VOL I'.VIE .17.
NEW SERIES.
THE BEDFORD GAZETTE
X PUCLISUED EVEIIY FRIDAY MORNING BY
BY It. F. YIEYEUS,
At the following terms, towit:
$1.50 per annum, CASH, in advance.
$2.60 " if paid within the year.
$2.50 " " if not paid within the year
subscription taken for less than six months
paper discontinued until all arrearages ar<
naid, unless at the option of the publisher, it hai
seen decided by theUmted States Courts 4 tha: tb<
stoppage of a newspaper without trie payment ot are
Tearages, is prima facie- evidence oi fraud and is i
criminal offence.
courts have decided that persons are ac
countable for the subscription price of newspapers
if they take them from the post office,whether 'hey
subscribe for them, or not.
HATES CF CHARGES FOR ADVER
TISINQ.
Transient advertisements will be inserted at the
rate of SI.OO per square of ten lines for three inser
tions, or less, but for every subsequent insertion,
25 cents per square will be charged in addition
l'able and figure work double price. Auditor's
notices ten lines and under, SI.OO ; upwards often
lines and under fifteen $1.50. Liberal reductions
made to persons advertising by the year.
EQUAL RIGHTS.
From the Somerset Democrat.
MESSRS. EDITORS. — With your permission,
.he writer of this will start out by saving that
he always has been, and ever shall be, a devoted
friend and a zealous supporter of tne Constitu
tion and the Union of these States—that he is
what is generally denominated a wlyte man ;
and without intending the least disparagement
to our adopted citizens, "native and'to the man.
or born"—and that the dearest ties that bind
bim to the North are identified with it, and more
especially with the good old State of Pennsyl
vanis. He has nothing to ask in the shape of
political favors, nor does he expect to receive
any reward for services rendered in the past or
to be rendered in the future—and nothing influ
ences him in his devotion to our common COUG
try, but a spirit of patriotism which is as pure
as it is loya! and just.
With this preface, which it is hoped will not
be considered in the slightest degree as egotisti
cal, let me ask, have we any Secessionists tn our
town or county—that is, men who approve and
justify the recent dismemberment of"the Union,
and who are likewise willing and ready to
profler and render aid to the so-styled "Sou
thern Confederacy ?" You are, no doubt, very
well aware, that this chaige of secessionism has
been daily preferred against a number of our
most worthy citizens, both directly and indi
rectly. Inuendoes are thrown out —the most
despicable of all other modes of accusation—that
such and such an individual is in league with
the South, and a traitor to the Union. These
assertions and inuendoes are made on the mer
est pretext, without even the shadow of justifi
cation, intermingled with curses and threats,
disgraceful in themselves and to their authors,
and discreditable to the community in which
we live, and are wholly directed against indi
viduals who have heretofore been members of
the Democratic party. In r.ot a single instance
has any other kind ofa partizan been thus stig
matized. If there is treason here, it is charged
upon Democrats, and upon them alone. Why
this is so, let the public determine. If there is
a mystery in it, it is the most mysterious thing
on record. But we opine there is no mystery
about it at all. It is but the malignancy of par
ty prejudice—the petty malice of political ene
mies, and constitutes the worst and basest pas
sions of sectional partizanship. For being thus
accused some ol our most respectable citizens
have been held up to ridicule ; have been threat
ened with a coat of "tar and leathers," and e
ven with (lie gibbet itself. Now, we ask,
"Can such things be,
And overcome us like a summer cloud,
Without our special wonder 7"
And by whom are these threats made ? Why,
by the very men, of all others whatever may
be their love for the Union who blaster and
boast the most, and who have not the moral
courage to face the common enemy ; who will
never seek the "bubble reputation at the can
non's mouth," and who, while they possesses
the boldness of the lion, they lack the bravery
ola sheep. But such chaiges are not to be be
lieved—they have not even the semblance ol
truth—because it is unnatural in itself (hat men
of the North would war against their own
homes and firesides; ami when we hear accu
sations of this nature imputed to them by so
niany, we are almost led to imagine that pan
demonium has been evacuated—that
"Hell is empty,
And all the devils are here
Now, (or my part, Messrs Editors, and it is
ottered in the proloundest sincerity, Ido not
believe that there is a solitary Secessionist, ot
Disunion man, resident within the limits of the
county of Somerset. I know the people of this
region too well ; have too high an appreciation
of them as a whole, and have too much confl
lence in their patriotism and in their fidelity
vo the Union to suspect, even for an instant,
ihat we have traitors in our midst. All men
are entitled to their opinions, and they must be
permitted to enjoy them. My own sympa
thies heretofore have been with the South, and
- f am not ashamed, or afraid, to make the ac-
But the aspect of things has
een changed, (loveinment property has been
seized—tbe flag of the nation has been train
pled in the dust, and hostilities have been com
menced by the seceded States.—That the South
-'.as been unjustly dealt with—that her consti
'utional rights have, to a considerable extent,
tieen disregarded and trampled under foot, and
that she has not been allowed that equality to
which she was entitled, I know—and to which
every honest and candid man must acknowl
edge. That this lias been the case, is most
de. 1 rue to the letter, and so plain to the
comprehension ot every one, that the "way-fa
•mg man, though a fool," must have been cog
nizant of it. By what process it was effected,
©cbfuri) (ft alette.
and by whom, it is not my purpose here to in
quire. We have enough to do now, every mat
of us, to stand by the flag of our country an(
to "keep step to the music of the Union," with
out taking up our time in discanting on" part)
politics. Freedom of opinion in all things i:
the corner-stone of our political fabric. It wai
asserted and gloriously maintained bv our fore
fathers in the war of the Revolution"; and sub'
sequently, when the Elder Adams sought tc
muzzle the Press, it was vindicated in Selec
tion ol Thomas Jefferson to the Presidency.—
And is it again to be nullified, and, perhaps
abrogated, under the rule of Abraham Lincoln '
Are his political parasites, the blusterers, the
the sycophants, the self-esteemed bullies, and
the place hunters, par-excellence, who cringe
and fawn like very spaniels at the feet of the
' powers that be I '—to hang Democrats for the
mere expression of opinion in regard to whai
has caused the present deplorable state of affairs!
Are they to be constituted our dictators as tc
what we shall think and what we shall utter ]
Are they to control our consciences, mould oui
opinions, and make us lick the tod that smites
us.' Let me tell such of them as contemplate
any tlung of this sort, that they had better try it
on first. \o power under this government can
make slaves of white men ; and when the time
does come, if ever it should, when the liberties
of this country are destroyed, and such a spe
cies ot tyranny permanently established, may it
be sunk deeper in the fathomless ocean than
plummet ever sounded.
1 fie author of this, as you verv well know,
did not aid in bringing the present federal dy
nasty into power. He thanks his God that he
opposed the election of Abraham Lincoln. No
blow ol that kind did he evei strike against the
perpetuity of the rich inheritance o°f our fore
fathers. And whatever may be the final result,
it cinnot in truth be said of the Democratic par
ly that it, in any way, produced the rebellion
that now exists South ot Alison's Dixon's
line. Although no imputation, like unto this,
can, in justice, be laid at the door of the Democ
racy of the country, still it is the duty of every
one, without regard to political antecedents, to
stand boldly up in these troublous and perilous
tunes, and render that aid to the Government
which will crush out the spirit of rebellion,
protect the government property, and perpetu
ate the American Union. But let us discoun
tenance, one and all, that spirit of malignity
which basely seeks to stigmatize and defame
those of our people who entertain sentiments,
not of hostility to the Union, but who may have
expressed tvrawrtbv for our Southern hreih..- n
under the present peculiar condition of things.
Let us know no North, nor no South, but rally
is one man in deience ol the stars and stripes,
protect the government, and thus help to work
aut our "manifest destiny."
In conclusion, Jet me say, that what is here
written has not been engendered by anv spirit
af ill-will. I have "nothing extenuated, nor
set down aught in malice." What has b,en
uttered has been done more with a view to
curb the insolence and impetuosity of a pack of
braggadociasanci busy-bodies, than for any other
purpose. If it shall produce a good effect, the
object for which it is written will be gained.
If otherwise, it will be time fruitlessly spent in
an endeavor to correct an evil. A fictitious
signature is herewith appended, having no de
sire at present to appear in the public prints
over my own name ; but if any one shall feel
aggrieved at anything contained in this article,
you are at perfect liberty to make known its
author.
JEFFERSON.
From the Philadelphia Inquirer (Republican.)
THE GREAT OUTRAGE OF THE DAY.
Nothing short ot a judicial investigation will
appease the righteous indignation of the people
against the parties engaged in defrauding the
State, and plundering tfie soldieis by imposing
upon them the n.ost worthless supplies. This
is due alike to the brave men who have "one
aut to fight our battles, to the honest merchants
who have been compromised, to the people ol
he Commonwealth, and to the United States,
is the Geneial Government will be called up
an ultimately to foot some of the bills.
No man ol ordinary intelligence, who makes
a critical examination of Ciovernor CURTIN'S
exhibit ot the disbursement of the military fund
of the State, can fail to detect on almost every
page such evidences of jobbery and malfeasance
as lawyers are accustomed to style "badges of
fraud." The prices are exorbitant; some bills
are so made out as to conceal instead ot to ex
hioit the particulars of the purchase ; petty bills
are certified and sworn to with great formality,
while large ones are hurried through thel ac
rounting offices, and paid upon '.he bare cer'ifi
:afe of irresponsible and inexpeit agents ; mid
llemea are resorted to, and a large proportion
at the supplies of clothing would disgrace the
:ommon jails of the country as clothing for (el
ans. We merely recapitulate these points here,
is they hate been already referred to at length.
Tbe parlies w ho seem to have surrounded the
military fund of the State in close column, will
-emind a naturalist of a gigantic mollusc with
unbounded stomach for absorption, ar.d with
entaculse extended in all dir-ctions, and rap-d
-y revolving in search of prey. The disclosure
vould be humiliating at any time; but when
ve reflect that all this extortion, imposition and
ibuse have been practised not only upon the
state, but upon the gallant men who have led
heir workshops, their business, their families
ind their homes, to fight the battles of the U
lion, it is calculated to excite, as it has excited,
i feeling of intense indignation and disgust.
Among the many inquiries that have been
;ent to this office on the subject, is one which
isks whether the soldier is really victimized, a
veil as the State. We answer yes. Upon
lim the imposition, or plunder, or whatever il
nay be justly called, is direct. His clothing is.
virtually, a part of his pay. For each year ol
;ervice he is allowed a specified nutr ber of gar
ments; and if these, whether from ill usage o;
j bad quality, are unsufficient, he must buy othi
■ out of the small pittance he is paid in cash.-
I Thus, he is entitled in his first year to two caf
two coats, three pairs of trowsers, four pairs t
shoes, &c. A pair of trowsers is, therefore, e:
pected to give an average wear of four months
and a pair of shoes to last three months—ant
the excellent work turned out by the Genera
Government is fully equal to this service. Bu
if the soldiers are fuinished with miserable a
pologies for shoes and trowsers, such as havt
been sent from Jamp Scott to this office, whict
Went all to pieces in two days' wear, the sup
ply of clothing for a year would last but liltlt
more than a week. In such case, the soldier n
Compelled to draw for further clothing out oi
his pay, and if the additional supplies are uc
better than the first, it is easy to calculate how
soon his eleven dollars a month will be exhaus
ted, and his body left in rags. From this, the
dullest mind can perceive how emphatically
true is the statement, that this wretched busi
ness is direct plunder of the soldier.
We repeat that the manner in which these
supplies have been furnished, their quality
and price, and the extraordinary agencies which
have been brought into requisition, must be ju
dicially examined. The meeting of the Leg
islature is too far off, and besides that body Is
itself corrupt frorr. center to circumfereuce.
I here is business here for grand juries and dis
trict attorneys not alone of the State but of the
United Sta'es, for Governor CURTIN informs
the Legislature that "the accounts of the Com
missary Department of this
State will be mainly reimbursed by the United
States." We urge it upon the attention of the
grand inquest of the county and General Gov
ernment. While there lemainsa spark of the
patriotism now burning so brightly througoout
the Free Slates such a gross wrong should not
go unpunished.
A SCREW LOUSE IN THE COM MISS l-
RIAT-
The session iu the House of Representatives
on Friday was prolonged until a late hour in
the afternoon, debating a resolution of inquiry
offered by Mr. Williams. It is alleged that the
appropriation of §500,000, made by the Legis
lature to arm and equip the military and place
the State on a war footing, has been expended
every dollar of it—and it is but right that
those who voted for the appropriation, as well
as the tax-payers, should know #hat has be
come ot the money. No' having been present
during the debate we are unable to say how far
*♦ niao sorrt(k/4 it. .1 :* ...
ingly warm, and strong insinuations were made
that money had been used for purposes not con
templated by the act, and that the State was
"bleeding" tor the benefit of speculators. That
there is some foundation for these rumors may
be inferred from the following received from
Camp Curtin :
" Can any one interested in furnishing the
blankets for the volunteers give the cause of
the original blankets being cut in two ; for we
are freezing, with only a half blanket to shield
us from the cold and damp." SOLDIER.
The Legislature has ordered an investigation
and we hope they will find out the actual price
of half a Mackinaw or Indian blanket.
At a time like this, when the patriotic peo
ple of Pennsylvania are ready to pour out their
blood and treasure like water to support the
Government, it will not do to trifle with them.
The tax payers of Pennsylvania we believe are
willing to be taxed to the last cent lo prove to
the world that Republican Government is not
a failure, but they will not coolly submit to
men enriching themselves by their patriotism.
We hope that all through whose hands any of
the $500,000 have passed will be able to prove
a clean record. If not, it will be all the worse
for them .—lJarrisburg Union.
THE DEMOCRATIC ELEMENT JN THE ARMY.
—The New York Express, in reply to the Tri
bune says, that so strong is the New Yoik city
Democratic and Whig element of the army
now in and about Washington, that if an elec
tion were to occur here to-daij, the very absence
of Democratic voters would probably throw the
city into Republican hands though the Demo
crats and Union men have here 30,000 major
ity. The enlistments of anti-Republicans in
the following Regiments in Washington, are
from 80 to 90 per cent, viz :
The New York 7th.
The New York 71st.
The New York 69th.
The New York sth.
The New York Bth.
The New York 13th.
The New York sth.
The New York 69th, is said to have in it
but ten men that voted for Lincoln ! if it be
"treason" to say that such men volunteer to
uphold the Union and the Flag, in the ratio of
four to one Republican, make the most of it,
Mr. Tribune—for such treason we shall repeat
and repeat at will, as facts justify us —because
it demonstrates that when Union Whigs and
Democrats proclaimed,
"THE UNION, THE CONSTITUTION AND THE
LAWS," they were ready to die, even, to up
hold their Proclamation, —and were"lJnion
Savers" in earnest.
Far be it from us, though,—even with such
great facts before us to maintain our assertion,
that though 80 per cent, of the men in the
army are opposed to Lincoln, —to say* all Re
publicanism is without patriotism. We give
the Tribune ihe full benefit of its statement,that.
St. Lawrence, .Monroe, Jefferson, Onondaga,
Oneida; and other strongly Republican counties,
have contributed largely to swell the ranks ol
volunteers ; and,though their men are mainl}- in
camp at Elmira and elsewhere, that is not their
fault.
The rafio of Democrats, we hear, however
is large, very large, even in these counties
The interior Regiments that have passer
throdgh hepe, such as Col. Pratt's, were threi
Democrats to one Republican.
Freedom (Thought and Opinion.
BEDFORD, PA., FMY MORNING, MAY 31,1861,
From the Journal of Commerce.
HAVE WE A CONSTITUTION ?
The patriotic uprising oi the people in defence
of the Constitution, and the dag which symbol
izes it, very naturally turns one's thoughts to
the sacred instrument for which the whole
North (at least) now manifests so much interest;
and if I mistake not the meaning of the very
Constitution which we all so much value, it is
at present in great danger of being sacrificed in
the house of its friends. What are its most im
eortanl provisions and safeguards? We read
the Bth article as follows :
" The Congress shall have power * * * to
peclare war ; * * * to raise and support ar
jnies ; * * * to provide and maintain a navy ;
I * * * to provide lor calling forth the militia,
to execute the laws of the Union, suppress in
surrection, and -epel invasions."
All this, be it remembered *' the Congress,"
lti do, —and no other power under the Con
stitution is authorized to do it. The president
aa> no more authority "to raise and sup
ooit armies".—" to provide and maintain ana
.•v ' —or to call forth the militia in any other
wiy except as the Congress has previously by
aw provided,—thau has the Chief Justice of
he Supreme Court ot the United States, the
'rtiident of the Senate or the Speaker of the
loise of Representatives, or the Mayor of the
Cttj of New York. But what have we seen
vitjin the last thirty days? 1 say nothing of
tfeoriginal call by the President lor the militia
•f ;he different States, to "Suppress insurrec
<33," which is predicated on the Acts of 1795,
—; Act which in its very terms limits the
sefice to " the expiration of thirty days after
the commencement ol the theo next session of
Congress." But what 1 pariicularly refer to
he*, is the proclamation of the President, for a
miliary force not to serve pursuant to the Act
of 79 = f till the 3d of August next, which will
bethirty days after the next meeting of Con
gis, but for "three years," unless sooner dis
charged. More than that, he also by proclama
tioi adds several regiments of regulars to the
exuting army of the United States. In other
words, the President has undertaken, without
thtshaduw ol constitutional authority, " to raise
am support armies," —when the language of
the Constitution confines that power to Congress
the Representatives ot the people,and the States.
More tjian this, he is providing by purchase an
immense navy, beyond anything that Congress
ever thought ol ; when the Constitution which
he is sworu to preserve, protect and defend,
confides the power " to provide and maintain a
" - ~- e> *<• C/VJWJT
only.
The expenditures Irom the public treasury
lor the new army and new navy, called forth
on the executive proclamation, are beyond any
thing ever before known under the government;
every dollar of which is taken Irom the treasu
ry without any previous appropriation by law.
What then becomes of that other fundamental
provision of the Constitution which declares,
that
<l No money shall be drawn from the treasu
ry, but in consequence of appropriations made
by law !"
I repeat the question, "have a Constitution ?"
It may be said that the necessity ol tne case re
qun es us to ignore our constitutional obligations.
If so, then let us, for the sake of consistency,
cease talking about "defending" or " uphold
ing" the Constitution, or taking it as the basis
ol our military and naval operations. But this
plea ol " necessity" is that of the one-man pow
er, and ever has been, the world over. Is it
asked, what should have been done under the
novel circumstances which hail been precipita
ted upon the country ? 1 answer, the same
that was done during the Administration of
General Jackson. That distinguished chieftain
with all his proclivities to "take the responsibil
ity," was ever careful to take it within the lim
its of the Constitution. When South Carolina
nullified, he asked and obtained from "the Con
gress," what is well known as "the force bill,"
a stringent enactment, limited in its terms to a
short period, and which enabled him to use the i
military and naval forces provided for him by
the constitutional authority—the Congress—to j
put down the incipient rebellion. A similar '
bill was before the last Congress and should !
have been passed. That it was not, is owing ;
to the hiends ol President Lincoln and bis Sec- j
retary of Slate. They were both in Washing- j
ton at the time, — their friends had majorities in j
both Houses, (after the withdrawal of the South- j
em members.) and a 3ingle word or hint from
the then President elect, or his premier, then I
sitting in the Senate, would have put the bill :
through, as easily as the foice bill was put
Ihrougb in the days of Jackson. Their remiss
ness in this respect is no apology for a subse
quent resort to the one-man power. The Pres
ident might, with much more propriety, have
called the new Congress together at the earliest !
possible period, instead of postponing it to the J
4-th of July, that he might ask at their hands j
the new army, the new navy, and the constitu- j
tionai "appropriations made by law" for their :
maintenance and support.
PATRICK HENRY.
QjF"A would-be-fashionable young lady who
had sacrificed everything to-appearance, once
told some of her newly-made acquaintenances
that the lamiliar old man laboring in the yard
was the wood sawyer. Having gone thus lar,
she was base enough to carry out tiie lie, and
when he came in lor a moment, and stood upon
the threshold of the door, with a childish smile
warming up the wrinkle ol his face into sunni
ness in anticipation of the dear name of father,
she schooled herself to say, coldly, pointing to
the yard :
"We can't pay you lill the whole is done."
The old father gazed for a moment in aston
ishment, comprehended the whole duplicity,
and turned away broken hearted. Trulv the
iron then entered his soul, for
"O, who can tell,
How sharper than a serpent a tooth it is
To hve a thankless child." •
From the Journal of Commerce.
JUSTICE CAMPBELL AND SECRETARY
SEWARD-
The chief basis on which the North has so
enthusiastically rushed into the war, is its recti
tude. This idea ot rectitude was originated by
the attack OD Sumter. That attack was pro
nounced aggressive and the inauguration of war,
rebellion and treason to the Federal Govern
ment. The insult to the flag, the symbol of
freedom, was, with many, the paramount crime.
Then came the higher patriotism of resistance
to anarchy, supports of government.
Without these controlling ideas and senti
ments, there could never have been secured
such a fusion ol antagonistic political views,
such an absorption of all other thoughts and
feelings in the one grand idea of patriotism.—
To even hint at anything else than this, as the
inspiring motive of the movement, was to tread
closely on the verge of treason ; to question its
rectitude was to fly in the face of the populace
and all prevalent opinion, was to subject one
self to the faggot or the halter.
Those, especially, who take their rules ol life
from the Bible, and whose patriotism can never
be strong when not permeated by a sense of
right, will look with much interest for the ex
planation which Judge Campbell has so long a
waited in vain,from Secretary Seward. As the
matter now stands be/ore the public, it is so clear
a case of deception and of overreaching the con
fidence of friendship and sincerity, that it goes
far toward changing the issue, and abating the
sympathy of those who stood up en masse with
the Administration, under a high sense ot right.
Should that sense of right. Should that sense
ol right be impaired, the" sacred and holy
cause" so dear to the hearts of the people, so
prominent in the prayers and preaching of the
pulpit, might lose much of its sanctity. We
must hold the conscience of the clergy and of
other good men, if we expect to retain their en
thusiastic devotion to any case. Only this has
given abolitionism its power.
If, then, the silence of Secretary Seward
in regard to the testimony of Judges Camp
bell and Nelson, two of the most honorable and
respectable of men, is to be understood a< a tacit
assent, on his part, to its substantial truth, it
throws on the Administration the responsibility
of slamming the door of conciliation in the very
face of those who came to smoke the pipe ol
peace.
No complaint can, certainly, be made against
Justice Campbell tor this publication. It is no
breach of confidence ; but mtbcr butt, a private
and a public duty, ol the discharge of which
Mr. Seward was notified in the correspondence
itself. Besides, candor, patriotism and truth all
uemand it.
It was wrong, decidedly wrong, for Secreta
ry Seward to impress Judge Campbell with the
" entire confidence" that Sumter would not be
supplied or re-enforced, and leave him and Jus
tice Nelson under that impression, whilst the
Cabinet was actively engaged and intending to
do both. It was some like Punic faith, and
might pass for smart war policy ; but it cer
tainly imparts somewhat of justification to the
attack on Suinter, and detracts materially from
the prestige we presumed we had in that noto
rious affair.
It has rather an ugly face, to say the feast,
as you look at it in the mirror of the Gospel ;
and we shall probably wish, in the future, that
this page of the history could be expunged.
QUERE.
Mow the Soldiers are Sniudied-
We copy the following extract ola letter to
the Philadelphia Inquirer, a Republican paper,
from a visitor to Camp Scott, in reference to
the miserable clothing lurnished in the name
of the State to the troops now there:
In the Quartermaster's Department of Gen
: eral VVynkoop,s Brigade I was shown a pile ol
! pantaloons (eight-five pair, ) some of which
; had been worn eight or ten days, others three
lor four, some one day, and some only two
| hours, and others, still, which had only been
tried on, and yet there was not a single on.e
!of all these pants that was not wholly tvorth
| ess. In a word, the material was so rotten
that the slightest tension would tear it. Gen
eral VVynkoop informed the writer he expected
at least four hundred to be condemned. I procu
red a pair of these pantaloons,which will reach
rne by exrpess to-day, and which I shall take
pleasure in submitting to the inspection of any
parties who may feel disposed to doubt this
statement. General VVynkoop, as well 3s sev
eral other prominent officers, assured me that
many of the soldiers were compelled to wear
their overcoats all the time to hide the repts .n
their pantaloons.
I was next shown a sample ot the shoes, and
was permitted to bring one of them with ice.
This shoe has been worn two days, and yet it
is as guiltless of a sole as the man, (if man he
may be called ) who made it. I also brought
a sample of the in-sole of these shoes, which,
for the credit of the manufacturer, I am happy
to state is made of real good pine shavings.—
He was determined to keep up his reputation
in this particular' at all events. Several ol
the officers assured me that the heels would
frequently fall off in one hour from the time
they were first put on the men's feet. Some
ot the men would not wear them at all, but
sold them for twenty-five cents a pair, and
then bought good ones from the shoe merchants
of York.
Attentioh was next directed to the blankets.
It is a desecration of the name to call the dirty
looking flimsy things shown as blankets. The
worst punishment I could desire for the con
tractor who furnished them, would be to com
pefl him to sleep under twenty of them with
the thermometer at zero. He would freeze to
death in an hour. The texture is of the coar
sest kind, and the material of the commonest
character. In a stiff breeze the wind would
pass through them almost as freely as through
1 a fishing-net.
WHOLE NUMBER, 2048.
The contractor, who furnished the overcoats,
must be a fancy man. His tastes are not unlike
those of Jacob of old, who gave his son Joseph
"a coat of many colors." In some cases, these
coals contained cloth of three or four different
shades of color.
Now, Messrs. Editors, is it nol painful to
think that such things are permitted, and is it not
scandalous that no steps have been taken to
correct this crying evil? A]prominent official
of this State, just from Washington, says the
meanness of the equipent3 of the Pennsylvania
troops there, has earned for them the unenvia
ble sobriquet of the " dirty shirt boys."
Is this not humiliating to our State pride?
First in the fiield, the most liberal of all the
States witli men and money, it i 3 a deplorable
fact that our State authorities designedly or
innocently, have fallen into the hands of rapa
cious contractors, who are paid enormous sums
for clothing, which is so inferior to that furnish
ed the soldery of other States, that our men
are made a by-word when they put it on.
PICKINGS AND" STEALINGS.
The reasons given by the Democratic Sena
tors for refusing to vote for the §500,000 ap
propriation to arm the State are beginning to be
realized in their full force. Up to this time no
money has been expended for arms, and yet we
venture to say, that it ail the bills contracted in
the army movements and the equipments pur
chased were paid to-day, there would be a very
small balance of the appropriation on hand.
Within a day or two, revelations of an as
tounding nature have been made, which go to
show that unprincipled men are turning the
whole affair into a grand speculation, and a
Legislative investigation is freely talked of,
Ws are told that the contractors who are now
, engaged at the Girard House in Philadelphia,
in getting up clothing for the army, have turn
ed the whole operation into a gtand speculation
and are making a nice thing of it. It is said
that they charge the State for each military
coat made $'2.25, while they pay the women
who do the work only 70 cents. Hundreds of
women who are wealthy have volunteered to
make up these garments without pay, and yet
for every one that is turned in somebody receives
two dollars and twenty-five cents. The same
j may be said of everything else, even to the man
ufacture of shirts. Material is purchased at a
certain price, and bills, with a certain percent
age added, are rendered, which percentage is
of course fobbed by somebody.— llarrisburg
Union.
Gibbet tbe Contemptible Thieves-
We copy the- following article from the
Pittsburg Chronicle, a Republican paper:
We are not without reports from Washing
ton and otner points nearer home, that contrac
tors, commissariats, &c., are basely attempting
,to speculate on our soldiers necessities. There
are many men so lost to honor, conscience and
patriotism that they would poison a whole
army if they could fill their[own pockets, and
these hungry leeches are now beginning to
appear. They should be held up to public
scorn, and swept out of decent society by the
withering indignation of the whole people.
Hunt down the traitors and give them no quar
' ter. No matter what the social station or po
litical rank of the offenders, they should be
taught that the hour of their country's extrema
peril is no time to gamble with the health
and comfort and even lives of their brave and
sacnficing defendeis. The contractors for sup
plying aimies with provisions and clothing
have always peen a pest to the service. Wash
ington and Jackson were more perplexed, dis
heartened and exasperated, by the thieving pro
pensities ot contractors, than by the operations
of hostile forces. The flower of the English
army perished in the Crimea through the neg
ligence of contractors, the incapacity of officers,
and fife inadequacy of the system—known as
"red tapeism"—of providing for troops. It
was to have been expected that the contractors
would have a rich harvest in the hurry and
confusion of organizing the voiunteer army
for the support of the Government. This ex
pectation has not been disappointed. Tbera
has been extensive swindling. We ere now
through the worst ot the preliminaries. Hence
forih there will be time and opportunity to
look sharply alter the thieves. Let them be
hunted down, exposed and punished. Keep
close watch on the appropriations and see that
no legislative or political thief will dare extort
money from the necssities ol his country, at
any rate without meeting, as he richly merits,
the scorn and contempt of a whole nation.
IN LOVE WITH CALICO.
" Calico dresses are a grand institution. De
laines, silks, and even satins are good enough in
their place—in the parlor or bar.d-box, and all
such . but after all the old 'stand by,' the sub
stantial, is the shilling calico. Care must be
taken not to soil the silk, nothing must come in
contact with the nice dress that will rumple
and stain it; but the calico, that's made for
work, and, as the 'highfalutins' say 'nobly does
it fulfill its mission.' Silk rarely finds its way
into the realities of life ; that is into the kitchen
at home, or into the hut of the suffering abroad.
''Calico seems to be always more willing
and ready to give want than silk. It is a cur
riousl'act of our nature, that the nicer our dress
the harder our heart is, as if when dressed
in silk we changed our natures and rose above
base worldly things. What ! our silk dress be
seen near enough tc that poor woman to give
her assistance, or drabbling into a dirty hut ?
No, never! Calico might do it ; silk, its'just
impossible.
' But when in addition to all Calico comes
in, rosy with the exercise of kitchen duties
which it knows how tp do well, and loves to do
dearly, and sits down at the piano or melodeoo,
and makes the liquid melody Sow sweetly
forth; aye, even blending its own sweet voice
with the music of tbe instrument, [then we ap
preciate Calico." ' ,
VOL. 4. NO. 42.