The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1861-05-23

owe asked two weeks ago: 'by what author
Itv can the President increase the standing ar
my, double the naval force, and plunge the ma
ton i'll debt"
We clip the above from last weeks Demo
crat. Our neighbor has probably forgotten
what he did say 1.-TWO weeks ago" In addition
to the above, he said the President proposed to
add s., 900 men to the standing army, and to
add 900 men to the naval service, and to
plunge the nation in war and debt, and then
asked by what authority such things could be
done in time of peace? There was no occasion
to answer that question, nor did we attempt to
answer it, but we showed the dishonesty and
bad faith Of the editor in making his query. In
the first place, the President never proposed to
add IS 900 men to the standing army, nor was
it a 'stime of peace" so that the premises upon
which the editor based his question were all
false, and to have answered them would have
been to admit the truth Of his assumption.
The editor of the Democrat was equally as
false and insincere, again, in the above. Why
not tell the whole he asked Nobody would
attempt to Justify any such course in a time Of
peace.
If the editor of the Democrat wishes to know
by what authority the President calls upon the
army and navy to sustain the Constitution Of
the United States when it is assailed, and to
execute the laws,when they are openly defed,
he can find it in the Constitution, where the
President solemnly swears, TO the best of his
obi itu IN ND 1afa, fbo
stitution of the United States" And again,
where it says the President shall take care
that the laws be faithfully executed :" and again
where it says that "The President shall be com
mander-in Chief of the army and navy of the
United States and of the Militia of the several
States, when called into the service of the Uni
ted States"
We hope cur neighbor will notice that these
requirements positive. There are no pro-
visos The President does not take the oath
''to preserve, protect and defend the Constitu-
tion,' provided nobody attempts to destroy it,
nor that he "shall take care that the laws be
f4ithiully executed" -pIovided nobody resists
such execution. The duty in both cases is posi-
tive imperative. IF the President does not use
all the power he has and all the power the ma
ton has, if necessary, to fulfill his duties he be-
comes a perjured traitor The editor of the Dem
Ocrat of course knows these things, but if he can
make those not so well informed as himself be-
lieve that the President has usurped powers not
warranted by the Constitution, and thereby Gre
ate an enemy to the Administration, or if he
can give even one secessiOnist cause to believe
that there are those in the Free States who M
hold and sympathize with him in his treason and
thereby give him fresh heart to prolong the un-
natural strife, he is well satisfied.
The other part of the Democrats assertion
that ''any attempt of the President to march
troops into State without the consent of the
authorities, or by their request, is as much a
usurpation of power, end is as unconstitution
al as any act ever committed by seeding
State, is simply so absurd that TO answer II
would be folly. Such a construction would make
the Constitution perfect nonsense. That article
makes the President COMMANDMENTS Chief of tho
army and navy. Suppose every State of the
Union shooid refuse 10 consent to allow any
portion OF the army CT navy to enter its bound
aries What should the President do? Send
The army to Canada, and the navy TO Mexico
II the Democrats assertion be true, some such
thing would have to be done. The absurditv
Is apparent and it needs no other.