Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1864-07-13
Forage.

In these days OF scarcity and high prices the
inject of forage has become quite serious, and to
any persons, very embarrassing. Whether it be
rage for man or beast VIC desire, it is equally diff
cult to get and the man who can provide half "a
ons for his household and live stock is accounted
lucky parsonage When the war first broke out
forth Carolina opened regular war establishment
nth all the various departments, each with its
! .parate headquarters" and hsd "Old Rip" been
separate nationality, carrying on war on her own
ssponsibility, the display, the show, tinsel and
expense could not have been greater. We had
chiefs, aids assistants, clerks attendants courers
and all the paraphernaa Of war, equal if not sur
passing the military establishment of the first Ma
poleon The heads Of men, women and children
were turned by the dazzling, glitterng pageantry,
and the whole population for time threw them
selves into the current and gded down the stream.
"My Lord" Potiphar thought it magnificent, and
Mrs. Grundy did not hesitate to declare in favor
"strong government"
For year and day every thing went on most
gloriously, but with the opening Spring of 80,
sedate, economical, plain men, those who realized
amid all this "noise and confusion that there was
such thing taxes began to look serious and some
even went 50 far as to shake their heads and hint
at reform. These demonstrations were feeble at
first, however, and forage continued to be dealt out
regardless of expense" and the military estab-
lishment of "Old Rip" swelled to greater proper
tions; and the patronage, favortism and corrup-
ton that prevailed in the city of Raleigh stood
without parallel in the history of wars or of ma.
tionsl Gradually the eyes Of the people were
opened, and the hdeous mass which lay in all its
naked deformity before them brought forth an in
digna1t and almost universal camor for reform
The people were willing to support the govern.
ments, State and Confederate, ard prosecute the
war with all the means at their command but they
demanded reform in the matter Of forage With
this condition of things the campaign of 1862 for
Governor, opened, and though Col. Johntsnn was
put forward as the candidate of the corrupt faction
that had the latch strings Of the State crib, and
the exponent of the views and principles of the
Richmond administration 80 intent were the
people on reform and so disguised were they with
the existing abuses, that Colonel Vance was cleo
ted by about $4,000 majority. True, the people
were told then, as now, that the triumph of Con-
scrvatsm would be followed by the invasion of Lin
coins armies and the return of the State to the old
Union, but they turned deaf ear to the blatant
threats and demagogusical appeals of the vultures
who were preylng upon the very vtals of the body
polite, and stood firm in the defence of their pr;n
ciples. Colonel Vance was elected, the Augean
Stable was cleaned t,sand wholesome, hexlthcul
reform was at once visible. At the earnest solic
itatiou Of the Governors leading friends Mr. Hol-
den and others, the stall federate system was for
the time abolished men in Office were required to
keep their hands out of the public crib, and the
forage increased The people looked on, rcjoiced
and were glad, for wonderful things had been done
for them.
But every sweet has its bitter, and the pursst rose
has its thorn The Governor had numerous staff !;
rents and provisions were high; crushed sugar and
hyson tea from the North could only be imported
through the blockade at considerable expense pur-
pie and fine linen with which "Court" attendant.
array themselves could only be obtained by heavy
investments of Mr.. Memmingers promises to pay !;
the Governor proposes to restore the forage sys
TEN the Adjutant General Objects gets mad and
reslgns-hs Excellency "puts his foot down firm
ly"-the door of the crib is opened and the army
OF hungry attaches swarm in and get fat We
speak not only "the words of truth and soberness
but conne ourse!f to historical facts. These things
Conservatives of North Carolina, are so. The lead
ers OF the Conservative party, men who urged re-
form during the campaign, persuaded the Governor
to abolish this system and at their urgent solicta
tons he naugurated the reform, but soon as the
fawning set by which he surrounded himself
Wormed themselves into his good graces and got him
into their meshes, all his moral frmness gives
ay;-good resolutions are broken, down goes the
crib door and away goes the public forage and from
the time the barriers were removed and the stall
federate system re-inaugurated, the extravaganza
and corruption of Gov. Vancc's administration has
Uccu NolSS Ihdll any tuat las ever pre-
coded it. While the Confederate government CLAIMS
every man from II to so, and without a man in
the field, the State of North Carolina keeps up a
gigantic military establishment: at an expense of
millions year, for no other earthly purpose than
to grease" pampered officials and fatten favor
ties and suborlinates. Every commissioned officer
connected with the State goverument--ws mean
the Raleigh "shade" departments allowed to
draw rations, that is provisions, meat, -four, rice
meal, ,nolasses, &C., for themselves and families
while the soldiers families in many of the counties
have rot had meat issued to them for months We
are making no war on the gentlemen who hold these
Offices under the Governor, for human nature is
weak at best and in these times of danger to life
and limb, it would be expecting too much from
trail mortality to require man to reinqush
bombproof when voluntarily given him and accom-
panied by all the forage necessary to health,
ease and comfort but Gov. Vance was elected under
sacred pledges to reform these abuses and not hav-
ing done it, but on the contrary having allowed
them to increase under his administration, we insist
that it is the duty of the great Conservative party
to protect their own interests by the election of
man who will.
Under Gov. Vance's present stall Tolerate sYs.
tenn the pay Of his Aids must be about toeloe thou
sand doIlars each per annu,n, and that of every
Major, Captain and Lieutenant from four to sir
thousand dollars each per annum. This includes
salary and forage combinations. And the large
numbers Of shade officers that Gov. Vance has around
him will run this up to hundreds of thousands a
year, all Of which must be paid by the labor Of the
hard working, Industrious masses of the people of
the State.
This stall Tolerate system is in deadly antagonsm
to Conservatism, and ever since Gov. Vance inau-
gurated it he has been gradually separating himself
from the Conservative party, until at Wlksborough
he made the final leap and threw himself into the
arms of the Destructives and secessionists.
Let every true Conservative read, ponder and
digest and 80 to the polls in August and vote for
principle and reform if he lose his life in the act
Progress ssoi4 .szs6ssazsssss1
.<>g~HSszS For the Standard
Drugsl
While We are toiling and struggling for indepen
dence, and while our authorities, both State and
Confederate ought to be mindful of every thing