Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1912-03-15
LETTER FROM BIGBUD

- ~N~'~~~--f
The good book says that a house d
vided against itself must fall and W
had an exemplification of this in tn
house today. Our pension committee
standing together. had gotten the hous
to raise the senate bill providing s45o,
900 year for 1912 and the same TO
1918 to S500,00 for each of these years
but motion was made to reconsider b,
Evans of Leake and today when thi
motion was .llled up the house agrees
to reconsider and voted to concur in th'
senate bill giving the old soldier onl!
$3.50, 900 for each year, this is raise O.
$100, 600 for the two years. / was very
anxious to get the $500, 900 year ano
then try and get all off the roll who dc
not belong there. and we could have
given these old fmen and the widows g
decent pension, / had number of SEN
ators to agree to vote for this increase
but the house changed front on 1t.
Men are nothing bnt grown-np children
-I~vote for thing today and chance to-
morrow.
Our pension committee has issued
letter to all the pension committees and
chancery clerks calling their attention
to the abuses and violation of the pen
sion law by placing persons in the first
that are not entitled to be there, and it
is to be hoped these officials will see to
it that all such violations may be pre-
vented and the worthy INDECENT confed-
crate soldiers received enough pension
to make him comfortable in his old age.
1t is strange to me that when the old
soldiers of own comfy knew that was
making hard fight for thei- benefit to
take the negroes off the roll and to in
crease the pension fund. not single
letter commencing me for this was re-
ceived from one of them, but on the
other hand. did receive letter from
one of the white pensioners of our
county stating that he thought the ne
groes ought to be retained on the roll,
1t is little singular that before re-
ceived shis letter had letter from a
neighbor of this pensioner telling me
he conld prove (snd give the names OF
witnesses) that be was never in the ser
vice longer than about two weeks, and
did not get further from home than
Jackson-was never in a battle, is
worth over $500, able to do manual la
Dor, yet he is on the second class and
gets SIS pension. | was satisfied that
none of the old vets. who fought with
Lee, Longstreet, Johnson, Hood and
Forrest would believe that these 597
ought to dsplace the same
number of old soldier who were "be-
hind che guns.
1t seems that any question that comes
up has the negro in it. An act was in
troduced in this session recently for
bidding the use of white nurses to wait
IN colored patients at any of the char
ty hospitals. The statement that this
mad been done brought on almost riot
md a great many members were at
,nce on their feet, demanding that an
be added expelling any
physician who should require white
nurses to wait on negroes. and the bill
this was passed by an almost
unanimous vote. Now comes the white
nurses and says this act will work
yreat hardship on them-that most OF
he charity patients are negroes and
his will necessitate the employment OF
legro nurses and that these nurses can
fford to nurse white people for less a
money than they can, and will be hired a
" the white citizens of the state. !
on know what will be done about it,
nut II think the physician in charge n
ught at least to be allowed to have a
White nurse to overlook the negro
Yards and direct the giving of medi n
inc and aid in making operations of n
erious nature. 81
Joe Stennis has been a member of :
he Legislature for sixteen years and n
better posted on what has been done c.
the past than any man in the house Il
lie is chairman of the Ways and Means :,
ommittee and is THE committee. He sl
we'll posted as to the revenues of Il
ne state that he needs no assistance o.
nd has run fine-tooth comb and what .. ..
e has left untaxed will amount to h,
othing. The tax on life insurance G
,mpanles has been raised and sewing v
,chine manufacturers now pay tax q,
: $500 before their machines can be it
fe-ed for SALE, and the privilege tax pc
an been Increased on moving picture re r:
lows, billiard halls, bowling aleys, re-
@, t .ical establishment. gas works til
c. He has bill for the taxation of 81
e gross earnings of line companies, ~ ~
us putting tax on Armour, Swift a,
ID other special and refrigerator car hs
las. He also has bill taxing tank vc
rs and the Pullman car companies, " "
d on all igants-the one that insti- II,
tt the suit and the one that loses. Oh
told Stennis that he must have heard
w my good friend Esq. Tom Stevens q