Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1861-09-20
IRASBURGH VERMONT, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 90 1861

couragement from the very beginning o
this unfortunate struggle. This evil ha
assumed proportions Of such magnitude
that its correction has become a para
mount duty upon the part of thos'
charged with the administration Of tho
Government. Its prevalence has beer
marked by all those treacheries and ex
cess which have been its unfailinl
characteristics in other lands and in Other
times.
Next the worship of the Father of oul
spirits, the grandest and strongest senti
ment of which our nation is susceptible
is the love of our country. When tha
sentiment has been corrupted, ike an
arch from which the keystone has been
displaced, the whole moral character
seems to tumble in ruins. The public
and private prohigacy of of traitors and
spies, both male and female, has been
youched for by all history, and indeed it
has grown into a proverb that the man
who will betray his country will betray
his God" (Great applause.) He will
betray his friends, his kindred, and, if
need be, the very wife of his bosom, and
children of his loins.
Suppose that you lived in one of those
cities where there is a steam fre-engine
and a paid company to operate it; and
suppose that your house was on fire, and
this company was summoned to the spot
and were engaged in extinguishing it
and suppose you discern, from time to
time, men creeping from the crowd and
sticking their knives into the hose, from
which the water is seen to spout in all
directions upon the pavements Of the
street! How long do you think the pres
snce Of such miscreants would be endu-
red But suppose that, looking more
closely into the faces of these men, you
discover that they are members of this
FIRE company, receiving the salary to-
which you have yourself contributed !
In the first burst of your indignation
would you not feel that their punishment
would not be too great if they were
brown into the flames which they were
hus indirectly feeding And this has
oeen precisely the condition Of the gov
ernment of the United States. CA voice
-" That's a fact.'') That has been, from
he commencement of this struggle, its
precise condition. I know there are
hose who look with more liberation up
N these offenses which prevail among US
han | can possibly do. Perhaps l am
90 harsh but must say this that the
nen who in our own midst give aid and
comfort to the enemy, either by furnish
ng them secret information, or by adver-
i>ing their cause, or by striving to sow
lissensions among ourselves, or by insid-
lously dissuading loyal men from enter
ng the military service, are more vitality .
he foes of our country than if they were
n the army Of the Confederate States.
Applause.) The power of the govern
nent can do much to correct this evil, but
much more can be done by the crushing
'ower of public opinion branding as in
amous, socially and politically, disloyalty
whenever and wherever cncountered.-
Applause.) These men are, morally at
east, guilty Of the death of those who
all in the defense Of the Government,
ust as much as if they had met them
pon the battle field with the deadly
Weapons of war. In your railroad cars,
pon your steamboats,, in your thorough
ares, in every business and social circle,
isloyalty should be branded and blasted
5 a leprous and loathsome thing. (Great
pplause.) And therefore, my friends,
'hen you see these men, be it upon
Change, or in the social circle, and they
ffer you their hands, look we'll to them,
or if you have the eyes that have, you
Iill see that they are red with the blood
brave men, your kindred it may be,
Tho have perished and who are perish
lg still on the battle feld-turn away
'om them in disgust and Indignation
'ellcw citizens, know there are some,
" it is true, who do sincerely believe that
his Republic-the question Of public
onor out of question, out of view-that
lis Republic could be separated, and
peace could be patched up, and that
le two governments thereafter could live
n prosperously, peaceably as before. -
10 more false or fatal thought ever crept
into an American bosom ;
Great cheering.) You might as well I
II me that the boat which has been turn
| adrift above the cataract of Niagara ,
i'll have a tranquil voyage. (Cheers.) h
If you will go and stand, as many of
; have done, amid the ruins of crumbling S
npires in the old world-ask them, they |