Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-11-28
OF TTE ARmETHE
EVIL AND THE REMEDY.
Correspondents Savannah Republican / = - -

Correspondence Savannah Republican a-
RICHMOND. November 1I-Tn my letter
the Sth instant atteHtion was called to the fs
that q number of ba-efootsd soldiers ha
7 marched through the streets of the capital th
9 pre- cedDg daY in a iuTions snOw-storn, and tht
a an officer had just arrived here from Culpepe
with the intelligence that there were sti
. tweniy-six hundred men in q single corps of th
9 army who were destitute of shoes This ofiiee
: was dispatched to Richmond in he capacity c
= agent to procure supplies Of shoes, seeks an
clethirg for the army, and cons queDtly bi
representations are to be regarded as entirel,
7 trustworthy. One of the morning papers, il
some remarks prefscing the publication Of hi
card, stated, doubtless upon the authority Of th,
, sgent himself, that the querternas ter &C nera
was not able TO furnish the shoes, and would no
be for some time to come.
This officer (the head Of the ouartermastert
Department. has had all the spring, summer and
fall in which to procure shoes for toe army 1
they were not TO be had in the Confederacy, ht
has had an ample time and opportunity to OBJ
tain them from England If they were to BE-
bad in the country, he has had the same time
and opportunity to procure them at home
not shoes then leather, which might long since
have been converted into shoes, Was the leather
to be had The Storerooms of the extortiousrs
and spectators in Richmond alone contained
footed soldiers passed through the city to
supply every destitute man in the army of Viz
ginis If priv&te dealers could obtain supplies
of these indispensable articles, could not the
quarteTmas!er- general have done the same. if he
had shown the activity and industry whi, h char
scterizs the conduct Of individuals in their per
| sora affairs .'-re
Unfortunately many of the officers of tire
quarteTmssteT's department wore formerly con-
4 wit hat 4. H.,
erument, Previous to the disruption of the
Union the Federal army WAS small and easily
supplied. simple advertisement in ore of the
Boston or New York papers would bring clothes
and shoes enough In tWenty-four hours 10 last
the army whole year. The condition of the
! Confederate government is quite different, and
requires not merely bureau officers, but men of
1 energy and Eest-men who possess creative fac
mites, who are familiar with the resources of the
country, and know how, and when, AMI where
| to go to work. Have we such men in the quar-
/ termsster's department We have not.
/ Singular as it may RppesT, the Tegimentsl
/ quartermssters are more efficient than the brig
ade and division qusTtermasters. These latter
9TH -ers, for the m0ss part, are nice young men.
who ride gay horses, wear fhe clothes, write a
good hand, and are familiar with bookkeeping
In some instances they are the sons of wealthy
parents or prominent politicians, and care no.
0Qn
the gay plomaee Of the Jay. It need hardly be
said that such officers are Of but little account in
stern iimes Ike these We want earnest men
working Ben-in every department Of the gov
erHment and srmy-men who realize the oiFan-
tic proportions Of the struggle in which we are
engaged, and who are ready to make every sac
riice and exert every energy chat the great cause
msy demand
The Sunday night the army moved from
p, CnE--
WAS misled to take the road by which the wagon
trains were moving. Coming to a place where
the road foTked, I felt certain the wagons ad
tsken the wrong direction, and so Informed an
officer connected with the train He declined to
interfere, however, ss the qnATtermsster of one
OF the army corps was in command of the train |
and accompanying and directing it. Upsn en-
quiry at farm house / was told that the wse.
onS were certainly proceeding By the wrong
read; whereupon l returned sud went in search !
OF the officer in charge, whom 1 found sound
asleep in his wagon.
Upon the safety Of this train depended the
safety OF the army, for it contained not only tie
mesgIe supply of -four we bad but ali the am |
munition except what the men had taken in their |
cartridge boxes.
These are the officers who denounce the bare !
footed men for struggling, and who have caused |
1t to be represented through the country that the
army is sbundantly supplied with shoes and !
clothing
1t may be safely asserted that the hides taken |
from the beef slaughtered for the army, will shoe
the army; that the tallow will furnish candles !
enough to light it, and that the oil taken from
the feet will keep in good order the harness used
in its transportation. A unorents ref c.ion viii I
suffice to establish this proposition. Esdma.ipg |
the average weight of the beeves st GOO pounds /
"a high igure.) and the number Of pounds fur |
nished to each msn during the year at 800, |
(Which is 8 small silowencee when il is rsuem |
beresd that much of it is necessarily wasted and
iost on marches sCd we have one beef to every |
two men, and consequently one hide TO every /
two meR. 1 DO not know how many pairs Of |
shoes hide taken from an OK weighing 500 !
pounds will make, but it would be venturing /
but little to say it would produce six or eight |
pairs, or twice as navy shoes as the men ever
get. The army in Virginia has received but lit |
tie bacon or moiasses this year not enough. at |
all events to influence the calculation first made |
If the above estimate bs correct, what sxcuse |
can the qusrtermaster and eammissary depart- |
ments render for the present shoel,ss condition |
Of the arny7 I vas with the amy wear sro /
at Manassas and Centeryille, and took the hb- |
eft7 then to call public attention TO this same
subject, and urge upon those departments the /
necessity Of saving the bidss tallow aud oil sup-
a
that time not Cne-half Of the hides were prs-
served in a condition at for any use whatever,
and not one pound of tallow or oil in tan There
may have been some improvement ia these par
ticuars this year, bat fear not crest deal, if
any The same want of care and forecast which
chsTaciarizes these departments in Richmond,
SC ems to follow their agents and employees into
the held. Major Moses, who has recently been i
promoted TO the Office of chief cemnissary of /
I % bes IL, 1
here spoken of, and has promised to use all his
aehnoE Iedged energy and ability to eerrect tie
evil. Let US hope bis pTaisewOrthy efforts will !
be crowned with abundant success
We have thus seen that the government has
failed to furnish its soldiers with the REQUISITE
amount of clothing, shoss and blsnkets.
w neither this failure is justly sscribable to una
Voldable circumstances, or to tho negligence and
inefhclency of It's officers il is not now necessary
further 10 inqnire The facts are as have I
stated them. Such IS the evil and the question
which now concerns us most, is, what is the /
remedy for the evilf
The success which has attended the efforts Of
the Georgia Relief Hospital Association, sug-
gests the enquiry, whether the several States
would not be more successful than the Confed-
crate authorities, if each one of them wers to
undertake, with The consent and approval of the
latter to supply its own troops with clothing,
SAi'0S' otS All q PttieAfce te6cnee Us tnA Wis
dom OF the principle involY, in division of |
labor and this maxim alone, to say nothing of
the home affsctions and sy mpathies which would |
be brought into active play by such an arrange. |
ment, IS sufficient to recommend the propogea /
change to the serious consideration of the State
legislatures Ny own opinion-worth hut little,
It's uue-is decidedly in favor Of Il P W A.
From ihe RiO Grande.
The Brownsville Flag says that about three
hundred rsams Of printing paper viii soon reach |
IL f-o,,, hat