The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-01-10

We have heard somebody tell Of q
nursa who was in the habit Of chewing
bread for her infant charge, and she per-
sisted in demanding honey on the bread
before she performed the work Of masti-
cation for the toothless darling-it had
such passion for honey OF this cOnsid-
crate nurse we have often been remind
ed, when contemplating the devices OF
some who are wAtchful of the poor SOL
dierS' interests. They would have honey
and butter on every thing intended for
the soldiers in our army; but they are
careful to do the chewing, because, for
sooth, : soldier in the ranks can't mssti-
cate. To this eud they guard the ave-
Dues to bis mouth. These self-constitu-
ted nurses, Of the sweet tooth, are seized
with patriotic indignation when un-
authorized caterers would endanger the
soldiers digestion By offering food not
msstieatsd by themselves. The soldier
might get chOked with unmasticated
hOneyl
So nicely is the tender Office perform
ed, that one may travel seventy-fiVe or a
hundred miles along 3 public thorough
fare in the rear Of q vast army, and find
it difficult TO purchase q cup of weak
coffee and = piece Of musty bread for
ssvsnty-fvs cents in Federal money ;
and ct some little Ecsflsea booth be may
find fifty or q hundred soldiers waiting
impatiently to pay this exOrbitant price
for "such as it is" out of their monthly
wages. No tender guardian of the col
diers' interests makes complaint that 90
much of = hard-earned pittsnce is ex-
pended for little dog-fare. The VIC
tuals have been chewed-the license
paid, no doubt; and what will not abso-
lutely poison viii fAtten, when it has
gone through the patriotic masticatiOn.
We have read somewhere military
order conceived in = style like this ait
being the Commanders intention to &C.
cupy this simply IS military post, no
encouragement will be offered to army
followers, who would thrODg it merely to
fleece the soldiers, for purposes of spec
ulatiOn. All persons visiting the place
will therefore be required to give an &C.
count of their business" Of course an
order so clearly intended to protect the
soldier from extortion, could emanate
from none bat kind heart; yet We are
at loss to knew the method of reason
ing which induced it. All who have
visited any portion Of our army, east or
west, know full well, that nineteen of
every twenty soldiers in the service will
buy what they think necessary, if they
have, any money to pay for it; and they
generally have sense enough to buy from
him who sells cheapest All know, fur
thermore, .Ast there are persons specially
permitted 10 follow every branch of the
army with merchandise to sell; so that
the soldier can dad something to buy, at
such price as the patriotic vendor mhy
charge. And . man with two ideas in
bis brain can determine whether an ex
elusive market will be likely to cause
reasonable prices, or whether it will
suggest to the vendor that be may charge
just a. many hundred per cent. as be
pleases upon the cost of his merchandise.
If there is but one person Offering bread
and butter for sale to thousands Of hun
CRY men who cannot draw butter regu-
larly in their rstions, is it supposed he
will sell at lower prices because nobody
else has any bread and butter for sale?
Or is it supposed the hungry soldiers
will not buy from him because there is
no one else from whom they can buy?
In our utter ignorance Of military
economy, and its effects upon trade when
soldiers form = portion Of the purchasers
in the market, il we should undertake to
frame an order, with q view to effect the
end proposed by that we have referred
to, we might blunder on sOmsthing like
this: "Ths General commanding haV-
ing determined to occupy this simply as
= military post be will see that none
connected with the army, except author
iEsd suffers, associate themselves direct
" or indirectly with trade enterprises
md TO the end that suffers may not
aeecs the soldiers by charging exorbitant
prices, all persons bringing into this de-
partment such gOods as soldiers are per-
nitted 20 buy, shall be protected from
80 long - they comply |
With military orders and the laws of
he land, and 80 long a. the shipment
II their merchandise shall net interfere
With sths transportation of army Sup /
,liss."
But no doubt we are at fault in our
Judgment; for il, under the lively COM
'etitiOn thus invited, soldier should be
bic to get some good bread, sweet but-
er, and slice Of sugsr-cured ham, with
cup Of strong, well-havored coffee, for
fly cents, instead Of the mouldy bread,
ancid butter, condemned bacon, and
muddy, tasteless coffee, for which be
Ow pays the licensed patriot seventy
We cents, be might die Of indigestion,
-om unmssticEted sweets collected in
be stomach. BE might be hseced By
aving his money diverted from the
Ocket of licensed pet, and turned into
hat Of heArtless Spectator. Doubt
sss truly patriotic soldier would ra-
her pay seVenty-6vs cents Tor 5 meal Of
Oadsmnsd food, when be knows he pays
to stauneh frisndof the soldier, than
az ffsy osats Tor tie choices, fare
then he kns#p The vendor 70 be greedy
dYentursr.