Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1914-03-13
Letter from
Big Bud.
Deer PsopIs Of Noxubss-


we passed a bill increasing the
Public School Fund $47O,0O0. 90
7 Mr.. Morrison, the efficient chair
man of our Appropriation Com
mittee, was not present wher
this was passed or he would have
opposed this measure for he said
that, under the law distributing
this fund, some Of the counties
would get more than they needed
and the South Mississippi coun.
ties. the very ones that this tax
would fall heaviest upon, would
not be benefited very much.
There was an amendment offered
} providing that the teachers sala.
ries should not be raised and that
an additional length of term be
added to the public schools, but
this was voted down. Under the
appropriation for this year, Nox-
ubee will get $50. 10000 and we
received $4,000 more last year
than we paid into the State
treasury, and with this increased
appropriation we will get more
than this in 1914 and 1915.
had a letter from one of my
constituents getting after me for
voting against the resolution SUBJ
, mitting the question of holding a
I Constitutional Convention, to the
people. l wrote him l thought
: that this matter Of distribu-
ton of School Funds and some
other questions ought to be cor
rected and these can only be done
by holding a Constitutional Con-
vention. No county like ours
ought to receive out of the State
treasury more money than we
put in. But was representing
my people and our taxes al e very
heavy. especially since we have
issued bonds for good roads, so
as their representative | voted
against this resolution.
The House refused to increase
the pension for the old soldiers,
and it still stands $3.50, 10000 per
year and | believe, if we can have
the pension roll purged of all
who do not belong on it, that
this will prove to be 81 hicient.
Dunbar Rowland, our efficient
Director of the Department Of
Archives and History, has asked
$1,000. 90 to do this work and he
says there will be no trouble to
get a record of every Confeder-
ate soldier in the state and purge
i the roll.
I Last week, the Legislature ac-
an invitation of the peo-
II, lie of Gulfport to visit that city
vss.nd Beauvoir, the Old Soldiers
rraslome. We arrived in Gulfport
I N time to partake of a splendid
lbanquet prepared and given to
us by the Kings Daughters of
! Gulfport. This organization has
charge of the Seamen's Hospital
there and are doing a great work
'3for suffering humanity. The leg
sislature appropriated $4,000. 90 to
]lassist them in carrying on the
work.
. The next day we visited Beau
Avoir, Investigated that place and
questioned the old soldiers there.
We found the Home well kept,
the inmates looking we'll. clad in
neat uniforms of Confederate
grey and as well satisfied as 200
old men and women could be ex-
pected to be. I say ''old men
and women" for, to my surprise,
Ifound 60of the inmates are wom-
en-wives and widows of the old
veterans. There are always lot
of applications for admission, but
we do not thiuk it best to build
additional cottages this year, but
as they are getting more debili-
tated all the time. we will have
to build additions to the hospital.
Mrs. Wallace, the lady mana
ger, is peculiarly fitted for this
place and we understand that she
IS very popular with the inmates,
though some few think she is a
little partial in her attentions,
but this is to be expected. l
was asked why we did not pen
sion the old ladies of the Confed-
eracy. | replied that when we
came home after the war, we
married thess Confederate girls;
we did better than pension them,
for we married all that would
marry us and we have been TAX
900 of thoyo nvnr since