The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-04-16
WARTIME SUFFERING.
The Experience of the Confederate
 Capital.
Richmond, Va, March 24, 1893.
To the Editor of the Dispatch:

To the Editor of the Dispatch:
 In discussion tonight with an old Richmond gentleman, who is violently opposed to war with Spain-he may have Spanish blood in his veins-he declared, in the presence of other gen. tlemen, that during our civil war he saw as much suffering in Richmond as he has seen described in Cuba and that many women and children starved to death in Richmond during that time. I denied the statement, because I was in a position to know that it was not true that any one starved to death in Richmond, so far as was known.
 Kindly, in your Sunday edition, give this your attention, for the benefit of those who heard the statement. Truly yours, R. F. w.
 So far as we know, there were no deaths here during the war from star vation, but the suffering of the poor people must have been very great. At times it was necessary for the city government to make extraordinary ap- propriations for the support of soldiers families and the other outdoor poor. The Confectionery, too, upon occasions, sold to the people provisions at cost price, in order to stave off starvation. It must be remembered that Richmond had not only her own population to provide for but the thousands of oth- CTS who were called refugees and who had fled from their homes upon the approach of the Federal army. When ever cavalry raids were made in the vicinity of Richmond, the refugees were largely increased in number many of the farmers deserting their homes and bringing here their families, slav- es, horses, and cattle. Provisions were at all times high, and often very scarce. The dependence of the masses was chiefly upon corn meal, bacon and pork, sorghum, black-eye peas, and rice. Sorghum was made from cane grown in this section of Virginia and North Carolina and was regarded as a very poor substitute for the New Or leans and Porto Rico molasses that we had hitherto been used to. The meat, in considerable part, was what was known as Nassau pork, but which is believed to have been raised in Ohio and Illinois and exported to England, whence it was transported to Nassau and thence put upon blockade runner for Washington, N. c.
 As for dried peas, tons of them were consumed, where now hundredweights are used. Coffee being a great rarity, parched peas, parched meal, parched potatoes, and parched grain of various sorts were used as substitutes, but of all the necessaries of life, the dearest and scarcest for several years was salt,
 the price of this having risen at one time, according to our recollection, to about $30 per pound. In the later years
 of the war, Stuart & Palmer devel- oped salt mine in Southwest Virginia
 and each city and county made con-
 tract with them for salt supplies which
 were sold to those who could pay for
 them and given away to those who could not.
 The scarcity and dearness of food in
 Richmond led to the famous demon-
 stration here, known as the bread riot.
 On that occasion a mob, consisting
 chiefly of women, but known to have
 been led by men, assembled and footed a great many stores on Cary stret and
 Main street, causing, of course, in- tense excitement and commotion in the city. By order of the Governor,
 the Public Guard was called out to disperse the mob. This display of arms. together With speeches that were made at various points by the President, Mayor and Governor quelled the com motion. A great deal has been writ ten on this subject since the war, but at the time Richmond newspapers con- tained very brief accounts of the oc- currence, 1t not being thought desira- ble to let the soldiers know that their families were in the straits which the organization of this mob would indi- cate But the result of it was, that af- ter this demonstration-no matter
 whether led by worthy or unworthy persons; no matter whether justified by the existing condition of things or
 not-better arrangements were made for feeding the poorer classes of our community.
 Without question, there must have
 been very much suffering in Richmond, but if 1t ever reached point where starvation ensued, we have no recollec- tion or record of it. There was this difference between the people in Rich
 mond and the reconcentrados in the Cuban towns. Our refugees were
 people who fled from their homes be- fore the army invasion and devasta- tion. In many cases their dwellings had been fired by the enemy and they 1 took flight without either food or cloth l ing. The people of Richmond gave them such welcome as they could, but they were in no condition to extend a generous hospitality. We have often | thought that the refugees must have had particularly hard time, and that there was no class of our population whose sufferings and patriotism more entitled them to credit than they. Now, the reconcentrados are not people who fled into the arms of the Spanish, but who were dragged into | the Spanish towns for fear that they | by remaining upon their farms and cul- | tivating their lands. would become spies and commissariate of the insur- gents. In the one case the country | people fled to friends; in the other case | they were dragged into the fortified | towns of their enemies, held there as | prisoners, and told to get their food | supplies wherever they could.-Rich- mond Dispatch.
 FrNrT