The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1861-10-17
The Army Sutler.

The suffers tent i, the same in all
caDp- that | have ever visited. BE it
understood for the benefit of those unin-
formed, that the suttler is the merchant
of the regi neut. He sells lemonade
tobacco 10 papers and plugs-cigars Of
cabbage and tobacco--red hernugs.
cracker aud colasses cake-. He would
sell whisky if be dared This tent is al
wags numbered up with barrels AMI box
es, aud at the customers end of it. a
board across tSo pork barrels does duty
for a counter. Here the ncu come in
crowds. every hour in the day. to get
some little delicacy, (after salt fat pork
and no vegetables, with the sun at 9S de-
erees, even po.asscs cakes arc a delica-
Cyl to eat, or for glass of cool lemon
ade to drink and make much of.
As the regiments are mostly supplied
with muddy springs Of their digging. 10
prevent poisoning By our amiaSle Vlr-
eiuia ueighbors.) ard as the sutler gene
orally has the only ice in the camp. a
eIa-s of even suffers lemonade is po>t
grateful beverage uDder the torrid cir
cumstsuces The currency used With
the sutler is pastebosrd tickets. repre-
septing respectfully the value of 5 cent.,
10 cents. or 25 ct, parable 10 goods at
the suffers store. When soldier d.
sires to enter into commercial uegotIa-
tionS with the sutler. aud ha. no money
wherewitb TO achieve that mercantile de-
sideratum, be naturally concludes 10 an
ticipate some portion of bis pay. He
therefore obtains from the Captain priu-
ted order ca the paymaster for one dol
lar or more. as the case may be, which
assigned by bim.elf. of course a' the draw
er of az order. aui is then couDter-igned
by the Captain. as guaranty that the
sum OF nouey called for 10 the order is
actually due the man. This document is
now eeoti able, and the sutler will take
il, apd give for its "isce," not in money,
bat 10 tickets, which are simply due bills
on himself, which be binds himself TO re-
deem 10 goods.
As the good. are sold at bis osn pri.
ces, and as the tickets must eventually
all 6ud their way to bis establishment, it
follows that the Office Of Regimental SUIT
ler usually pays better than that of Ma.
jor General When pay day comes a.
round, the men having srept all their
tickets" have, as general rule, little
interests 10 the paymaster. The sotler
presents all the orders for pay which are
10 bis possession, and from the psyDas-
ter receives the gold The whole system
is a very Objectionable one. and the
French plan OF paying the soldiers every
ten days would be su infinite improve
ment As it is, the meu DO the work,
and dare all the danger, while the suter
pockets the lions, or rather the suffers
part Of it. All the suffers stores, or
tents. are alike--are always thronged, +,
and always make money. There is usu
ally a rear entrance for the officers. who
are thus admitted behind the counter,
and occasionally sportive Major take
fancy to ride a frolicksome horse 10 at
the bsckdoor, and a sm sshiDg sensation is
the result.
Bot the whole sutler arrangement is
bad, though it is SO intimately connected
with The system of army payments. that
reform touching only toe suffers de-
partueut would only be half skin deep.
nGrAn old darkey Methodist, who