The National tribune., 1900-10-25
BRANCH HOME IN SOUTHLAND.
Texas Veterans Believe Themselves Entitled,
and Will Urge Action by Congress.

EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: The ac-
tion of the National Encampment at its
last meeting in reporting against the es-
tablishmcnt of Soldiers Home on the
coast of Texas surprises me. / am at a
loss to account for such action. / first
conceived the plan for establishing a
Branch Home near Corpus Christi, Tex.
For several years / have been trying to
secure favorable action on ,:-;s project,
and | sent a petition, signed by all the cd
soldiers in this vicinity and numerous citi-
zenr, to Congress, asking that q commit
tee be appointed TO examine the location,
building, etc, offered. The petition was
introduced by our Representative in Con
gress and referred to the Committee on
Military Affairs. The large expense of
military affairs in the Spanish War and
the war in the Philippines have so far pre-
vented favorable report by the commit
tee, but / had hoped for a favorable re-
port from the Nationel Encampment, and
in consequence thereof to bring stronger
influence to bear on Congress. The pres
ent owners of the site have offered special
inducements, agreeing to furnish 100 beds
complete, 100 chairs, a cooling-range, etc,
all at their own expense, If the Govern
ment would lecate the Home here. Why
the National Encampment refused to in
sion. We have asked for nothing to which,
in my judgment, we are not clearly en-
titled. There is not to-day Branch
Home in the entire South, save one, in
Hampton, Va. We only asked for the es-
tablishment of small Branch, such as
the number of ex-Union soldiers living in
the far South would entitle us. In other
words, we only asked that, according to
numbers, we have Home facilities equal to
those in the Northern States Had Con
gress eventually denied us this we might
have consOled ourselves with the thought
that political influences had induced un-
favorable action. But what shall we say
or think when our brothers-yes, more
than brothers-our comrades of the Grand
Army of the Republic declare we shall not
have even one little Branch Home in the
entire South.
The late storm at Galveston may cause
some to think that the site we propose is
an unsafe one. In regard to that / will
say the situations are entirely different
Galveston is an island, no part of which
is more than u feet above ordinary high
tide. The waters of the gulf on one side
and Of the bay on the other have full force
on the entire shores Of the island. AT
Corpus Christi the gulf is 20 miles dis
tant. The three large islands, st. Joseph,
Mustang and Padre, which in many places
are 40 or 80 feet above the waters of the
gulf and two or more miles wide lie be-
tween the gulf and Corpus Christi Bay.
The bay is quite shallow on its western
shore opposite the proposed site of a
Home, and is not more than II feet in
depth in its main waters. The bluff rises
80 or 40 feet above the waters of the bay,
and the whole country back of the bluff
is the same hight or higher, so that there
is no possible chance for any such calami-
ty as that which befell Galveston.
Notwithstanding the advarsa action -
the National Encampment, we feel our,
selves entitled to what we ask for, and
shall instruct our Representative in Con
gress to do all he can to secure it.-E. ].
KLMER, Commander, Post 54, Corpus
! Christi, Tex.