The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-09-11
Bill ApprOpriating $25,-
 900 Passed. FOUR VOTES AGAINST IT Provides SIPS Annually for
 Each Inmate. Board of Control, With Governor as President, to Have Charge of Institution for Veterans at
 Mountain Creek.
FOUR VOTES AGAINST IT


 The bill appropriating s25,OO0 to the Home for Confederate Soldiers at Noun tain Creek, and assuming control of that Institution for the State, was passed by the House of Representatives yesterday. only four members of the House dissent ing.
 The overwhelming sentiment for the Confederate soldier, the feeling of grati- tude and veneration for the veterans was shown in the practically unanimous &C., ton of the House in giving the money to the Mountain Creek Home after several consistent refusals to pass bills carrying appropriations.
 There was no debate upon the bill. There could be no debate where there was no division. Three of the twenty ninc Confederate veterans in the House appealed to the House for aid toStheir helpless comrades. but no voice was raised in opposition to the measure.
 Provisions of Bill.
 The bill provides. first of all. that $25, 900 shall be appropriated for the completion of buildings, for the erection of new buildings, and for their furnishings. It further provides that $125 shall be annu- ally paid out for the maintenance of each inmate of the Home.
 A provision of the bill is that upon its approval by the Governor, the forty acres of land with all its buildings, now owned by Camp Jeff Falkner, United Confeder- ate Veterans, shall be deeded to the State of Alabama.
 Under the terms of the bill. the Home is to be in charge of a Board of Control, of which the Governor is to be the Presl- dent. The Board is to consist of twelve members, one from each of the nine Con gressional districts and three from the State at large. The Home is to be un- der the direct control of a commandant or superintendent, who shall be selected by the Board of Control.
 One Amendment Adopted.
 Tn its passage, the bill was so amended that no Confederate veteran who is in receipt of a pension from the State shall be entitled to admission to the Home. : This amendment was offered by MT. Nc c. Cluskey of Lamar, who is a Confederate veteran.
 MT. Walden of Morgan heartily com mended the bill and praised the work of Capt. J. M. Falkner in making the Home possible.
 "A man big in heart and big in body" he declared. The work of Captain Falk- ner he compared to that of Bill Arp in Georgia. He pictured the self-sacrihce, the patriotism and the privations of the Confederate soldier. And there were many of them now, he said, who were looking over the hills to the poor house.
 Shall we say" he asked with fervor. 'that these men shall not have a home? |? You talk of erecting monuments and you spend money in erecting monuments to Confederate soldiers, but what greater monument can he have than this Home at Mountain Creek?'
 Mir. Kelly of Choctaw, another veteran Confederate, did not oppose the bill, but there were features to the Home ide1 which he did not favor. Some of the old soldiers, he said, had married late in life and had married young women. These old soldiers might be helpless, he said and it would not be right to give the old soldiers a home and not give one to the wife and children.
 Favored by Simpson.
 Representative Simpson of Lauderdale said that he was not accustomed to speak on the subects which concerned his Con federate comrades. They would, he said, cali up memories too sacred for utterance. i've have done too little for the Con- federate soldiers" said Mir. Simpson, 'sThey are a sacred charge on the State Shall we take care of them or shall we let them die in the fields and along the highways like cattle?'
 He was in sympathy with the Governor and the Governors plan of economy, he said and he respected the Governors in tegrity and devotion to the State.
 Still the Confederate veterans shall never suffer for my vote if we bankrupt the State" concluded MT. Simpson.
 MT. Reynolds of Chiffon favored the bill. The necessity for the home was appar- ent to all and as the son of Confederate soldier who lost an eye in battle he heart fly endorsed the home. Its location in Chiffon County he said, was most happy. It gave an assurance of a healthy climate, pure air and good water.
 The bill under consideration, MT. Me Clusky of Lamar said, was not an appro- priation bill. It made a purchase for the State. securing forty acres of land with buildings worth nearly $20,OOO He had. he said. assisted the young men in school legislation and he asked their assistance for the Confederate soldiers. The soldiers were not begging the Legislature for any thing. he said. They had been promised assistance if they would go to the front and they were here for the collection of that promise. They were dunning the State for a part of the interest on the debt that was owing them.
 Those Who Voted Nay.
 In the vote on the bill the four nays came from Messrs. Bogart, Elliott, John son of Coosa and Strother.
 The House had before 1t for an hour A general road bill but finally deferred it for action. The principal feature of the bill was a provision allowing the Court of County Commissioners to levy a special tax for roads. The legislators were a Iit- He afraid of the bill which gave the Com missioners the right to levy a tax without an election. but the bill has many strong friends and the chances for It's passage appear good.