The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1904-10-19


1he pension system of the southern
atatcs, in view Of the wide attention
~hi,!l federal pension practices have
attained. Certainly tie national gov :
arnment could learn some lessons from
:he systems of the south, for each
tate there has scheme Of its own
10 thc main, the southern pension
sys.em may be described as much
4i0plcr than that Of the federal GOV
ernment, not only in the sense that
he rates are lower, but that there is
ess gradation, less admins, ration
less red tape. Sometimes lump sum
d divided evenly among available
pensioners; this saves all haggling
over degrees of disability. There is,
moreover, straightforwardness as to
The grounds of eligibility, leaving lit
':ie COON Cor controversy. a person
aFhc B 40: poor can get NO pension;
l.ndigencc and disability must go to-
,gether. A place in the soldiers homes
is provided in lieu of pension, and
,.hesc aye often established at private
es&rense, or maintained by personal
contributions. In short, southern
speosions bear evidence Of being q
much heavier burden-and for good
r-easops-than that which the whole
.ecuatry bears for the soldiers of the
rauion.
Every State that seeded now has q
,S7eaBion system Of its own. Maryland
1ud Mississippi, and Kentucky, which
did not formally secede, provide homes
Cor Confederate veterans. Tennessee
IN recognition Of the loyalty of it's
eastern counties, provides pensions
nom inally available to the soldiers of
beth armies, but practically so hedged
about with conditions that only
southern soldiers can get them. The
principal Of these conditions is that
the applicant must be drawing a pen
sion nowhere else, and since the fed
sral bounties are much larger and
more easily obtained, the peculiar in
dividual who would apply at Nashville
Instead of Washington is very rarely
met. The Tennessee soldiers home
us located on 475 acres of the Hermi-
atage, eight miles from Nashville, An
drew Jackson's old place illustrating
anew the irony Of fate, that the home
Of the man who said "The federal
r1nion; it must be preserved" is now
Asccupied by citizens Of his own State
saho are recipients Of the public bounty
IN recognition of efforts to break up
the aforesaid union.
Maryland has Confederate soldiers
Aome at Pikeville, but she pays no
Gpensious. The building, formerly q
government arsenal, was presented to
ahe State and then turned over by
Maryland to private association
which now has it in charge. Any
destitute soldier, or sailor, citizen of
8aryland, who served honestly under
sthe Confederacy, is eligible to admis-
'siou. Maryland has Confederate
svidows home in St. Paul street, Bal
t.imore, to which mothers OF the Con-
Moderate soldiers, as we'll as their
~Hidows, are eligible.
The Confederate veterans home of
Missouri cost only 100000, and was
quilt and is supported by private sub
-scription. 1t is o notable fact Of
'-ecord that certain Grand Army posts
In chat State helped to raise funds for
cts construction, and one Union vet
'erau is eaid to turn over the pension
''Rhich he regularly received from the
federal government to this Confederate
dome. Such fraternal Incidents show
chat 10 the border State region where
hostile armies often divided friends
sand .neighbors, each side promptly
>rerae 80 recognize at the close Of the
W@7 the sincerity Of the others mo-
tives.
hince there is no uniformity 10 the
southern system, depending as they
&c on State laws, they must, to be
understood, be taken up one by one,
at1sast IN the most important States.
Georgia clearly leads in pension dis
'>cnrsement, just as Massachusetts does
su-btste aid and veterans bounties IN
) The north. W. A. Wright, the comp
arol.er osthe State, in recent letter
: to she wTi.e:, courteouslv gives the
following ifac.s regarding the State:
thor the ) ca. 1903 the State peid
peniinns asfoiiows:
I. To disabled Confederate
soldiers. Observation-Disclosures. .$1S1 ,635
-ss,. -:sss, 4Ef ipaigent Confederate
,"seldte4s. 1894 40