Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1862-09-24

! The recent outbreak IN 4llnnesOlsl, am
well satisfied, must be ascribed to rebel
influence. -
The fearful consequences Of an unex-
pected attack Of these sayagessu pom our.
peaceful communities. can Lard be iin-'
agined l; but theseceit panic ii some OF
the densoly populated parts Of our State,
must be solemn warning to us to pre-
pare. After the regiments now in organ
ization in our Stale shall have left, the
savage warriors within our borders, if in
cited to similar atrocities as the Sioux
tribe in Minnesota have been, could plum
der and murder our peaceful citizens by
thousands, if we do not arm and pre-
pare ourselves. We cannot rely upon
the strong arm of the General Govern
ment in such an emergency; its help
would be too tardy. When the MINES
ota massacre occurred, and the citizens OF
our frontier counties sent in requests aud
delegations to ne, immediately applied
to the Secretary of War, Mr.. Stanton,
by telegraph, for arms and ammunition.
After repeated dispatches stating our con-
dition, one asking for ammunition, and
after MANY days elapsed an answer came
from that officer saying that he did not
know that there were Indians in Wiscon-
sin The time and attention of the Sec
rotary of Warts evidently and naturally
SO much engrossed with the movements
of our great army, that prompt action
can hardly be expected in case of distnr-
Dances on our frontier. After more han
two weeks from the time of the massa-
ere, Minnesota was yet without sufficient
arms, and applied to us for aid. | trust
and hope that no such disturbances will
arise in our State, but the surest mode
of avoiding danger is to prepare for it
We should become familiar with the
thought that in the present condition OF
our country we must become a warIiko
people; every community should be pre-
pared to defend Itself.
To be able then promptly to answer FL
ture calls Of the General Government for
troops; 10 be able to send into the field
men who know ut least the rudimer t. Of
drill and how to use gun; to be able
to defend our own firesifes against attacks
and invasion, our State should have an
effective organization Of the militia, and
sufficient supply Of arms and ammuni-
ton, and should have it now. Our pres
ent laws are insufficient for this purpose:
they were not made for such times or
emergencies; our supply of arms Is to
small and for ammunition We have TO
4. .. ~
Perhaps circumstances will not permit
YOU 10 enact AT the present time. al ca
jirely new and well digested militia sy5-
TEN, with all its details. | would there
fore recommend that by some few and
general enactments amending the present
militia law, provision be made for 10
immediate organization, the necessary
drill-and the calling into active service
in case of necessity of The militia of our
State; that provision be made for draft
ing the militia in case of need to serve
out Of the State and for the purchase Of
the necessary arms and ammunition
This would answer for our present ener-
gences until the next regular session Of
the Legislature. A military Board of
Commission might, however, be created
with instructions to prepare a complete
militia system, to be laid before the next
Legislature. For present organization
the recent enrolment made by the Sher-
ifs would probably be sufficient, and it
might be adopted as basis.
Another object to which desire to
call your attention at the present time is
the enactment of the law which shall
give the soldiers from this State, now in
the army, the right to vote at the next
general election. After our quota shall
have been filled we shall have about AS
600 men in the army Of the Union
Among these, Il is safe to presume there
are at least 10000 voters, who certainly
have as deep, if not q deeper interest in
the welfare of the State and Union, and
in the policy that shall guide Jhoir coun~
sells in their representative halls, as those
who have remained at home. The views
of these brave and patriotic men should
be heard through the ballot box, and
should have proper weight in shaping
the destiny OF our imperiled country
Who votes must bear arms, was the Just
decision aud rule Of the Secretary Of
War; who bears arms should not be
DISTINGUISHED, lat be permitted to vote,
should be The policy Of The country.
There is nothing, | believe, in our con-
stituiion which would prohibit the en-
actment of such n law. On the contra
rs, section I OF article 3, provides that
No person shall be deemed to have
lost his residence in this State BY reason
of his absence on business Of the United
States or Of this State" This ut least
indicates that the spirit Of our Coustitu
ton is against Acknowledgement of our
sold ers; justice seems to demand that
they should be rewarded in a different
manner for their patriotism than by
loss of one of the most important lights
of citizenship, especially in the present
crisis, and it rests therefore with you to
say whether our election laws shall be SO
amended as to permit the taking of the
soldiers vote. 1t is believed that law
could, without much difficulty, be franz
ed for this purpose, SO that the soldiers
may vote for the most important public
officers at least; for State officers and