The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1862-03-24

TIE miserable Rxs.rti.ness.

We have sever heard 81 anything IN the
history Of uaa like the high prices which pre-
vail fer every article Of use and necessity
Hvrryhoay WHO has anything 10 sell or dis
poss Of sssua to have no sther thought than
10 wiring from the wants Of the purchaser the
last dine tAa& caa b squeezed out from him,
and v tarn the screws upon the poor victim 70
che lass p<iat Of human endurance. Severity
Ave cents peunl for butter, thirty csnss for
ssear, feur dollars aud half per pound for
tsa, hhy cents per quart for SALT hfsy
cents for . string Of three miserable
Aah, . shilling 10 twenty-five cents pound
fer bssf, seventy i've cents peek for sweet
pstatses, fsrty dollars for an ordinary jeans
coat, twensy I've for an Indifferent pair OF
tsowssrs, twelve snd 6iteen dollars for shoes,
are eDly . few specimens Of the gigantic op
prsssions which the rapaeity and avarice OF
HAN are exercising on THE community 10
declare grsvsly shat thcre is no necessity, no
reason in such prices, would be as absurd as
~ aver with ssleunity that the sun is We
source Of light, that the weather is warm in
saunsr and cold in winter, and that when a
nan ceases 70 breathe he ceases to live. II
matters net what commodity 10 to be die
posed Of, it ID the same throughout. The
wants Of the distressed and of strangers es-
pssially ale taken advan' age of in every shape
and fern. This war. which has given rise to
ssns Of the noblsst examples ofhuman nature
that were ever heard of has also developed the
most intense and disgusting selhshnsss Whilst
the mass Of the Southern people have given
up everything 70 the war, their time, their
money, their children, their own life blood
Cengrsss hss squabbled ever the amount OF
iss pay, the Legislature exempted itself from
military daty, the spectators and land sharks
drained the soldiers who were fighting for
then Of their life. blood, officers sacrificed the
general good to their personal jsalousies, And
tAas haired and inpsrilIed the noblest cause
that naa ever drew the sword for. OF this
mir structure Of eur young Republic, it may
b aid to the extsrtionsrs and spectators Of
every grade, ~ was said TO their predecessors
in the jewish temple, "You have made it
den Of thieves Oh, for lash of cords in 1
some Divine hand, to scourgs the whole rave
neas crew from the edicse that they have pol
lutsA and almost destroyed!
At all events, the high prices ought to be
recorded in some enduring form, with anthem
tts testimonials, and filed among the archives
Of the State, in order that future generations
may be enabled TO believe what would other
wise appear incredible. That such dsiuge
Of greed aad sxtortioa should sweep over any
community, aad that community q Southern
community, and that Southern community in
the midst of life and death struggle like this
war, is absolutely sste andng and appalling
II eur country falls, it will be through the &C
cursed principle Of sslfshness manifesting it.
self in 20 many forms Of ambition, jealousy
and lsve Of lusre, and making victims of the
noble and generous masses who have JOY fully
given uP their all to the cause The heart
sieksns when it turns from purs and disin
tsrested people, whether on their farms or in
the ranks, to The greedy birds of prey who
aarksn she whole air and drown with their
aiseordant screams for prey the groans. of the
} ufsring and even the roar of the battle.