The weekly mountain Democrat. [volume] (Placerville, El Dorado County, Calif.) 1861-1862, 1861-09-21

IN winch prtJudice ana Olnu natTcu N
engendered and iosteTed in this State by
the independent" press, and to evincc to
what extent they 60 themselves and allow
their correspondents to untruthlully pro.
coed without check or admOnitiOn, it is
only necessary to take these - indepcn.
dent" papers and give extracts thcrefrom.
1t has already gone into history how the
soldiers who arc battling for the country
have been swindled in their outfits, &c.
The latest attempt to cast Odium upon
that class Of CALIFORNIA; citizens who were
born in the SOuth-for they are indis'
criminatcly clasScd by these arbitrary
Judges as SccesSionists, lis to be fOundin
the .iitG Of the lth inst. \ cOrrespOn-
dent, d" Argus" under the startling cap
ton Of Acts of the SccesSiOnists," very
wisely thinks he has found mares nest
and concludes TO Cnlightcn the world and
the .4itO upon his sage discovery. Hear
what the blanket sheet allows him to say:
"a careful and critical inquiry has forced
! upon me the cOnvicliOn that the SecesS0nisls
are trying the same game here which has
proved 81 successful in some Of our EOsthern
! cities. Il 10 TO get up gsest cry and bowl
about the terrible suffeTingA Of our volunteers
who are represented to be without blankets
10 many Instances, without sufficient food,
| vegetables. and even some ri the neeessaTies
OF life. I am persuaded that
the great cause Of this Ouicry has its sOurce
among the SeceSSionistS, WIN are extremely
anxious tn prevent the raising n the five regi.
menis authorized by CODRrcss. and who arc
endeaVOriDg To compel resort Ia drafting. in
the hope ~ breeding disaiiectiUn. II is well
know q, however, that they are secretly organ.
ling. waiting for something to turn up which
may prove favorable to their rebelous cause.
| Now, happily for the truth Of history,
this poison-carrics with itself the antidotc,
for in the columns Of the same issue Of the
llltd, in fact, side by side with the com.
munication Of ARGUS" the Alias New
/ York correspondent, j. =. c., gives to
Argus" severe blow by asserting that
the soldiers have been cheated in more
ways than even ARGUS" attempts to
excuse. Let US hear ~. r. c." speak
I for himself:
"Public opinion throughout the entire North
condemns Cameron. Rs being almost as corrupt
as Floyd himself. There is very strung susPi.
ciOn backed By pretty sound prOOf, that Cam
erOD IS interested in nearly every army con.
tract that is given, as also IN the PenDsy lVania
Railroad. lie will persist in sending troops
I from the North TO Washington ~ Harrisburg, 4
instead Of the direct and much shorter route
BY way Of Baltimore. The Union papers North
and West. in very plain words, demand his
dismissal for dishonest practices, aud Wells.
the Secretary Of the Navy, also, for the most
! lamentablc imbeciliiy. The pressure ia 50
great on the PresideDt to dismiss. or ask them
| u resign, that it is thought he will do ~ be.
| fore long. II must be remembered that there !,
are only two parties in the NOrih-"ne, heart !
and soul III favor Uf maintaining the Union bv
force Of arms, and another who see in the pre-.
sent loyal movement only an opportunity to |
make money BY swindling contracts and the !
most open rnbbery Of the Government. The !
f"rmer are patriots, and the latter are composed !
entirely Of the leaders u the rank and nile ri
the Republican paTiy-pD0r, miserable things,
who are selling their Gag aud country for thirty
pieces Of silver. There are so many instances
Of the frauds and corruptons prnctsed By
these bl0odsuckerS daily, that the enthusiasm
Of the North TO carry On the war ia almost
I
forward only $500 volunteers, beside her reg.
ular militia rcginIents, but the latter have ~.
turned their three months term Of enlistment
having expired, and few have Signiied their
willingness to return. This State could easily
! furnish hundred thousand well equipped men,
butitis now found To BE- difficult 10 make up the
quota Of the last call of the Governor for O., 0oo
more. You may ask, Why Is all thiS'" BE.
cause the men we're iniIerubly clothed, fed, and
ill.lrcated generally, and they returned Der.
! icclly callous and indifferent whether the sc.
cessionists drove the Republicans from power
or not.
some DAYS they snbsisicd on nothing but
biscuit and water, except what they purchase d
themselves, and were not even furnished NTH
blankets. Pay day came around, aud New
/ York tr',ups had to submit to n shave If ten
! per cent. to get their money. THIS was ar
! ranged between a L. =. PaynIasicr and an
outside agent. The former had been author
lied 10 pay the troops the very day they were
discharged, but instead Of dong 10, gave out
To the various regiments that he should not be
able to pay them, or make out their accounts
for month. The agent then steps in, buys
the soldiers accOunts, with ten per cent Ofl
and 10 aud behold gets his money immediate
". Secretary Cumeron's son, the State Pay
master for Pennsylvania, attempted the same
game with the Pennsy lVania returned militia
lie received 100000 in gold, but puTeha Sed
!
paying them with the latter. The soldiers de-
tected the trick, by which they were to be
cheated collectively out Of ub,mt tl2.000
threatened lynch law, aud young Cameron had
to fork over the gold aud silver.
Instances are common where the Govern.
ment has furnished Qnartcrmasters with first
class beef for the various brigades, which they
have sold, purchased instead inferior beef, and
pocketed the difference. Others have drawn
full ratiOns for regiment. sold balft the amount,
and furnished the balance NJ being full ra.
tons to the men. So it is in furnishing trans.
pOrtaliOn and clothing. 5000 horses we're paid
for BY the Secretary, two days S'nce. at $l25
each. to be used for cavalry. When they reach.
ed Washington. !. va. found they were entirely
broken down and unit for use. This led to IN.
quiry, when it was discovered that they were
purchased for SIS each by an authorized agent
Of the War Department, and Uncle Sam
charged Sl25. thereby sOmebOdy making about
tl60,000 10 only this one operation. Brokers
are appointed 60 buy and charter steam and
sailing vessels, and the most exhOrbitant prices
are paid for them"
And then -. =. no doubt cor.
respondent favorable to ReEH blicanisrn, or
else the independent" press would cease
to employ him-goes little further and
duplicates "Several California RepubI.
cans as well as those from other States"
as being engaged in "this wholesale sys-
tenn Of swindling." Now, Mr.. ARGUS"
what have you to say in substantiation Of
your "Arts Of the SecessiOnists" And
what must the Alta think oil itself for al
lowing such barefaccd falsehoOd to go
to the world not only unrebukcd, but 81.
lcntly endorsed? The extracts given
prove that either Argus" or ~. P. G."
has wilfully> told falsehood or that the
latter is q secesSiOnist Of the rankest kind,
in which event the sooner his services are
dispensed with the better. But, serious.
ly, can any one not blinded by partisan
| bigOtry fail to discover the mode by which
these incendiary correspondents are en-
a