The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1900-06-27
81 A YEAR,
THE OLD CONFEDERATES.


and either its sacred or its mater
ial concerns are to be sacrificed,
we are quite well aware that all
practical men will hold that the
material duties of government
must be preferred. But in such a
case Of necessity, it is a solemn
obligation on the Legislature or
Council to curtail, even down to
the last cent? cost of the mater
ial demands. Hence the govern
ment should be niggardIy, even
parsimonious, in dealing with
every appropriation, so that the
revenues of the government may
be sufficient to literally meet its
sacred obligations.
Louisiana appears to be i'll this
condition. The revenues of the
State have, we learn, already been
exceeded by the appropriations so
far made by the present Lsgisla
ture, and that any increase Of the
pension fund for the veterans of
the Confederacy is out of the ques-
ton.
The gray, grizzled, crippled and
almost helpless old soldiers are in
sore need; hundreds of them are
utterly helpless. In the name of
Gcd! are these heroes of our war
the war made by us-the people
and fought out by them, the vete-
rans-to go down to their graves
IN wretched poverty, in misery
and want? Would the cause of
liberty in any land or in any age
have ever had a battle fought for
it If it were the custom of the old
soldiers to be abandoned to misery
and want when the "sun went
down?n
Then, before this Legislature adj
journs with the reply to the re-
quest for an increase of the Con
federate pension fund. eve have
no funds for them,n let it revise
the appropriation bill, note each
increase of salary;every apppropri-
alton that the imperative needs of
the State do not demand, and when
that is done and there is not an
other dollar that cannot be cut off.
IL then there be not enough to take
care of the old heroes until they
have taken their march to the
other side of the river with the
sunlight of heaven shining OH their
old gray heads, let the appeal be
made to the people; to the white
voters of Louisiana, and let the
issue be squarely presented. The
cause for which these men fought
went down in defeat; but because
we were defeated, shall we there
fore be mean and contemplate,
There are many hundreds who
went through the war doing their
duty as best they knew how, who
have escaped the ruin and misery
of the defeat; but let us not there
fore scott at, or treat with neglect
the wounds and sufferings and the |
poverty of those who abandoned |
their all and are left stranded i'm
and poverty on this shore.
Would ever the degenerate Ro |
mans have left the old legionaries
Of Caesar to suffer and die in pov.
erty, or would the more versatile
French have abandoned the old
soldiers of Napoleon, who bore the
eagles of France with so much
,lory, to die like the beasts of the
ield! Shall we of Louisiana then.
Who are free people, who are a
'roud and patriotic people, fail to
ONE to the relief of our old sol
iers who did our State so much {
onor aud bestowed upon her name [
, much glory, hesitate to put oar I
ands in our pockets for the relief {
{ the veterans! II
Mr.. Burke, of Iberia, the other
ny, in a speech explaining why S
e had voted against the one hun {
red thousand dollars appropria-
on, that is, the insufficiency of
le States revenue, proposed that a
i amendment be submitted to the Q
ople at TIE next general election L
creasing the rate of taxation one "
If mill, the proceeds to be devot- F