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Show I Qriag for D noroQs iPi 'f4 I fN UIXOHATION DAY thousand of men. women and ehlldrei throughout the leiiKth am breadth of the land will gat lie in the various cemeteries am lay garlands upon the vast rest lug places of the soldiers tba bave laid down their lives ft defense of their country. In practically every city hosti of veterans of the Civil Wai will gather and hold reuntoni to sx-ak of the pax, the Bngei and passion deadened by th lapse of time, while at ten na tlonal homes more than 20. OIK men will usher In the da) thankful that the I'nlted HUtes of all nations, Is a republic thai Is not ungrateful for servicei wrformed under Its flag. The veterans of the various wars, notably the rivll and Spanish-American, who went through ' II Mu '.J ,r, ShS JttI' iiiiimiii -JrTLL--jl en the first rows, then follow those less afflicted, so that all are given equal advantages as fur as it Is possible to arrange. In the vast amount of work to be done at the homes the Inmates take their part and thereby earn a little eitra for themselves, for the government gov-ernment pays them according to what they can do. Some of the homes have farms attached on which the men do considerable of the work. At other homes the men look after grounds, while at all of the homes there ar those who act as guards or guides. The money they receive for their work Is all extra, for they receive their pensions Just the same, and they are at lllerty to either spend their funds f'r luxuries at the commissnry or send checks to their relatives One great trouble that the commandants ,vix of the various homes have bad has lieen the control of the soldiers who persist In patronizing the saloons -; 4 that are to be found Just beyond A the gates, but, by vigilance, the old men are kept from getting into any . . 1 trouble. 'J. ' ' When a soldier la stricken with VI Illness he Is sent to the hospital. ' 4j where every possible attention Is ', ll plvon him. His diet Is specially i;,Jy prepared to suit his needs and there I a nothing too good for him. It 'YWb m,Pnt t"" B,,J''d ,,1(lt ln hospital Is jUI 7A alay occupied, for there are 1 A many who are falling In health and WhiVy strencth and are patiently waiting &Z&iP' th setting of the sun. When the last day has come and the soldier has gone to Join his comrades com-rades on the other side his body Is borne to the chapel, a minister of his religion says the last rites over him and then, In a casket borne upon a calnson and escorted by a squad of men under arms, accompanied by a fife and drum corps playing a dirge, be. Is given full military honors, Including the rattle of muskets over his grave. The cemeteries by the homes are growing each year, but every stone Is a monument to a brav heart who gave his beet years in order that th nation might endure. W$ &p; tPfy JZ 7-- " ' buildings, all of the homes are similar, for they are operated on the plan of giving one and all th same. Some of the homes, like tbe one at Hampton, Va , are situated upon tbe banks of a stream, but then there Is one In the mountains, another In the land of continual sunshine and flowers, California, while each possesea some natural characteristic to differ It from the other. TlMt, however, is the Immaterial side of the homes, for It Is the comforts and conveniences afforded the inmates that draws the attention of visitors and sends them away Oiled with thoughts of kindliness and proud of being titlrens of a nation that Is so lavish In Its rare of those who bave upheld tbe honor of tbe flag In the face of the enemy. Amid parklike surroundings are the buildings, flunked with broad porches, on which are the settees, where, basking In the sun, may be found those old soldiers who are more content to repose re-pose with pipe snd paper than to Join their comrades com-rades beneath the trees or strolling around the grounds. First, and all Important, Is the military side of the home. F'ach Inmate is always In uniform and army discipline prevails. All able bodied men on the grounds salute their superior officers as they pass, and ther are stated times for doing do-ing stated things, so that there must be absolute abso-lute order. At 5:30 In summer and 6:45 in winter the me turn out. After breakfast the men return to their barracks, make up their beds and put their things In order. Then, unless assigned to duty as room orderly or on guard mount, at whtrb all In the barracks have to take tbelr turns, the soldier sol-dier Is at liberty until tattoo at S:30. when be must be on hand to retire when taps are sounded at ! While at liberty during the day the soldier may leave the grounds by applying for a pass He may secure a pass to remain outside the rrounds not only for a day, but even for 90 days. If h so desires and his behavior has been good, "rtere is but little restraint urn the men and they are practically as free as thouga they lived In their own homes. i For those who prefer to remain within the grounds of the home there Is much with which to drive awsy either discontent or ennui. Beside splendid libraries, where may be found not only books and maealne. but dally rapers from different dif-ferent parts of the country, there Is at each home an amusement hall where there ar billiard and pool tables and many small tables for cards, checkers and dominoes Another diversion the band concert each afternoon Another "amusement. and an Important Im-portant one. ts the tbeater. Each of the nomea Is equipped with a hall large enough to seat practically prac-tically every Inmate ,nd at the end Is a stage of generous sit. Theatrical companies playing In nearby cities are engaged to give a "onenlgtt stand" at the hall and the performance usually proves a great treat In the seating of the veterans there Is svstetn exercised, for th deaf and the dlmeved are g:- 5e conflicts unscathed ar con-lantly con-lantly () mind. There ar th f irand Army or the Itepubllc, Ijoyal Zf eglon and Army and Navy Union, It pK-ndld organizations ' to which If lany of the officers and men who It night In the Civil War belong. ' V bile the veteran association of the panlsh-Amerlcan War holds the icmbershlp of many who went 4" irough that struggle. v In the national cemeteries here nd there, and In other burial J 1 rounds, are stones that mark the liots where lie the remains of ytrrrn lose who participated In the con- fryv lets, and each succeeding Decora-on Decora-on Day their memory Is kept alive r the floral offerings strewn upon their graves. Hut what about the veterans who returned tint the front, torn by shot and shell, unable to sumo their places In the ranks of the work's, work-'s, without means of self support and unwilling i thrust themselves upon thcla; kith and kin? At the close of the Civil Wart when more than lf a million men laid down their arms of war id, In a few months were transformed from ildlers to citizens, the question of what to do Ith those who were Incapacitated arose. "Pensions are well enough In their way, but nslons are not sufficient." declared Congress. iVe must do more." continued the members of th House and Senate. "We must establish a me for those who have no homes." and this ntlment crystallized Into whnt Is now one of e most Important features with which the na-n na-n deals The National Home for disabled volunteer sol-ers sol-ers Is located In the District of Columbia, her are branches of the National Home at Day-n. Day-n. O.; Milwaukee, Wis ; Togus. Me ; Hampton, !.; Iicavenworth, Kan.; Santa Monica, Cal.; arlon, Ind ; Danville, III.; Johnson City, Tenn., id Hot Springs, S D. There are state homes for disabled volunteer Idlers provided by the states of California. lorado, Connecticut. Idaho. Illinois. Indiana, wa. Kansas. Massachusetts. Michigan. Minolta. Minol-ta. Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Harnp-Ire. Harnp-Ire. New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, ilo. Oregon, Pennsylvania. Rhode Island, South ikota. Vermont. Washington, Wisconsin and yomlng. Rome Idea of the extent of the properties sup-rted sup-rted by the Federal government may be had m the last report of the board of manager, In ilch the acreage of the homes Is set down as f9. valued at $43.474 S!. On this land are lidings aggregating a value of $10.r.l3 64M: . acquire this property, to maintain It and to re for the thousands of soldiers, the total out- up to the close of 1911 has been In the nelgh-rhood nelgh-rhood of $90,000,000. IVhen the first home was established, within i year, there were 910 veterans cared for. en each succeeding year Increase! at the rate almost 1.000 per year until. In 1908. the great-number. great-number. 54,949. were taken care of. At th ne time the death rate among tbe veterans reared year by year, and from 10 95 per 1,000, 167. It has advanced to 85 60 per 1.000. ifet. when one takes Into consideration the yslcal condition of soldiers when admitted to homes, and that It has been 47 years sine Civil War. the death rate Is really low. for average life of tbe old seldler has been a He more than 70 years a rlj age for the malty ma-lty of men. Indeed, this alone Is a most nolle nol-le tribute to the govertmrnt for Its excellent of Its wards. " visit one of tbeoe national homes la to bsv rest, for nowhere will one find a more happy contented set of men. Fxcept for the differ- t tocaUua and style of architecture of th The Day of Memories Memorial customs. Introduced at tbe close ot the Civil war, in compliance with plan made by Commander In-Chief John A. logan. will be observed ob-served this year in thousands of cities, villages and bamlets, the surviving veterans still taking a lci-ling part In the exercises. It Is they who bav made, the arrangements for iht ceremonies; tbey will go early to tbe cemeteries ceme-teries and place blossoms upon the graves of their brother soldiers; they will conxtltut a pathetic and Inspiring feature of the parade. Home day they will not be here to plan and execute for Memorial day. Some day they all will tav gone into camp on the plalfls and in th cities of the deitd Some day a grateful public wilt look in vain for any of them tn th parade. Then, what? Will the day and Us beautj fl, patriotic customs that were so dear to them, eas to be remembered and observed? Were , tbat question submitted to the people today It ll certain that tbe votes against remembrance and olieervance would be too few for enumeration Tbe soldiers bave led the way; they have show the people bow to plan and execute for a suc-eessful suc-eessful observance of the day. There have been not a few but thousands of deeply Interested participants. par-ticipants. All of the patriotic societies that have grown out of tbe Civil war are among them, and their members are numbered by the ten of tpou-ssnda tpou-ssnda Then there are the societies which have come Into eilstenc e as a mult or the revolutionary war, the war of 1M2. the war with Mexico, the Spanish American war and tbe Philippine Insurrection. Insur-rection. And these are not all. Millions of men ' and women who have come from the schools, ami other millions of boys and girls now tn the schools, would forbid a suspension of Memorial day observances. Pass the word alcng tbe thinning ranks of every veteran parade in th country they served so well that tb custom Initiated by them and their sleeping sleep-ing associates shall not be abandoned; tbat It (ball be banded on from generation to generation. i Taking Their Measur. "Do tboe people wbo moved Into tbe flat acro the hill seem to he desirable neighbors?' 1 asked th man , "No. replied the woman. - watched every 1 thing that came out of the tnovirg van r,.-t I haven't a thing tbat we woull ca to burrow |