The Indianapolis daily herald., 1865-12-28


al Hundred Millions Involved.
In April. 1855, when Tie great break up oc-
CURED that topplei the temple Il the southern
Confederaey 70 its foundation stone: When t.
capital was eVacuated and partly burned;
when Lee and Johnston surrendered. and ~ hen
the archives. records. paymasteTs.' quartrrmas-
ter and auditors ACCOUNTS. disbursements
and receipts. tumbled into the streets bv the
barrel full. flooded The thoroughfarps and
choked the cutters, thick a. leaves in autumn
waste paper by the ton-that chaotic ma. rep
resented tie unsettled accounts u officials.
honest and dishonest. o. the aggregate Of hum
dreds Of millions Of dollars. What a blessed
hood Of IRE and smoke and confusion wa. that
10 wash away official .in..
nat timely inter- cation. y hat a sudden
and hasty. and to the defHIlteF and embezzIer
what pleasant and agreeable mode of seltling.
adjusting and csnecling accounts. Dead
men tell no tales neither do littI. bundles OF
package-shaped sashes that once were d0cu.
ments, the etidences II indebtedness. and
vouchers. full Of figures and tell-taIe WRITINGS
All! what blinking, binding AMI clustering
accomphce. aud accessory after the fact. Of
fraud and villainy. ii shonesty and official cor
ruptiOn, i firei a few live Goals I'm stove
crate can. IN a moment, reduce @ ashy atoms
the proof q a criminal, guilt. while justice Is
yet knocking ~ the door. and send those mute.
tOngueless, languagelcss atoms out Of the CHM
ney-top. The flames Of blazing city, the seat
of government. can bury out Of reach Of reckon
ing, the crimes II il corrupt officials their un-
balanced books. their witness ledgers. their
blab-mouthed vouchers and receipts, the ac-
cumulated, deepening, damnng evidence Of
I years.
II il a fact, doubtless a. patent and well
known 70 the southern people as it isnOtOrious
among those 10 whom IL applies. that there was
scarcely an instance where a Quartermaster,
or Paymaster, agent or other custodian Of Gov
eminent funds accounted finally and fully Of
his stewardship during the four years continu-
ance Of the war. All men know equally well
how these late officials Of the late Government
lived while the twin carnival of war and rob
berry lasted; how they were ROBBED in fine cloth
Of Confederate grey: how they Jared sumptu-
OuSly every day, while the soldiers i'm camp
and field contendel against hunger and cold
and summers heat; how their dwellings were
+ houses Of palatial entertainment: how their
blockade wines Were the rarest. their furni-
ture the most gorgeous and recherche. Con-
federate Treasury notes were plentiful as
leaves in Valambrosa.
Ii a question whether the Secretary
himself knew the aggregate the sum total Of
the currency issued from the outbreak TO the
close Of the war. The "leaks' were frightful-
ly numerous enough 10 exhaust the most
plethOrie reservoir-and the fingers i'm the Con-
federate pie were beyond all calculation. Pay
masters and Quartermasters, and Chiefs OF
Bureaus, with pay ranging from two hundred
TO three hundred dollars, were known To stake
as many thousands upon the turn Of card,
night after night. at faro tables; champagne
by the dozen at sl25per bottle. was cracked
with as little ceremony or count of cost as il
the order had been bottled porter, while 800
slippers and midnight lunches at fabulous, but
true Confederate figures, were rated poor and
niggardly entertainments. Ensconsed in bomb
proofs, sucking their thumbs, with slippers
elevated over superfluous desks especially pre-
pared for them; scraping their nails till they
blushed to the quick; their only study how Ia
"raise the wind," what cared they for the
cause for which the rank and file were strug-
Cling in the field. The boom of the grea;
guns from below that Jared their windows
had no alarms, no dangers for them. With
gold in their pockets brass in their faces and
upon their coats, imbecility and braid was the
tOuch-stone To power and preferment. When
the cause was wrecked, these puppets We're
the first 10 turn ''wrcckers" and begin the
'.grab game,o shouting their watchword,
Every man for himself and the devil take
the hindmOst.'
Who are the broken in purse. the pennies.
and pOverty-stricken nOwI Certainly not
those vampires Of whom we write. They
were mindful Of their own interests: they
and the goose hung high. They laid UP some
thing for a rainy day, when the weather was
fair. and the gold and greenbacks at a reas-
enable premium. Their smile to-day i as com
PLEASANT. their apparel Is fine, their jOwls a.
fat and their skins rs fair a. in the DAYS when
they pocketed the price Of their country,
blood for. if any nation was inundated upon
the altar Of official imbecility, corruption and
recreancy to sacred trust. that nation was the
late Confederate States Of America. No people
ever entered upon the achievements Of theiI
nationality with more yim unanimity and de
termined yigor. No people ever pasied anC
paused so suddenly in their career on the rOac
to independence, and no cause ever wilted and
sank so unaccountaby in a night II was til,
canker-worm Of corruption AT its roots.
\ DOliIical pliiO~0UlCT has written the mi
versal and accepted truth that nation ear
never be destroyed. but sometimes may be
come the victim If self-desiruetion through
the treacherv and f.ithlessness of its custodi
ans. With the latter will history class the lat,
Confederation of the Southern States.=Rfch
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