The Placer herald., 1861-08-24
This and That--.What do They Mean.

Pretty lively times we live neh /! Yes
terdav | saw another scene which reflected
in the persons Of starving women and chill
dren, the sad,lrst shape of war WAS acri
denalIy standing in Pine street, talking "ith |
friend. abou, | p. NJ, when "A procession OF
eaunt and RAGGED women came down the |
street from broadway and filed into the
building between Nassau and William
streets, in the second story Of which is the
office of the Union Defence Committee.
There were between one hundred and fifty
aud two hundred of them, and not one Of
all whom misery had not marked for lis
own. All Of them were sold ers' wives,
whom the s'opraGe Of the piuanre allowed
hy The u. ID. g., the funds of which are now
exhausted, had reduced To the verge Of star
vaiion. by the naiire or ignorance Of some
tlrious or wicked medder, q notice was
published on Saturday last that the u. d. G.
would resume relief allowances, and pay
them at their up town office. No IA Fourth
avenne, on Monday There they Went first,
and fonnd out the cruel truth. From there
lhty went in body 10 the Mayors Office
tut the great Fernando WAS conveniently ahI
sent. Lastly, they came to the Y. -. C.s
down town office and there, in The brolljng
sun, they clustered around the doos and be
>ieged he office. b, g4ing for only enough
to keep the life in their bodies and lheir
..lildren's These women were noi ragged,
no, Of the owest-ouly very poor. lop
could they Were not heggars-dll not
know how To beg. Iiu, their cheeks were
worn and their eyes ha9gard and wolti>h
More Than half Of them bad hahirs in their
anus, and being inierr gated, all answered
that they had more tlan one rhiId at home
and bad 40 food t" give them. A clek or
TWO If tie Committce demonstrated with
tAeln. and told Them here was 30 money.
Then some of the virago sor began 10 rail
against the "arstocrais." Yes, sir, heard
tie word used and repeated many times, just
as III pars, once upon II time, The "Dames
de In Halle" clieI ~ las les aristorratS"
The aistocia!s who staid at home whilst
poor men went to war--ai the aiistCclais,
who lived sumptnons'y every day with their
tamll Is rolling in riches around them, willis,
poor sclItls' wives and children starved.
That WIS suuitirAnt. And one wonau said:
MY hus shand is a soldier; I'll pot disgrace
him hy hce4ing-bul before his baby shall
slarve, l. steal from the first lich mans
house" She was hands me, who said HAT,
Handsome, alth"ngh She WAS very Thin
and had consumpiive hollow about her
che k ahd eye, and there WAS a quiet crncy
III the way she said il which ,"n,i inccd me
tia, she would moi only do i, bat that she
would not hesitate minute longer Than her
PaiSinn sisters of '93 to put knife into An
"alistocrat," as we'll rs to steal from him.
Yet, after all This terribly sad scene-lhi>
tremendous staltlr9 tragedy If real life,
with lis tw" hundred women rhaunling The
'>rol he" and "auti-st "l,he" of despair in
wilder and more heai trrt zlnw measure than
ever the old Greek chorus attained! to in the
ve,se Of Euripides OF Sophores-lhi his awful
drama o. revo'uiiun aud civil war had funny
contrast. For, IN he midst of the weeping,
lla, ing. threatening. hagoard. starving wo.
men, anne Prosper NJ. Neimore, one of the
members OF Ulion Defence Committee
! HIS is what Welmore, whose little balance
Of hundred thousand dollars or So due the
United States as Naval Officer, has never
heen adjnsted by the Treasury Department,
end never will, and Who has ever since his
"deiault'-wlat a sweet name for offiriaI
swindIing !--leen clothed in purple aud fine
linen, and served the cause Of Lis country.
Virtue and humanity hy doing daily penanre
| in palace ON BIG dinners, and no end ot
"Nlumm's Cabinet" etc. And Prosper NJ
with tie air of Mawworm, Chalband and
Pecksuitf rolled into one, came amongst
the poor hungry creatures, aud spread his
hands henevole' ly over them, and told them
to 90 home HAT there was no money fer
| ,I fl, I,, .,f
,lrtpv were engaged in raising it, and Ia n
few days, perhaps, something would be done
for them !" A few days God help them,
and they stareing at him then and there
with starvation looking out Of their eyes,
and little hungry babes tngging at their dry
hi, asts for the nourishment which exhausted
nalnre could no LON ri Yield. My God |
tlink a man who could stand there aud lock
over HAT scene and talk so, Without Il tear
on his cheek, or n Qniver of a mnscle-and
he did could play game of poker ON his
fathers coffin with a deputy Sa~bones III
search of subject for an Antagonist, and
The pa,ernal corpse for the stakes. There
we've IL few of us gathered on the opposite
side of the way, aud we hadn't great deal
Of money amongst us, hui we went over aud
emplied onr pockets amongst the poor crea
tults, and felt very good after it : and Ching
Foo has been on the point of hnhberiug
like bal Y or Il whipped school boy several
times snce to think Of all those wea Y. wo
4 struck, despaling l"oking creatures. and how
they looked standing 'hrle in The SUI. with
the Thermometer at 00-and II anybody
thinks he's weak or nonsen,ira for doing it.
he def ses them as contemplate scoundreis
that's al
NoMFNCI A1yEE -1htre are no such locations
rs Bulls Run or Newport News in Virginia. The
| first is Bull Run and the latter Newport News
the I, rmoI from The fact that drovcrs used To
iold the stream and rest cattle there. and the lat