Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1861-11-27
The Slavery Rebellion.

The immensely formidable proportions
of the Slavery Rebellion have never been
fully appreciated by the Northern mind.
In the South, the ferceness of the strug-
ole is better realized, AMI the sacrifices
| deemed essential to its success are freely
made. The rebels are willing to give up
everything of blood and treasure to Sc
cure success. The North have felt that
it was only necessary to send few hun
dred thousand men whom we can easily
spare, suffer Slight increase in our taxes.
and then we could sit down to our news
papers and read Of succession Of bril-.
liant national victories which would end
| the war. The experience of the past few
months has shown the erroneousness Of
our C, lculation, that to suppress the re-
beIlion will require the whole energy of
the government, and sacrifices on our
part approximatirg 10 those made at the
South. The war has developed more of
| Southern character than we have ever
known before. 1t hns shown the rebels
to be under the leadership of the most
ambitious, treacherous demagogues the
world has ever produced. They are act
ing out the legitimate results OF the sys-
ten in which the, have been schooIcd,
and which has always led to the same re
suits in all ages Of the world.
These men have subtle cunning in
their pla.s and efforts. They have been
engage for years in imp'e,sing the
North with the sacre,lncss "f slavery j..
No mntter what b"rbarites may he per
petrated. : they may shoot down oar
brothers on the battlefield, and we may
shoot them in return. They NAV be
just fed hy the usages Of war But we
may not touch their institution Of slavery
without mourning the danger Of division
among ourselves. They have taught
their people to believe that this war was
got up for the abolition of slavery, and
that they are fighting 10 defend their
! firesi,es from Invasion. Hence, in order
to alIay the fears and humor the preju-
dices Of the border States, the govern
ment has treated the institution of sla-
very, in this war, with greater leniency
than it deserves. There is policy in war,
and it is necessary to act with great eau
ton on this subject, hut if our preserva-
ction demands the overthrow of slavery,
there should be no hating, but slavery
should be crushed, and the government
perpetu lted.
There is but one course for the gov
eminent to take. and that is to fight on
until the rebellion is annihiiated, even
though foreign powers should rise in
arms against us. Every Northern man
should prepare for this. Though the
Atlantic coast should be desolated from
the Chesapeake to the Penobscott, we
must never surrender. The rebels hate
republican institutions, and should thew
secure their independence, there would
be constant ifritations and complications
between us and them. between their in
stitutions and ours, ard Mexico would be
a happy country compared to this. We
must conquer the rebels or they will
conquer us, and in fifty years the dark
ness of barbarism envelope the entire
continent.
We repeat then, that at whatever the
cost OF life or treasure, however long the
war, we must prepare for any sacrifice of
lie or property sooner than yield to the
rebels, or consent to any separation or
compromise. One side or the other
must yield. Let il not be ours, though
our cities glow with confagration. and
our rivers run with the blood of our
Decentralization Times.