Read Online My Old Confederate Home by Rusty Williams - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Rusty Williams
Ads: Link
everywhere. Ex-Confederates and their supporters were simultaneously writing state legislators and passing resolutions in favor of a veteransâ home. The Lost Cause , a monthly magazine for Kentucky's UDC chapters, urged every Daughter of the Confederacy, âwith heart, hand and purse, [to] help this splendid movement.â Mrs. James M. Arnold, current Kentucky UDC president, mailed her own personal appeal to every chapter, asking for their active support. 15
In the spirit of reconciliation and comradeship, Union veterans and their supporters pitched in, too. A letter from the national commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic to the Kentucky GAR camps encouraged their members to support the Confederate home effort. The Committee of Twenty-Five's printed appeal made mention of âthe splendid provisions made by the National Government for the Federal veterans,â a not-so-subtle reminder of the pensions and veteransâ homes available to Kentuckians who had worn the blue. 16
Though by December 1901 Leathers's subscription book still had plenty of blank pages, committee members could say that the money tree was blooming and the financial harvest was in sight. A constant drumbeat of favorable publicity, coupled with public confidence in the ability of veterans to raise their $25,000, was making the lobbying effort in Frankfort a lot easier for Bennett Young.
Young was no stranger to counting votes in the General Assembly. He had helped draft the current state constitution and written a procedures manual for state legislators. In addition, his years representing railroad interests in Frankfort had taught Young how and when to press for passage of a bill.
And now was the time to press.
Senators and representatives arrived at the state capitol on January 7, 1902, to be sworn in for the regular session of the Kentucky General Assembly. In the first week following the opening gavel of the new session, State Senator William O. Coleman, a Democrat and one of the Committee of Twenty-Five, introduced SB 41, a bill providing for the establishment and maintenance of a Confederate soldiersâ home. Harry P. McDonald, a Democrat from Louisville and Bennett Young's longtime business associate, introduced an identically worded bill in the House of Representatives. 17
The assembly was in firm Democratic control, but the acrimony that filled the capitol air two years before had largely dissipated, and the spirit of reconciliation wafted over the statehouse. Legislators looked forward to governing with reason, not rifles. And from a political standpoint, a home for decrepit Confederate veterans was a reasonableâand popularâcause to support.
âThe heroes who followed the stars and bars to defeat,â one Republican senator said when asked about the bill, âare as worthy of support in their old age and poverty as the heroes who followed the stars and stripes to victory.â
âA Kentucky Confederate home is an absolute certainty,â wrote one newspaper, and other editors predicted that the legislation would pass without a single vote against it. 18
There were a few naysayers, however, even as the bills were under discussion in Frankfort. The Lexington Leader reported that the veteransâ group in that city felt there was no deep support for the Confederate home plan and predicted that the legislation would be defeated. Instead, the Lexington veterans proposed establishing a state-funded pension program or general assistance fund, administered by a board of ex-Confederates, which would put state money directly into the hands of comrades who needed it. Two Lexington members of the Committee of Twenty-Five resigned, saying they were no longer in sympathy with the plan to establish a home. 19
But the Lexington veterans were deaf to the statewide support that Young orchestrated.
Legislation establishing a home for Kentucky's needy Confederate veterans passed with only one
In the spirit of reconciliation and comradeship, Union veterans and their supporters pitched in, too. A letter from the national commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic to the Kentucky GAR camps encouraged their members to support the Confederate home effort. The Committee of Twenty-Five's printed appeal made mention of âthe splendid provisions made by the National Government for the Federal veterans,â a not-so-subtle reminder of the pensions and veteransâ homes available to Kentuckians who had worn the blue. 16
Though by December 1901 Leathers's subscription book still had plenty of blank pages, committee members could say that the money tree was blooming and the financial harvest was in sight. A constant drumbeat of favorable publicity, coupled with public confidence in the ability of veterans to raise their $25,000, was making the lobbying effort in Frankfort a lot easier for Bennett Young.
Young was no stranger to counting votes in the General Assembly. He had helped draft the current state constitution and written a procedures manual for state legislators. In addition, his years representing railroad interests in Frankfort had taught Young how and when to press for passage of a bill.
And now was the time to press.
Senators and representatives arrived at the state capitol on January 7, 1902, to be sworn in for the regular session of the Kentucky General Assembly. In the first week following the opening gavel of the new session, State Senator William O. Coleman, a Democrat and one of the Committee of Twenty-Five, introduced SB 41, a bill providing for the establishment and maintenance of a Confederate soldiersâ home. Harry P. McDonald, a Democrat from Louisville and Bennett Young's longtime business associate, introduced an identically worded bill in the House of Representatives. 17
The assembly was in firm Democratic control, but the acrimony that filled the capitol air two years before had largely dissipated, and the spirit of reconciliation wafted over the statehouse. Legislators looked forward to governing with reason, not rifles. And from a political standpoint, a home for decrepit Confederate veterans was a reasonableâand popularâcause to support.
âThe heroes who followed the stars and bars to defeat,â one Republican senator said when asked about the bill, âare as worthy of support in their old age and poverty as the heroes who followed the stars and stripes to victory.â
âA Kentucky Confederate home is an absolute certainty,â wrote one newspaper, and other editors predicted that the legislation would pass without a single vote against it. 18
There were a few naysayers, however, even as the bills were under discussion in Frankfort. The Lexington Leader reported that the veteransâ group in that city felt there was no deep support for the Confederate home plan and predicted that the legislation would be defeated. Instead, the Lexington veterans proposed establishing a state-funded pension program or general assistance fund, administered by a board of ex-Confederates, which would put state money directly into the hands of comrades who needed it. Two Lexington members of the Committee of Twenty-Five resigned, saying they were no longer in sympathy with the plan to establish a home. 19
But the Lexington veterans were deaf to the statewide support that Young orchestrated.
Legislation establishing a home for Kentucky's needy Confederate veterans passed with only one
Similar Books
