The National tribune., 1901-07-04
SANTA MONICA HOME.
A Haven Of Rest for Over 1000 Vet.
Grams.
BY ERNEST HoRsYALL RYDALL.

/ on the west, bounded by the black, steep
| Ihights-impassable and forbidding-of the
| Sierra Madre Mountains on the north, and
the undulating brown mesas. or foothills,
| on the south-wide, barren expanse ~
| miles square, covered in the SpringtiEe
| with some small yield of wheat, exists one
of the finest collections of immense build
| ings, erected for q bene6cent purpose,
| that it is possible for the patriotic eye
of the American citizen to rest upon
! the aggregation of edifices known as the
| Soldiers Home.
This encampment-as we may term ii
! is about one mile square, surrounded
with & line Of trees. and contains up
| wards Of 13 magnificent frame buildings
| for the accommodation OF 2,300 old gray
headed yeterans-wsrds of the United
| States Government, ex-soldiers OF the Fed
| eral army who fought against the rebel
! lion in the American civil war, and helped
| to maintain that supremacy OF the Repub-
lie now being extended to lands beyond
| the sea.
There are eight principal barracks, or
dormitories, where the old men sleep; each
! contains six wards, and each ward has 81
| beds, and each bed soldier. There are
other buildings for the lodging of the
veterans, and yet the Home is so crowded
that many have to sleep on mattresses
on the floors, for every cot, bed and bunk
| is filled with its aged occupant. Before
| going into a detailed account of the Sol
| diers' Home, it may be as well to call at
| tention TO the magnificent surroundings
of this majestic collection of edifces.
Some of the finest views in all Califor-
| MIA are to be obtained from the eminences
| in the vicinity of the Home. To the
east may be seen at night the electric
| lights of that Capital of Southern Cali
lfornia-Los Angeles; to the north extend
the Sierra Madre Mountains, with Prof
| loves Mountain hotel visible 20 miles
away; beyond the nights of Old Baldy;
and still further, Grayback, the monarch
| of mountain nights; facing to the south
| IN the Tehachloi Range, continuation of
the Nevada Mountains; to the west, the
still waters of the Pacific, and beyond,
the Isles of Santa Catalina and San Gle
mente, visible 30 miles away. To the
south the brown valley TO the mesas or
rolling hills, these diversifying the wide,
brown, barren valleys that extend from
the arboriculture of the inland levels to
| the seashore.
The little villages of Colgrove, Holly
wood and Sherman can be observed in
the distance nesting beneath the noun
tains, and here and there across the waste
at intervals Of about two miles the
punches Of trees that mark the residence
Of some old established rancher, who
doubtless existed in these solitudes long
before the railways made their appear
ance. Two long lines of Eucalyptus trees
border the highroad from the Home to
the Santa Monica, some FIVE miles away,
upon which two unwearied mules haul
continually a tram-car carrying some 80
people at q time TO and from this sea
side resort; but old soldiers are its only
patrons. Doubtless the institution is a
blessing to the old veterans, to whom the
Home, with its advantages and attrac
tions, must, indeed, become moaotonous
Capt. Wiley, the Chief of the muscular
seven-foot Home police officers who
maintain order about the establish
ment, escorted me through the build
ings and grounds, giving me much
information regarding the workings of the
institution. We stood at the entrance to
the dining-room, contained in a vast build
ing some 200 feet square, when the first
gong sounded at 5:30 in the evening" call
ing the veterans to thoir supper. The large
doors on three sides of the edifice were
crowded with soldiers. AT the sound OF
the gong, they all marched silently in and
sat down sans ceremonie to the fare pro-
vided. Some 80 male walters supplied
the tables, and then retired while the sol
diers ate.
The meal consisted of hot soup in
bowls, plates loaded with freshly-carved
meat, and large quantities of excellent
white bread.
Silence prevailed all over the room, and
ere many moments had elapsed the process
sion began to march out. By the time
all had retired, again sounds the gong;
IN rush the 90 walters, clearing away the
dishes, and hastily re-appearing with the
soup, meat and bread. In a very little
longer than it takes to relate, such is the
order and management, the tables are
again set for another horde of hungry sol
diers; again are the doors crowded with
veterans; once more the gong sounded, and
the mastcatlng performance enacted; for
the third and last time the walters appear,
clear away, and return, and again the
gong summons the final 800.
The dining room is 200 feet long by 60
feet wide; each table seats IA; there are
40 tables. One thousand pounds of -four
are made into bread in the immense ovens
of the Home every day. The meats are
boiled in steam m-jacketed kettles; the
roasts are cooked in steel gas ranges, and
the bread is made in gas-heated ovens.
The immense kitchen, with its gigantic
cooking apparatus SO handsomely bur-
nished, the cathedral size and perfect
cleanliness, would delight the eye OF a
true housekeeper.
o. II. LIE Grange, the present Governor
of the Soldiers Home, is said by the
men to be liberal in his provision for the
Nations defenders, and to stint not in
supply. This is spoken of by the veterans
as happy contrast to the preceding in
cumbent. 1t is related that Gov LIE
found the attendants gathering lemons
in the Home orchards and sorting them in
two piles. The ripe and juicy for the
Governor, the Doctors, and the nurses and
petty officers, and the green and decayed
for the veterans. He Immediately ordered
every lemon to be sent to the veterans |
kitchen, and declared to his subordinates |
that the product of the Home, raised by |
the labor of the veterans should be shared |
by all tenants of the institution.
Gen. lie Grange receives $4,000 a year |
for his services in the management of the |
Home, and the administration of such JUS |
tice as is required, and $500 extra an
nually for the entertainment of visiting |
officials. |
There is a model hospital upon the |
grounds, in which the soldiers are nursed |
back to health. Some forlorn cases linger |
for many months, apparently in the |
shadow Of the grave; frequently old vets
wake up in the night to find that some |
apparently healthy comrade has suddenly |
passed to the land of eternal day.
There is an immense Assembly Hall, |
where the Union Veterans League, two
Posts of the Grand Army, the Sailors
League, and the Army and Navy League,
Regular Service, meet. There is a guard
house, where prisoners are confined, and
where court is held by the Governor ev-
cry morning except Sunday.
Some 300 of the inmates of the Home
are in constant employment, with pay, as
cooks, walters, gardeners, police officers,