Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1861-08-14
now TRAITORS should be Tacatcd.
For the 1ntsllissa.er.1


For the Intellisea.er.l
iIsssrs. Editors:-I was struck With
the remarks OF your correspondent, Com
mon Sense" in tie ERisLiiyencer of yester-
day. His arguments are fUrceful and well
timed This rebellion never can, in my
opinion, he crushed ont by treating those
taken in arms ag,inst tt- government with
that Icvity which hts heretofore marked
the acts Of the government. II is uil very
nice TO talk about bringing back erriug
children" "showing our enemies how
much more merciful we are than they"
saving lit is easier to whip them again
than 10 feed them" and all that sort of
stuiF. Il won't pay. We are in war, and
the principles Of war must prevail. The
consequences Q; our past course now OPP
press US Our enemies have !; large num-
Der OF prisoners, white we have none. We
have Iuerciiul!y sworn our CHptivcs to sup
port the Constitution ot the United States,
and let them go, with lie upon their lips,
TO add perjury 10 treason. have some
times thought that the government is par
Hceps erimmis in this rebellion, when it
sutIer= men to pr,jare themselves hy hun
drcd5, wnen the startling fact is before us
| that this conspiracy began in 1t mass Of
. Iii .inl per jury. suihCitpt 10 sink Il ualiun,
4
| ingtom, and the outlines OF ills execution
were written out on stationary belonging
to the government OF the United States,
| hy men sworn not u do the very thing
they were doing. Aud yet the farce vi
swearing traitors found actually carrying
out this rebellion programme, with mus
kets ON their shoulders, stolen from this
same merciiul government, goes br,vely on.
Why is III ThcpeOyle join in the enquiry,
Why is it2n The ouly response that comes
! back 10 us, is 'tl'at orders from head
quarters So OruHin, ana we think it we are
not hard ON our Southern brethren ;liiS
time they won't do SO any more" Now
take il upon myself 10 say boldly and en-
phn,ically, aud Iiins will prove my ns>cr-
TOMS proving it every hour, that 1t mnu
who will BERRY lis country, will vioiirtc
bis oath, y! do any other crime. Why,
treason is the highest crime known TO the
| law. By the suliug Of our army officers.
/ the crime of murder or burglary, whilii is
not to be compa ed with treason, would
go unpunished; the PerperAtor would I've
I sworn TO do SO no more, and inusmurh as
! he was Southern brother and merely
lhsguiied-nut crilninul-he would he
I just ''let alone" | think the Government
vi the United States has. so lar. shown
I itself about as much opposed TO coercion
as the rebels.
! Nov, Messrs Editors, have heen, am
now and always intend Ia be i'll favor of
coercion. You may call it invasion, and
ann in favor of that; call 1t sutjugulion,
anil m, subjugationi,t; call it anything
You please, 80 it nenns making rebels obey
the laws, and | am for II. If they don't
obey it, kill them. or if they are taken
( prisoners, send them out of the country
till the eud of the war, then try them and
| huug them for treason. il won't do in
these times to mock the laws. Treason is
/ IL crime. and the people demand the lawful
punishment. They will not DC satisfied
with less.
Traitors in Monongnlia county, where
only I, little over 100 votes were east for
secession have become SO jubilunt since
/ The Bull Run battl" ne 10 have 1t whisky
I frolic in honor of tue vir;Ury,--which WAS
composed principally Of those who had
lately taken the oath" aud who were
aqune penitrnt." Men living uut ii hun
dred miles II ON here, just uut of the Off
GERS hands, having been arrested aud
sworn, have said that such am oath was
not binding, and when the new, of our
/ repulse at Bull Run came they said they
could jump four feet higher Than before.
I THIS is just good the oath lUes-nons
tsaGieUsr. Let tile past practice hc cOutin-
urd, aud the world VIII he astoni he'd Mt
the result When the war is ended. the
government will be just where il started
tue rebellion viii not he conquered. As
I the Union army advances, rebels try TO get
caught aud sworn, and then take boiler
stiud than ever ior secession. Then they
are safe. They are IN fact the safrst class
among Us, tor they are stfe among their
enemies willie Union men are only safe
am0ug their friends. THUS shielded by an
oath they despise, they go to work sendiug
news to the rebels, ANA in many other ways
giving the enemies of the United States
precisely that .'nid aud comfort" spoken Of
in the Constitution.
These things, Nessr4 Editors, are dis
gushing aud demoralizing iothe Union SEN
timent in this section, in II degree only sur
passed by the appointment to oticr in the
new Virginia Government, and the Nation
al Governmeui, men who, if not actual Sc
cessionisls now, were so recently of that
persuasion, that the memory OF no man in
this section '.rnnueih to tie contrary
iss5 Very respectfully yours,
OBSERVER.
GES. BeAUREoARD has issued an order
tfrrnbib;tinn, ,n,- ,,ar,,., ,,,l..-s evan; III,