The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1850-09-12

CoHhdebce, I'D Inc perllous hOuE WITCH idC-
ton shakes the pillars of the Republic'
But look at The absurdity of the thing!
/ Does the law contemplate that handful
of men whose interests are walsed out from
ours, shall decide between parties nearly
balanced, as they always will be here; and
! ny their ballots. elect our officers and virtu-
ally govern ns--and those men too, always
under the control Of the commanding Off
cor of the tert, who, if he cannot make
Them cote AS ffe wishes, can prersns their
voting, by keeping them on duty during e.
Iection! Or consider how easy it would
have been, for the president of the United
! States, ia 1910, foreseeng the Importance
to his party of choosing Democratic presi-
DENTAL electors in the great States of New
York and Pennsylvania, TO have the gar
rjsons of those states crarn'ned with sol
diers enough to carry the Democratic tick
cts Of electors, and defeat the election OF
Harrison. Il The commander OF The fort,
really the arbiter Of all the politics OF MIN
nesota? is the army to be cut up aud
thrown in for make-weights to turn the
political scales of the States? Are men
absolutely mad, that they believe or pretend
TO believe in such absurdities? IL a soldier
can vote, he can be elected as representa-
tive 20 the legislature, that is the law; but
can he go to the legislature? Send your
sergeant alta arms into the fort and see if
you can take him. He might be chosen
sheriff: Could he serve? Can we set a.
side enlistnents and break up the L. $.
Army, by eltctng the rank and file to civil
offices? Stuff Your board Of County
Commissioners choose the jury panels from
the pol-books. Is any one green enough to
suppose that the twenty soldiers who
voted at Fort Gaines, can serve upon the
panel? If summoned as Jurors, could they
be attached for contempt for not appearing
in court as Jurors? Can the sheriff of
Benton county go into fort Gaines and en-
force civil process Of that sort, and call
IN the posse OF Benton county TO assist him9
Ridiculous. most ridiculous! And yet our
INV makes every qualified voter Of the
county. eligible TO the jury box.
An army, Ia machine, moved by the will
of one man. Ten lines from the War De-
pertinent, without why or wherefore,
will precpita,e every regular in the United
- -
An army has no voltion. At one time, un-
der TamerIane, it Inows bloody path
way trough popuIous Asia; again il pene-
,rates the wiids of Russia. and encamps
upon the snow banks, by the light Of burn
ing Moscow; or it stands fighting in the
pass of Thermopyle, or it resists the fierce
array Of Mexican forces, in the gorge Of
Buena Vista, or storms Monterey. o. e.
shes piecemeal, in the everglades O. iii
ida; or stands mistaken upon Bunker ~
amid the roar Of deadly artillery. An ar no
is not sentent. Ii does not reason and re- {
fleet ~ neither this or that movement is right (
or expedien,; but at the galvanic touch of
command it bristles with shining bayonets. /
In its very organization, all individuality is
annibilated. Ii is a conglomerate of per-
sons guided by one will; and this its unity,
is the secret of its power. The soldier los
es the habit Of reasoning. As the trigger
responds to the finger, so responds the SOL |
der to the command of his officer. Prop
er discipline implies prompt, instant ohodi.
ence of orders All the elements Of a good |
army are polarized to the officer in con- /
mand. This polarity, or habit Of discipline,
and united action, produces certain espfH
du corps, which would of itself, disqualify /
soldiers for the rational exercise of the e.
lec,ive franchise. They would, almost
from the mere force Of habit, ali vote ona
way; and would generally march up to the
polls with the same united purpose to !
achieve Il victory that they feel in storming
bas,ion.
The American soldier Of the Union-the
:, liar, has achieved deeds of glorious
or, unsurpassed in the annals of the !
world. His heart sweIls with pride when .
ever he beholds the starry flag of the Union:
but he has nothing to do with the duties, or
the responsibilities Of our civil government.
His country is always right. BY day or at
midnight, he is ready to march where duty
calls him. Well do we remember, " - Cd
in midwintcr, troop Of noble fell
marched from Fort Smelling down the rs '}
upon the ice, with bleeding feet, to help.
chastise the insolence Of Mexico. Many
of them were as intelligent as any OF us;
hat we never beard Of their putting it to
vote, whether our government or the Mex
lean, was the aggressor, or whether Uas
best TO 60. The American regular, like
other regulars, is wholly divorced from pol
tics and from republicanism. The army.
is hut the sword Of the Republic. Where
ever the stars and the eagle float, there is
the soldier to carry them, if required, to
Hudson's Bay in the North, or to Panama
in the South. tie ia ready to force bate