The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-02-27
MONUMENT For
OLD SOLDIERS
Senate FavorS the Bill Intro
duced by Mr.. Miller.
TWO NEGATIVE VOTES
Funds are to be Raised by
Special Tax Levy.
TWO NEGATIVE VOTES

Topeka, Feb. Ex-senator Miller's bill
providing for the erection of a $500, 0ot
soldiers monument on the state house
grounds passed the senate after much
oratory today. Only two senators voted
against it-Smith and Caldwell. Smith
said he did not want to build any mon
uments to dead soldiers as long as living
soldiers were in want. Caldwell voted
against it on general principles
The consideration of the bill gave sew
eral senator's d chance to work off the
flag ends Of their Decoration day speeches.
Morehouse first tackled the proposition
and talked long enough to line up every
old soldier in the district for him. Then
Mcmillan tried to cut the price of the
monument down to $4,000. The senators
made it so hot for him that he withdrew
the amendment.
Cubbison declared that Kansas was
thirty years behind with its monument
now. Nearly every other state. he said,
had decorated almost every hill top. Kan
sas sent more soldiers TO the war than it
had voters, and yet there was not a mon
ument in the state to the memory of the
heroic dead. He was surprised that any
body should oppose so worthy measure.
Senator Miller told about being in school
in Ohio when the war broke out. The
pupils were all about Y to II years old.
The teacher quit and went to war. As
asst as the pupils got old enough they en-
listed until thirty or forty OF them were
in hte service. Some were killed. some
crippled and some died soon after the
war. The most of the boys of that school
woh survived the rigors of the war came
to Kansas. Many of them are buried
here. Others are on farms or in work.
shops while few are in the Soldiers
home. Unless this generation does some
thing TO commemorate the deeds of the
civil war veterans nothing will ever be
done. The coming generation will be too
far removed from the scenes of the war
to take any interest in such a movement.
Senator Hurell spoke about the loss of. his
father in the war. He remembered seeing
his father but once. Last year he saw
his fathers grave for the first time. He
thought the state could well afford to
erect a monument. Senator Carpenter
said that If the legislature turned his
proposition down there never would be
monument built. as future generations
would lose sight of the service rendered
by the soldiers of the country. Senator
Leidy said that tribute of this kind was
due the men who fought to save the
OHloH, anu tldt sucn a monument WOULD
have good influence upon the youth. 1t
would be judicious expenditure of state
funds to increase the stock of patriotism.
Senator Smith said he wanted to relieve
the destitute soldiers now living first
and build monuments afterward
A roll call was taken and the bill passed
by a vote of 80 to =.
1t provides thatthe monument shall be
built on the state house grounds under
the direction of the executive council and
that an annual tax levy of one-tenth of
mill shall be made to provide for funds.
This will bring in about s35 900 a year.
1t would take six years to build the mon
ument.