New Oregon plaindealer. (New Oregon, Iowa) 1859-1866, 1861-05-03
IS THERE 4 HOPE OF
PEACE LEFT?

| RI dCE LIZ r. i /! ~>a pc.
May We not yet entertain hope that our
beloved country is not to perish in the insa.
tate and all-dcstroying jaws Of civil war?
This is a question which every patriot every
! over of his country and Of man-will allow
| his heart to ask even in the midst of the din
and tramp of gathering armies. 1t is a ques-
ton which will be the last to desert the
breasts of these who love their country most.
1t is time hen Ratio feel that solemn
and awful responsibility rests upon every
act of theirs. Thousands will be driven
along by the blinl turbul, nse of passion, in
thOughtless and nnreaso ling excitement,
while ali tue patriots, aad men Of frmcr
courage, will hold themselves, in prompt
readiness for action, but still continue work.
Ing to exhaust the last resource OF peace. Ev-
cry good citizen will render cheerful sub
mission to the laws of his own State, as the
first spot to which he owes allegiance; but
this will not prevent him from using his ut
most en- beavers to preserve his whole coun-
try from wreck which would be the de-
struction Of liberty ON the American conti-
nent. Let us not hug delusions to. our bos-
oms. Let US not hold out false hopes to our
honest and patriotic masses, FOR if We do,
a terrible retrbution will ia | upon US in the
end Ii there is nothing left to hope for but u
| sanguinary conf Ct let US meet the occasion
like brave men, but let there be no false rca-
sons given, no false hopes held out to deludc
our peo3ie. Let us meet the if.no sYuasoiy ius
! the face; and carry it through like men OF
honor and truth. Let us own what we are
| fighting for and what must be the r.s1t Ut
our battles. 1t we would bring even the trag-
| Ment; of free government out OF the whlrl-
pools OF blood into which We are piungng.
let no false lights be held out to deceive the
mighty hosts OF our So diery with expectations
which they W ill soon learn can never be re-
allied. Gen. Jackson, ia his farewell address
to the American people, in March 1927. in
referring to the pos ,ibllity Of the very event.
which are now upon us, SAID: 9'
If such a struggle is ever begun, and the
citizen Of one section of the country are ar
] rayed in arms against those OF another. In
doubtful conflict, let the battle result a. it
may there will be al end Of the Union,
and with it an end to the hopes Of freemen.
The victory of the victors would act secure
to them the blessings OF liberty 1t would
|
selves share in the common RUM
| Washington, jeff, rson and ,1lfudison lett
behind them the same warning voice. And
the question now appeals to us as though it
4 came down out of the heavens whether it Is
4 yet too late 10 avert this dreadful calamity!
The greatest difficulty IN tue way is the conii-
dence that hushes the faith of both parties
in ultimate success. Zach is making the
mistake so c.mmon in times Of passion and
revenge. of understanding the power OF the
ether. But do We realize what u mighty host
we propose to get into battle array! Have VIZ
computed the hundreds Of thousands Ut lives,
and the hundreds OF thousands OF dollars it
| will cost to carry on such war as tn will
lie, if it goes on! 1t was saying OF Bona
parties that No nation, attached to its in
stitutions and its rulers and its forms OF gov
eminent. could be conquered We instinct
lively feel that to be so. We have al illustra-
ton in the history of our own struggle for in
dependence. when a handful ofour toretath
ers, poor rs begsars in every re-ourcc OF war
except courage and will, finally triunaphed
| over the most powerful nation on Garth His
tory is full OF such lessons.
! Xerxes converted the who'c civilized world
into an army TO invade and conquer the few
little States Of Greece the whole Ut whoselter-
rltory did not measure much more than Man
haitian Island, and yet these mighty host
were unsuccessful against O few undsciplined
volunteers Of Sparta and the other Greek
Stat I. So, in more modern tines, lit
| Prussia, whose territory is less than one-half
the size of tho State OF New York, success
fully carried on q war against nearly the
whole Of Europe for seven years. History,
we say, is full enOu- Of such lescons, which
ought to teach Is o folly Of counting too
confidently upon the superiority OF numb =
! in the kind of war we are likely to be plunged
int. Let us make up our minds that, If tais
war must 50 on, We must expect to engage
in the most dreadful fighting the world h..
ever witnessed. Instead OF $4,000 men We
shall need 100000 at once in the field. We
deceive ourselves if we suppose the South is
not able to put nearly that number OF men on
the line Of march. And here, We come to re.
mark, is the only hope we SEQ left for peace.
If the full strength Of both sections should
stand face to face with each other, they would
afford such o sublime ctacle and present
such fronts Of power as would cause all par-
ties TO pause before they gave the word for
the Undesirable slaughter to begin; and
thus negotiation might take the place Of the
sword, in the settlement Of these unhappy
questions, which, in any event, must be set
tied BY negotiation at last. If such armies az
each section can place IN tho field should be
allowed to look at each other until Congress
assemblies, there is yet chance for peace
tul sottlenent.-Day-B Book.