Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1861-10-18
The Gentlemen,s War.

The Gentlemen's War.
Russell, the celebrated correspondent
OF the l~,ndoa Times, is isadmittedly one
OF the ablest writers OF the age, and for
the use Of his pen as such correspond
ea' he receives the same salary as the
lsesident ofsthe United States-twenty-
five thousand dullars In his letters
from this country he is cutting to the
quick vt every sentence, by his keen and
merciless exposures Of our weak points.
Bnf there is neither sense nor policy in
sraving about it, as many OF our papers
do, for. mortifying as it may be to our
pride, his exposures are, in the main.
trues
In his last letter he reveals the fact
that nearly all the officers of the regu-
lar army have an intense dislike to the
present Administration. He says
The uficers of the regular army do not,
as a body, love the present Government.
On the contrary, they regard the greater
hupiber of the Cabinet with aversion,
and detest their principles. II is hard
for rnra to.fght for cause, ,eifh gool
hart. and at the same fnte hold in con.
t.n,pt those vho haze that Cause tn hand
for The moment
lie then gives instances which came
under his own observation in proof of,
his statement, and says that scarcely an
ofirer in the regular army voted for
Lincoln, and adds that the BLACK Re-
gskficdns s,me hoc. are not considered
lssate>R. He says that one Of his friends
'ieckrel to him that 'thik tcas, IN fact, a
~ar yof gratlen,en agaiast saobs.' And
Be gees on to- show that by the term
ssgenslemen,' in this country, is meant
those who grow rich upon the labor of
'tlayes, while those. who grow rich upon
trade are sn4Ls. And as the officers of
the regular army do not trade aud clsim
10 be ciassed as gentlemen, they side, Of
'ennrse, with the drivers of slaves!
This will account, in part, but not
fully, fer the strange fact thatso many
-vfthe officers of-the army are found in
tile ranks Of the Traitors, against the
Government which has fed and main
,t4ined them. Another, and far more op-
.sratisc reason i. the fact that, for "a life
time past, the few gcn,lemen-the slave
bolders--hars had the absolute control
81 the administration of affairs in the
country And during all that time, the
only way open for promotion in thearmy
has been through the most unlimited
devotion to the interests Of the class Of
reputed 'tgrnflemea. y
No man who would not lend himself
~ willing tool to this sectional inter-
e.t had any hope of promotion. It
therefore followed that the only ladder
by which ambition cauld hope to climb
intonote was throughdoyotio to slavery.
While, therefore, these officers held their
eexlfrnissions from the U. S. Governments
anddrew their pay from the people treas
ury, they we're, nevertheless. the mere in
s,rumenfs in me hands Of the slaveh old
ers. Andwell, therefore, may Mr.. Rus
eel say that none Of them voted for Lin
e.,ln. and that they have no love for the
Government, and no heart to fight its
battles! se
And while many Of these officers still
hold ON to their Commissions for the
sske of, the pay, we do not believe the
Government is safe in the keeping of
most of them. If they could be sure of
making a better bargain We verify be-
Geye FIVE out of every six who have not
already betrayed their country, would
yet do so. We believe there are some
honorable. exceptions. But the mass
are rotton to the core.