The National tribune., 1911-04-27
Veterans in the South.

Z
They began Il new invasion of the
South. A peaceful invasioSl, by men
OF energy. capacity. industry and cap
itaI. TO pull the South, 90 years be-
hind the age, into the open Of ciViiiZa-
ton, and force prosperity upon her.
This peaceful invasion has been going
on for many years. but the last decade
has seen it advance more rapidly than
before. In the last three or four
years veterans of the e. y. Il. in great
and increasing numbers have been
marching thru Georgia" and other
Southern States. AS "age creeps on
apace" with them their blood is get
ting thinner and its circulation more
sluggish, the heat and fire OF youth
which carried them successfully thru
the fierce conflict is fast failing them;
they are casting longing gisnces to-
ward the Sunny South. and are again
invading it, with energy unabated and
capital tmore or Iess) to establish
new homes, where under the sun of
almost continual Summer they may
keep q few more years iii comfort,
which might otherwise be lost to them
with suffering in the frigid Northern
Winters. 80
These Union veterans arc going TO
all parts of the South. AS sample of
what they are doing we have the vet
Lake Kissimmee. Two years ago
there was only d surveyors shanty,
where now there is a city of $4,000
people, with nearly every modern i'm
provemcnt and convenience. More
than 500 Union veterans and their
families help to make up the number.
There is a large Post. of q. A. r., and
more than 100 Union flags fly in the
breeze at st. Cloud. --.
4 colony OF Union veterans just get
ting under way at st. Andrews Bay,
Fla, onNthc Gulf OF Mexico, is Linn
Haven.
1t will not be long until the 'old
boys young fer their years, under
the warming influence of the climate
and ozone of the Gulf breeze, will be
much in evidence in this peace inva-
sion at st. Andrews Bay, which is in
direct line from Chicago to Panama.
The United States Government, with
an appropriation of a quarter of a
million of dollars for the purpose. is
now, and has. been since December
10 last dredging and clearing out the
channel from the Gulf to the Bay. to
a depth of so feet. When this work
is done, all the vessels of the Govern
ment can ride in safety there. Lynn
Haven will without doubt become one
of the great SeaportS of the country,
and st. Andrews Bay very important
gateway OF traffic thru the Panama
Canal and markets of the old world.
1t viii be magnificent monument to
the Union veterans, saviours of the,
Government when threatened with de-
struction--a monument unequaled in
all time, begun and partially built by
their own initiative and labor.
y peculiar feature of what these
Union veterans are doing with their
pensions earned in defense of the
Union and means acquired in other
ways is that they pay thru State taxa
ton for the support of the men who
strained every nerve to destroy the
Government. Horace Greeley's slogan
for many years was: Go West, young
man, so Vest" That was we'll. and
brave. good soldiers those Western
boys made. Now the cry is: Go
South, old (Cniou) Vet. go SOUTH
Get into your owp.- build it up in pop
ulatlon and material values, You can =.
do that and help take care. of your
fallen foes, too. In two or three gen.
erationS conditions will be different.
The people then living South will seek
to trace their lineage back TO the. G.
\. r. men who build UP these colo
nies. Failing in that, they will be
glad to show that their progenitors
were advocates of the Sulloway bill.
to increase pensions of Union veterans
in our time,