The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-09-19
THE coNFKpRRArR CAPITAL.
n. I. Murray, ia 'faatioaal Repubileaa.l


 l have been asked how the people of Richmond managed to get food during the closing days, when Confederate cur rency was SO fearfully depreciated. was about to say dam6no," but on refec- tiop l think can give an easy solution of the matter. And first, will say that, although the bluebacks were so much de- preciated, if you only had enough of them you could purchase anything you wished, and the volume of notes in cir culation was immense. l recollect that a fellow f,om Jefferson county, who, on some plea or other, was exempt from service, and who was exceedingly con- vivial in his habits, whenever he wished to make purchases or visit the saloons or faro banks, was accustomed to be fol- lowed by stalwart negro bearing large valise crammed to the brim with the Confederate tokens of indebtedness, per. haps hundred thousand dollars or so, and he never "braced up" until he had got rid of the entire pile, and it didn't take him long, either, to do so.
 Contrary to the common belief, there was no lack of provisions or delicacies in Richmond at any time during the war, but the prices. measured by alleged dol. lars, were simply stupendous. do not remember that there was actual suffering among the people, although food and drink were, of course, economically dealt with. recollect, also, that there was a bread riot of SO large proportions as to call forth the intervention of the military, but the women, black and white, who were the chief participants, were of the ls vest class, and were instigated not by want SO much as by pure deviltry. It is a curious fact that what are called the lower classes fared better, SO far as pro visions were concerned, than the office holders or the wealthier classes. The salaries of the office holders, both Con- federate and state, were grossly made. quate to provide for their families, and the wealthier citizens at the outset of the war had invested, almost without excep- ton, all their available means in the 8 per cent. bonds ot the Confederate govern ment. Those who owned slaves by hir- ing them out obtained large returns, for labor was in great demand but the trou- ble was that the Confederate authorities conscripted all able~bodied negroes as drivers of mule teams, laborers on the Notifications, etc, just as they conscripted able-bodied whites for service in the field, and the hire given to the masters was but tithe of what could have been pro- cured in open market.
 Talk about Washington being city of boarding houses and restaurants. Why 1t was not circumstance to the Confed- crate capital. Nearly every house, and especially ot people of limited means, was filled with dodgers, and nearly every other house was an eating house. The poorer whites and blacks made money hand over fist by cooking provisions, and selling them ftom stands on the streets and at the depots, to the huge swarms of hungry people who were constantly com. ing and going. The population proper of Richmond was not fourth ofthe vast crowd that daily and nightly congregaied within its corporate limits. It was the Mecca of the Confederacy, and the pill grimages made thereto were constant in their coming. Officers and soldiers, lew ish merchants, "exempss," blockade. runners, refugees from Maryland and West Virginia and from counties of the sSdtC ncIo oy tue SuSIdlS, poured ln a steady stream into the lap of the city, and the people of the city made their living, and, indeed, it may be said, in many in- stances, waxed fat, in feeding and lodg- ing the hungry horde.
 Now have seen it stated somewhere that the Confederate auth critics, in order not to starve their officials to death, ex- tended the same privileges to them as it did to its officers in the field, viz to draw a ration, and buy ration at the govern ment valuation, which was not one tenth the cost of provisions in the markets. This is all mistake. As far as the off cials were concerned "every tub had to stand un its own bottom" If man could not live on the salary of his office, there were hundreds of others anxious to take his place, and offer bonus for the In fact, when the fighting got to be fast and furious, and the cam paigns terrible in their hardships, in the Richmond Eramissr John M Daniel openly charged that the Confederate and state offices had become a matter of bar gain and sale to the sons of rich men who desired t0 Shiyk sfa n dsn0 mn tn h~ eh o& at