The National tribune., 1906-04-19
A NEW SOLDIERS HOME.
Need of a Temporary Home for All Vet
GRAMS Visiting Washington.

A great effort is being made to pro- Il
vide temporary home in the Dis
trict of Columbia for veterans of all |
our wars who may come to Washing |
ton and be temporarily stranded. |
Strange as 1t may seem. there is no
home in Washington. no shelter of any
description outside of the poorhouse, |
for volunteer soldiers of the war Of the
IL here magnificent home for the
Regulars" 1t is the finest piece of
property in the whole country. Its
grounds stand on the heights overlook
ing Washington; 1t is laid out in walks
and drives, beautiful wooded knobs
flower gardens and fountains. and is
| said to resemble an Italian palace
grounds. The buildings are mostly of
granite and white marble, there is Il
! chapel of beautiful proportions a the
alter. hospital, library. mess hall. dor
mitories and all arranged with an eye
| to making comfortable the declining
days of the regularly enlisted men of
the Army and the veterans Of the Mex
| lean War, but the volunteer veterans
of the two last wars have not where
to lay their heads.
That statement has to he qualified
a little. There is a temporary home,
which gets a grudging appropriation
from Congress, but it is such a little
home and the appropriation is so small
| that they seem scarcely worth men
| tioning, and yet but for this little home
| hundreds of old veterans who come to
Washington would be stranded with OF
a moutnful to eat or a place to sleep.
| This temporary home is established
in twin brick houses which might have
been built originally to shelter about
! 10 people at the very outside. But the
| aggregate sheltered there now is so.
| This temporary home was established
about 10 years ago and it's Superin-
tendent is Capt. A. 4. Maxim, himself
| veteran. Congress only gave about
$4,000 n year at first for the little shell
| ter but finally gave an app opriation
| of $4,000. and on this Capt. Maxim
keeps his boys" If ever a man was
fitted for this great work Capt. Maxim
| is. He enters into it with all his heart
and soul, and attends to everything
with the keenest attention to every de-
tail. The little home is as clean as
soap and water can make it. 1t is hu-
with pictures and war trophies, ami
| just as far as possible has been made
comfortable for these poor veterans;
| but the means is so pitifully inadequate
for the requirements. To keep these
veterans from going to the workhouse
or the almshouse. Capt. Maxim has
taken them into his little home when
| they had to sit all night in chairs, be-
cause even the floors were filled with
sleeping veterans.
For two sessions of Congress Capt.
Maxim and friends of the home have
been pressing upon Congress the nee
essity of providing better quarters for
these stranded veterans. There seems
to be some hope of passing such bill
this year. The plan is to buy an old
place out toward the suburbs of Wash
ingten known as ScheutsenvereIn
House, a big brick house in the center
of pretty wooded grounds. which with
few alterations can be made a COM
modious and suitable home for the vet
Grams.
Several hearings have been had before
the Military Committees of the Senate
and House and many prominent people
were heard. Capt. A. A. Maxim, Super
intendent of the Home. and Capt. Il. F..
Chase, Of the Board of Management;
Col. Bradshaw, of the Union Veteran
Legion; Thomas Martin, Senior Vice
Commander of the Department of the
Potomac; Il. F.. Graham, Junior Vice
Commander Of the Department, and
many other prominent local veterans
of the Grand Army of the Republic
spoke of the necessity of having ade-
quate temporary quarters in the Ma
tional Capital for veterans of our wars
1t was explained that this home is
never to take the place of a National