Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1862-07-16
The SOLDIER Ders e

oooJeet Vi remark thattthe North Carolina
soldiers around Richmond are worse clothed than
any IN the service. This is not the fault of the
Legislature or of the Convention but Of the ADMIN
iseraon at Raleigh, as the following extract from
letter from an intelligent officer near Richmond,
will show:
"There is one subject to which I wish to call
your attention. and that is the manner In which our
soldiers are clothed The law fixing the pay of the
army allows each soldier the same amount of cloth
ing which regular is allowed and in lieu thereof
Communication money at the rate Of $25 for six
months, or $50 per year. Now, soldiers can carry
but little clothing in their knapsacks and it is to
their convenience and profit to buy their clothes
from the Quartermaster just as they need them
Moreover, his undertaking which is the most i'm.
portant item, he prefers to get from home, instead
of paying 81 for shirt, and the same for drawers
The government at Raleigh has an immense guam
tity of JeU s1Qp shop clothing, which no Captain
will purchase, if he can possibly avoid it. But to
get it off, the Raleigh government is forcing the SOL
der to buy this from them. They have made an
arrangement with the War Department by which
the clothing money is paid to them, and they issue
to our soldiers certain amount Of this old clothing
and on this account The Confederate government is
sues no clothing at all to our troops"
Our correspondent then states that the Colonel of
his regiment picked out an excellent uniform for his
men in Richmond, but the government refused 1t to
him, for the reasons above given, though his reg-
ment was IN rags; and another Colonel sent his
Quartermaster to Raleigh for clothing, and the Quar-
termaster would not take what was offered saying
properly ne would not transport them for them
Both these regiments fought at Manassas, and in all
the late Battles around Richmond.
The regiments from other States are we'll clothed
because the other States have no war establishments
has, and their troops turned over as fast
as raised to the Confederate government. The con-
servatives and friends of reform have labored in
this State for twelve months to get clear of our ex-
pensive war establishment, and to place all our war
operations and the clothing of our troops where
they properly belong, under the care of the COM
leigh have constantly opposed such course, being
anxious to hold on to the power and patronage
which large war establishment Creates And so,
through faithess partizan contractors, our soldiers
are defrauded and many of them are in rags, while
the soldiers from other States are we'll clothed.
What burning sbame! The heroes Of Manassas,
of Seven Pines, and of battles almost without num-
Der, naked and neglected, and r.lic1led as we hear
by soldiers from other States, in order that Jew
slopshop clothing may be worked off, and that
scores of officials in Raleigh and elsewhere may
have the pretext Of employment to save them from
the conscrption and may also purchase their bacon
salt molasses, coffee and the like at government
prices and live in the shade and advocate the black
flag, not showing their own faces 10 the battle and
employ their leisure moments in denouncing the re-
lations and friends at home of thousands of these
heroes as traitors to the Soulful What would Zeb
Vance do, if he were Governor? Think you he
would allow the brave men who fight our battles to
be imposed on in this way? NO! If necessary,
be would scourge those who have defrauded them,
and the shade officers who have neglected them,
with whip of scorpions from their posts, and put
better and more honest-men in their places. The
stallfeds know this, and hence their opposition to
him. His enemies say he is only good-humored
young man, and excels in joking Well, he does love
joke and he laughs at every good anecdote but his
own; but his wrath is terrible against wrong doors,
and it will burn after all those who have defauded
or imposed on the brave men who fight our battles.
Wait till Vance is Governor, boys and you will
have iustce-but not before. He will take the oath
about two months from this date and after that you
vii! he put off with no more slopshop clothing
The Jews, and the "'money changers" and the off
cals who flch from you your bounty, and the shade
officers who put on airs and the big officials who
play the tyrant, and the creeping things who nfes
the capitol begging for little work to save then
from CONSUMPTION little printing to keep up de
caying newspapers,-aN sueh-no matter by wha
name heretofore called, will be invited in the mos
good natured manner imaginable to take up thei
things and ,0azk. We are not authorized to say this
or to say any thing for COL Vance, but We give ou
opinion, which will go for what it is worth.