Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1864-04-23

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I ont delay the best form of legislative bro
visions " bich they can devise for ils ,earli
est and highest success. The lbankin,
capftal in the existing State corporation
must sooner or later c6nform or yield to il
, for 10 Its presence they cannot long main.
tain their existenEs. AThSi best Of them
ionly live to conntenaDce thesw6rst. Tue,
eau, tender.a wnrthier service aud u batter
4 Paying one by coming up fairly to th,
work required from them by all the inter
ests with which they are concerned.
q - A2-=Al s4al { - ssz-SZ =
speeu1aLion In Food
From the Baltimore Americana
People who attend market for the pur
chase Of their necessary supplies, ire
4quently remark how little way a dollar viii
II go,pow In comparison with what it would
4 formerly procure. With beef at twenty.
4 lhvelcents aipOund, and butter at sevety
5lor lightly cents, a one dollar greenbaci
raelts away INTO iIts fieapees When
1--we call at tue ttoee7 Iyf tflsif iiiis
I.dollar will only buy two pounds os c6ffee
instead ofsix, as formerly. Upon manV
articles of prime necessity there is almost
a complete embargo, so far as concerns
l.the poor, and they are consequently sleft
destitute of many things they have. with
l,all their compulsory ffugality, been able
to obtain heretofore. Aud this state of
things exists. in the face of the fact that
there is no real scarcity of necessaries.
but that the Northern States, removed as
they are from the theatre of hostiIities.
are blessed with abundance.
Some reason may be found for this in
the increased cost of production, conss-
quent upon the withdrawal of such n
large number of working men to the field
of army operations. Additional reason
may be traced to the rates of taxation.
But there reason ends, SO fnr as regards
home products. The farmer cannot urge
the premium on gold and tho high rates
l,of foreign exchange in extenuntion of the
enormous price of BUTTER. Half its pres
ent cost should not only remumerate him
for the labor of production, hut should
more than make amends for the increas,
ed price of such articles of importation
as he is in the habit of using. The farm. :.
ing population largely u e tea us a bever.
age, ,lbut do not cunsme costly foreign
wines; they wear homespun for the most
part, instead of foreign silks and broad
clOth, and. consequently the advanced
rates of exchange, react upon them very
lightly Z ia.lR Is s5a ii.,
IS 1t has been asserted the Government.
not limited by sense Ofeconomy in its
Expenditures, and with the whole re-
soarcessof theF public Treasury to buck
it, has unnecessarily inflated the prices
of all the necessaries of life in its loose
method of awarding contt1cts, by which
the market rates have been established
But this is err6neo6s. The GoTernh1ent
contract prices do not govern the domes.i
! tic mGrkets The contracts are ,mada
with the lowest responsible bidders, and
the supplies ar, turnished at very redu
ced r0tes=-speh rates.. indeed, MS domes-
tic purchasers cannot possibly be accom-
modated with, While We pay from TWEEN.
ty to twenty-five cents pound for our
beef, the butchers furnish it to the Gov
ernmeut for eight or nine cents So., too.
withholding. The Government obtains
its clothing at nsCost which leaves an ex.
tremely small margin for profit TO the
contractor. Compareitha cost with what
our citizens pay for their clothes. They,
wear articles of better quality, perhaps,
bnt the difference in quality is hot pro.
portionate to the difference in price. No
doubt the Government is tswindTsd re-
peatedly by Numbering contractors. 1t
is the fate of all belligerent Governments
to, be thus heeced while It's resources are
being wasted in the field, But this does
not very materially increase the .extraor-
dinary current expenses. Moreover, i'll
should be remembered that, taking the
country at large, the aggregate number
To. be fed and clothed isithe same asibefore.
Tbe,resulting inequality must he found
in the difference betweensthe. distribution
Of force aud its concentrations ttls
= The value ptacedEnpGu articles of daily
consumption is, therefore, fictitious, and
the great iincreasesinspri is not demand
ed by natural causes, OF by the results of
war. Thestrue reason tor the inflated and
exh6rbitant cost Of necessaries ia to be
traced to a heartless and unprinCipled
greed7for speculation. The deptaved ava.
rice OF large nnmberS of dealers stimulates
teeting of dissatisfaction with ordinary
living profits, and a desirs to make private
fortunes out of public misFortunes. Wher-
ever there 10 0'chahce to- foresIaII, mono
poli1e aud force prices up 10 n higher
range In theiproduce and provision mar
'kets, these! operators may be found plying
their misChievOusl vocation, audi seeking
what they maY devO1r. In EvhHtso other
way can the e.extortionate price of fcofFee be
accounted ufot7 No deviAtious "a from the
fcustomary laws of supply and demand
will Warrant such a triple advahces in .stat
dard prices The itactlis hat the supply
of this article has besn1Inou0pOiizedib q
combination 70f dealers who control the
market as they please Thus a double in
jury isdone 70 the public by such pervert-
ed application of capital; the. poeketof the
Fconsumeris Is rObbeds 6nd lhooest industry IS
discouraged by such pernicioua modes OF
accumulatiug illagotten gains. II these
gamblers would limit their operations to
la1nries 6r, gold or stocks, there would De
lessioccasio6 to end fault. But whea they
combine 10 place the uecessaFies OF life be.
yond thereach Of thsimasses OF thepeople.
az is time, not fora the interventioI OF
moral ssuasion,5 buti for legal fnterfsFence
The Rebel GoVeFnmentTW ~ d cotnpelied 10.