Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1861-09-21
A. WASHINGTON TERRITORY, SEPTEMBER 2l 1861


corresponding responsibilities. Sol
diers as yon are by conviction. the
country looks not to your officers. cliv-
al,i and skilliul as they may he. but
to YOU aud each of YOU. Tor the safety
Of those vast national interests commit
ted 10 the furtu'ies Of thi, war. Your
camp life will expose you IL many
temptat;ons: Won should resist them -
YOU would the advancing sqLatirons al
the enemy. In every hour of peril or
Indictment tn excess, you will say Ia
Yourselves: "Our country secs Us.
and so act as tn stand forth soldiers, not
only without fear. but also without re-
proach each moment not absorbed by
the tolls and duties Of your military life.
should. as far rs practicable, be devoted
to that mental and moral training with
ont which the noblcst volunteers must
sink to a level with an army of merce-
naries.
Alike in the inaction of the camp.
amid the fatigues of the march. and the
charge and shouts of battle, You will
remember that You have in your keep
ing not only your own personal repu-
tation, but the honor of our native
State, and. what is infinitely more in
spring, the honors otthat blood-bought
and bcneticcnt Republic, whose chill
drcn you are. Any irrcgularity on
your part would sadden the land that
loves you; any faltcring in the presence
of the toe, would cover it with immeas-
urablc humiliation, You will soon
mingle in tie ranks with the gallant
volunteers from the North and West,
and with me You will admire their
moderation, their admirable discipline,
and that deep determination, whose
earnestness with them has no language
Of menace, or blustcr, or passion.
When the men from Bunker Hill, and
the men from the "dark and bloody
ground" uncstrangcd from each other
by the low arts of politicians, shall
stand side by side on the same national
battle field, the heart of freedom will be
glad.
Carry with you the complete assur-
ancc that youwill ere long have not only
the moral but the material support of
Kentucky. Not many weeks can
elapsc before this powerful Common.
wealth will make an eXultant avowal
of her loyalty, and will stand erect be-
fore the country, stainless and true as
the trucst of her sisters of the Union.
In the scale of the momentous events
now occurring, her wei ght should be
and will be felt. Already she is inpa-
ticnt, and will not much longer, under
the pressure of any policy, submit to
shrink away into the mere dust of the
balances.
Have no fears as to tho vigorous and
ultimately successful prosecution of
this war; and feel no alarm either us
to the expenditure it must involve oras
to those startling steps, seemingly
smacking of the exercise of absolute au-
thority, which the Administration may
be forced from time to time to take.
While doubtless all possible economy
will be observed, it is apparent that no
considerations of that kind can be per-
mitted for a moment to modify the pol
icy that has been resolved upon. When
the life Of the patient is confesscdly ut
stake, it would he us unwise as it would
be inhuman to discuss the question of
the physicians fec before summoning
him to Inc bedside.
Besides. all now realize that the sys-
TEN of arithmetic has yet to he invent
cd which could estimate in dollars and
cents the worth Of our institutions,
This terrible emergency, with all its
dangers and duties. WAS unforeseen by
the founders of the Government. and
by those who subsequently admins
tered it. aud it must make laws for it.
SELF The Government has been like
a strong swimmer suddenly prccipita-
ted into the sca. and like that swimmer
it has unhcsita,ingly and jnstitiably
seized npon any aud every instrument
taiity with which it could sublue the
trcacherous currents and waves by
which it found itself surrounded. All
that was irregular or illegal in the ac-
ton of the President has been fully ap-
probated by Congress-, on the broad
and incontestable principle that laws
and usagcs Of administration designed
To preserve the existence Of the nation
should not be suffercd to become the
instruments Of its death. So. tor the
future, l do not hesitate to say that
any and every measure required to save
the Republic from the pcrils that beset
il, not OILY may but ought to he taken
~ the Administration, promptly aud
fearlessly.
Within so brief period no such gi-
gantic power has ever been placed at