Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1861-05-18
Where We have the Advantage

Napoleons declaration that God is on
the side OF heaviest artillery is slightly pro-
fame, but evidently faith ia God cannot be
made to take the place of artillery with
any reasonable prospect of success. The
advantages the government has over the re.
bells in the present war quite obvious at a
moments thought The white populatio
of the loyal states is twenty millions OF
the entire South, counting out only little
Delaware, less then seven millions. Ii we
divide these figures by seven, the proportion
OF able bodied men to the whole population
we find that the active force Of the free
states is little less than three millions of
men, aud that of the South less than one
million. But from the southern side are to
be deducted the entire strength of Missouri,
Kentucky and Maryland, where the power
OF the seccsSionIsIs will at least be netraz.
cd by The Union strength, Of Western Vr.
glnla, whose people will adhere to the UNION,
and OF the large number uecessa ly la ned
at home 10 watch the negroes, and prevent
them from resumlng their sovereignty If
the Jef Davis government could rally and
arm the entire force of the South it could
not be brought up to half million men.
The North can serd IL million into the field
and keep enough at home TO carry on the
business of the country almost without inter-
rupton.
But the rebelliOus states are very soon
to be without the munitions of war, The
Charleston Mercury carenstly deprecates
the waste Of any more powder 10 firing sa-
lules The Nashville papers say that gun
powder is IS cents q pound in that city,
and very little to be had. Where is the
rebel army to get powder after it has burnt
up the supplies stolen from the government?
There is but one powder mill in Virginia,
and none south of Virginia. There are 8
in Maryland, and in Deleware, but the
government will see TO it that the rebels
get no ammunition from either. Nor can
they obtain it from abroad while their ports
are blockaded. In all other materials for
war they are equally dependent, and will
be equally helpless when effecIlly shut in.
The readiness with which our northern
troops adapt themselves 10 all the exigencieS
of the campaign is another great advantage
The repair of the engines aud railroads in
Maryland by our troops is striking and
most gratifying illustration of this. No
southern army would have thought Of such
an expcdient, or had the skill TO carry it
it throughif they had thought of it. In
fact the southern railroads are mostly oper-
ated by northern men, and will soon go TO
ruin if the northern engineers and me:han-
les fo-sake them. The southern army is
made up of sons Of the first families who
are too lazy and too proud to work, and of
poor whites who can do nothing but the
roughcst sort of labor. When they come
to emergencies like those our troops en-,
countered in Maryland, where shooting is
necessary to success, they will be as helpless
as an army of children. And all through
the war there must be hundreds of instances
where Yankee tact and skill will be of the
highest importance to the government. Ia
a stand upfght we do not doubt the
bravery or The military skill Of the southern
ers, but that is but single one of the many
things essential TO success in military
pamnaiOn