The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-02-12

reunions with empty sleeves and empt
pant legs and empty pocketbooks TO r
turn to their homes to find empty Grill
and empty wheat bins, and children wit
empty stomachs and empty brains f.
the want of means to fill their empt
stomachs and develop their empty brains
Then tell me not that these grand OF
veterans are forgotten and are 'baC
numbers" They are never forgotte
by their t0iling, self-dcnying and suffe
ing wives and children, who are as deg
to these veterans as the cause for whic
they fought and the honor Of the Stat
for which they suffer-these never 70
get.
Now what / want TO say, and wins
has been in the hearts and minds Of q
disabled and suffering veterans is tn
] am tired of such speeches and 50 littl
deeds. | never want TO hear Col. Ca
or any other man from North CarOlin
make any more such patriotic and syT
pathetic speeches until the wants ar
necessities of these grand old snfferin
veterans" are provided for by the gran
old State of North Carolina. Show m
your faith or sincerity by your work
We have had the shadow for thir'
years and more; now let us have t
substance. Monuments to the dead A.
very becoming. but help for the info
tunate living is more patriotic. In
few more years and the last sufferir
veteran will have passed away, and Il
opportunity Of doing him any good W
be az IN md. / am among the yOun"
est of them, and have been q One-leGge
man for nearly thirty-five years. On
ing this time the proud old State (
North Carolina has given me one art
fetal leg, which cost the State about or
hundred dollars. Then tell me not tn,
North Carolina is not patriotic! Sine
that time / have had to pay out Of n
scaht and hard earnings S1J to ST.
every two or three years for legs. Ofte
/ have been obliged to borrow money
pay for them Mt the time, for L
manufacturers DO not do time business
During this time Of 80 years and mo
i have PAID my taxes to help supper
the State and the Government, and he
educate negroes, and as stood on Il
streets of --aleigh last week | hear
negroes jesting and laughing at these 81
veterans and the badges they wore. Th
Democratic party has been very jea
ous for the education of the negro. an
has made her annual appropriation
when in power in the State, of which
have no special complaint to make
but | do lay in my complaint for Il
parties slight and want of patriotism
for her unfortunate soldiers.
But some one says, Does the Sta,
not pension her crippled soldiers? Ye
and no. Some of them get SO or 81
a year. A few one-legged men get s.
a year. Many OF the balance of us on
legged men get nothing. What right h;
the State to discriminate between
cripple soldiers? We all started on a
equality at the close of the war witt
nothing. If some of us. though few
number, have by hard work and strit
economy tfor this is what we all hav
to praetice) provided homes for our fam
lies, and property that claims to b,
worth $500 or 1000, do we not have
work and economist just the same a
we did when we had nothing? Does
not look like the State and Democrat
party is putting a premium upon 70
erty: When | say Democratic party
speak adyisedly, for the party is II
sponsible for this legislation, and clail
from the State and at the hands of til
Democratic party, for myself and a
One-legged and one-armed soldiers
least reasonable compensation for Oh
loss in the service of the State. An
when | say reasonable compensation,
| mean it. Now let the members of th
General Assembly of North Carolin
say what that is. However, no ma
can properly estimate the worth of
leg or arm who has never lost eitheI
but it can be Appropriated. Pay ever.
one of them this reasonable compensa
ton the State owes them for their los
and sufferings, sustained while in he
service, and then we will never agan
witness the humiliating sight of score
of tn. Sc unfortunate cr4pples at Raleigh
on the converting of the General Assem-
bly, pleading recognition at the hands o
the Democratic party in the way o
offices and many of them have to b.
denied the places and turned away from
it, being disqualified to fill the place,
they ask for, by the heavy loss they sus-
tanned in their bodies, while IN the ser
vice of the State. Now as to the rea
sonable compensation for the loss of a
leg or arm, who would say a hundred
dollars a year was unreasonable! VINE
would part with one for that, many
times over? BY what | say | am no,
setting price upon my loss, or any otneI
one-legged or 0ne-armed man, the price
or cost of the loss cannot be estimated,
but what mean to say is this: a
reasonable compensation is due every
such man in the State. and | want to
correct the false impression that goes
out to the world that North Carolina is
pensioning her crippled soldiers when
many of us get nothing and few of the
rest but little. Pay every man the rea-
scaable compensation the State is due
them, or pay nothing, and thus correct
the false impression that obtains among
the people that North Carolina is pen
soning her crippled soldiers.
ID. z. GOODE.
Connolly Springs, n. c., Feb. s, 90