The Voice of the People
Virginia's War in Scandal.
To the Editor of The Times-Dispatch:
Sir.?A short time ago, C. Kitzwater, of Nukesville, Va., in an article entitled "Pensions for Confederate Soldiers," gave valid reasons why the Confederate soldier in his old age should be provided for out of the millions upon millions with which the South has been taxed since the war to pay pensions to Northern soldiers. Yet whenever we have a new Legislature they tell us we are going to increase the old soldiers' pensions to something worthwhile. But they never do so. The pensions paid her soldiers by Virginia are a disgrace to the State—just about enough to humiliate them by making them feel that their State regards them as paupers. During a recent trip through Tennessee, I met an ex-Confederate who is worth about $25,000. He told me of and showed me his pension warrant calling for $30 every three months, or $120 a year. He further informed me the State did not investigate his property, but only his record as a soldier. If that was good, that was all that was necessary and all the State wanted to know. Just see the difference in this State. The most humiliating questions must be answered before a magistrate. Then the commissioner of the revenue must officially certify that you are a pauper before your papers are sent to the Auditor. 