeded from his
allegiance TO the United States army
and rendered his sword to his state and
the confederaey. In April President
Davis telegraphed Gov. Brown for three
companies to march Immediately 10
Norfolk, and in "a hours n battalion
was on the ears and arrived there be-
fore the Virginia troops did. And, last
of ALL in April Lee and Johnston both
surrendered their armies and the war
was over. There is a world of history,
sad, thrilling and glorious history be-
tween the beginning and the end. Who
that wa; in it can forget it? 1t grows
brighter and grander as the years roll
on. No wonder the surviving veterans
wish to meet once more. For 30 years
their glorious deeds have been tossed
about as treason and rebellion and a
crime, but these old soldiers have never
surrendered their convictions nor felt
ashamed of their sacrifice. And so let
them gather in Atlanta in July and have
one more embrace and confederate
again in memories of battles lost and
battles won and hardships innumer-
able, and at the last a sad but sweet re-
turn to home and kindred-a home
desolated and kindred thinned. by
death.
Every train brings news now-news
OF impending war-but we are not eX-
cited like we were then. We remember
when there was no telegraph wire to
Rome and the daily signal came with
the daily train from Kingston. If
Wiley Hardin, the old engineer, gave
three long, loud, cheering whistles on
his approach to town everybody walked
up for good news and exchanged greet
ings. Lee has whipped 'em again"
was the watchword, and the people hur-
ried to the depot to meet the train and
get all the good of it. Two whistles
from the engine was Indifferent news
and one was bad and sad, but did not
come often, for old Bob Lee and Stone
wall whipped them as often as they got
at them and would have been whipping
them yet if our boy children had grown
up little faster. We almost robbed the
cradle and the grave for soldiers, and
even then got only one for three foes.
| shall always think they ought to have
toted fair with us and fought as two to
one instead of three-don't you? |
wouldn't have pension that took three
to one to win-would you? When l
was a schoolboy l had fight with an
other boy and two of my friends
dubbed in and sorter helped me, and |
never felt so ashamed of anything In
my life.
But old Georgia has never discounted
her gratitude to her soldiers or their
widows. She is long ways ahead of
her sister states. Last year she paid
more to them than all the other south
crn states combined paid to theirs. Vir-
ginia paid to hers $4,000, Alabama
$4,000, North Carolina $4,000, South
Carolina 100000, Florida $65,000, Ten
nessee $4,000, Mississippi $4,000, Ar
kansas SAP, 900, Kentucky nothing and
Texas $4,000, while Georgia paid over
100000.
Now, while we can boast of this, yet
| am free to say and dare to say, for
am not limited, that our pension laws
are not Just and need reforming
Georgia has overdone the thing. Pen
sions should be awarded to the needy,
and the needy only. The grand juries
Of the counties should distribute the
pension fund and make selection of the
poor soldiers and the poor widows and
be required TO add 25 per cent. to the
fund apportioned by the state. Consid-
ering the general depression, the state
is paving too much. II should be re-
duced at beast one-half, and let the
counties make up part of the deficiency.
Where is the Justice or the propriety OF
paying a man 500 a year who is worth
$4,000 or $4,000 while many poor in
valid soldiers who fought just as hard
and endured just as much, but did not
lose an arm or leg, get nothing. |
see that both Atkinson and Berner, In
their declarations, speak of the rewards
that we're promised the soldiers. That
is mistake-nothing was promised nor
was anything expected. They fought
for their country and ten dollars a
month and bareback and bacon or beef,
md Tint was all thew expected. The