The National tribune., 1904-07-14

| was established In 1850 at cost OF
$6l GOO.
The Marion Home, in Indiana. was
opened in 1880. Its cost of construction
was $625 OOO
The Danville Hcme, in Illinois. was
finished in 1893 at n cost of 81 ,195, 600.
Its average membership for the year was
2,457. This Home is said to be up to date
| and perfect in its arrangements.
The Mountain Branch, in East Ten
| nessee, is still in course of construction.
! The Pacific Home cost approximately
$61O.GOO.
The eight completed National Homes
have cost in construction up TO last re-
ports. Sc, SS3 :3S3. The average number
present at the National and State Homes
| for 1903 was 4O.1GS.
PER CAPITA EXPENSE.
! For this patriotic benefcence the Gen
eral Government paid out 81 OBJ .694. This
| includes $1.GOO.WO donated to the State
Homes. In establishing their homes. the
States pay for the reservations for the
construction of buildings, for the improve
ment of grounds. for the purchase of fur
niture, for ordinary repairs and for Off
GERS salaries. The Government donation
| fund goes to current expense, covering sub
| sistence. clothing and fuel.
| The California Veteran Home. in Nipa
County, supports 1876 inmates at per
| capita cost Of S161.
The Connecticut Home has a member
shin of 450 and per capita of $1GS.
The Iowa Home has GA members and its
per capita cost is S1SS.
| The. MasSa chuSetts Home at Chelsea
has 315 inmates, maintained at a per cap
ta of 500.
Tie Michigan Home has 219 members.
| It's per capita is $3.50
| The Minnesota Home has 379 members.
The New Jersey Home for men has All
,h1rr 10 Sc
The Homes of New York. Illinois and
Ohio have the largest membership. That
| of New York being 1867 That of Illi-
nois 1,533. That of Ohio go Their per
captas are respectively, S132, $122, and
| $1aS
There are smaller bnt we'll kept Homes
in Kansas, Nebraska. Missouri. New
| Hampshire. Indiana. Colorado, Washing
ton and Oregon. The average cost of the
maintenance of all these State Homes is
| S19S
The following Homes admit the wives
of members. allowing them to occupy quar-
| ter~ with their husbands: At Oxford. y.
Y; Vineland, n. J.: Grand Island. Nebr. !:
MarshalltOwn. Iowa. and the State Homes
of Indiana. North Dakota. and Kansas.
The Michigan Home provides for the
wives of members, but they occupy sep
arate buildings.
The Board of Trustees OF the Minnesota
Home requested the opinion of the In
spectnrs Of the National Homes as to the
| advisability of adopting this system They
were advised in preference to adopt a sys
tenn OF outside relief practiced by some of
| the New England Homes. They require
as condition precedent to admission that
the applicant. if he has wife or depend
ent family, shall sign an agreement to turn
over to them all of his pension money ex-
| cept an agreed amount which in Massa-
chnsetts is 50 a month.
| This seems to be jndicious method
Money retained by many veterans is spent
| for drink. resulting in violation of rules
and general misconduct. would favor the
| establishment of canteens at Homes but
for the fact that beer is more injurious
| in its effects than whisky. Whisky drink
ing causes more disordprly conduct. but
habitnal beer drinking saps vitality and
| leads in its consequences to a frightful
mortality among the feeble and aged.
| HIGH CHARACTER OF INMATES.
There is an impression that large pro-
portion of our veterans are dissipated men.
| To test this assumption the records of the
Ohio Home were examined at time when
| there were 1.2fO members present AS
result it was found that .O60 of this num-
ber had never had a single bad mark
against them. They were by the record
| sober. self-respecting and lava biding men,
OF the other 200 about two-thirds were
men who followed the traditional practice
OF taking payday frolic. The remainder
| OF this number were exceedingly hard
subjects.
| A better class of men than made up the
Union armies never bore arms. There was.
| of course, small proportion cOnscripts,
| bOunty-jnmpprs. substitutes. and shirks.
And some Of these undesirables get into
the Homes and make themselves exceed
/ ingly disagreeable to better men.
The 1.f16 members present and absent
on the rolls of the Ohio Home receive an
ually $2O1. $50 in pensions and $4,000
from the Home for services rendered
When this is considered in connection with
the $15S the per capita cost of their main
tenance it is evident that that they are
generously provided for. And this no
doubt is measnrably true of the inmates
Of all other Homes.
| CONFEDERATE HOMES.
! There are a number of Homes in the
Southern States for Confederate veterans
There is one very picturesque one near
New Orleans. The Daughters of the Con-
federacy have established another at
| BeauvOir, in Mississippi, the former home
Of Jefferson Davis.
| There are also Confederate Homes in
Kentucky. Maryland. Tennessee. Missouri
Georgia, North and South Carolina exempt
Confederate veterans from the payment OF
| certain taxes and grant them certain
licenses gratuitously.
| | do not know how much is expended
upon these Homes by the States in which
they are located or by private contribution
But if We add the amount annually ex-
pended on the Homes in the Northern
States to our yearly pension appropria tons
the aggregate will make total of $143.-
100000. This represents an unparalleled
| munifcence. Yet who will saw that If is
not well bestowed? The beneficiaries of
every class who were once soldiers of the
Republic, Judges. legislators. lawyers. min
| listers Of the gospel, merchants, mechanics,
farmers. and laborers Of every kind make
up their membership.
| None are admitted who do not certify
that they cannot maintain themselves by
| manual labor. Yet beside this declaration
variety of reasons are given for accepting
| the Nations hospitality. One will say
that he did not like his sons-in-law,