M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1862-02-20
SPEECH H
OF
ION. S. S. cox OF O.,
IN REPLY TO
HON. GURLEY OF OHIO.


Mr.. Chairman, | obtained the nocr
on yesterday to give Q prompt ana wer
to the elaborate attack made by my
colleague Mr.. GurlCy1 on General
Mcclellan. | was not unaware thai
my colleague had thus prepared him.
sell. 1t was bruited about that We
were to have dissertation on the con.
duct OF this war which woqld sguihii
late its present managers. ! wish
that my colleague could plead the i'm.
pulse OF the moment for his speech;
bat give more significance to his Ia
bored effort because it betokens q plap
=. and in which my colleague plays
his role--to get rid OF the gallant Ma.
jor General. in whom repose the hopes
and the confidence of the people. II
his speech had been made by a
Democrat, II would have beer said
that it was an attemptto aid secession;
to cripple our credit at home and our
honor abroad: 70 undermine the pop
ular faith in the power OF the Govern.
ment to conquer peace and restore
the Union. 1t wonld have deserved
acco, ding to the practice now obsolete
q prison in q sea.bound castle.
l do not understand, nor will at-
tempt to analyze, the motives oi my
colleague. III were to jndge of his
intent by the effect Of his speech, he
would discourage the Army i'll their
efforts, and the people in their pay.
ment of taxes. His speech viii aid
the rebellion, not so much because It
was spoken by him as because il
seems to be a part OF plan, outside
and inside Of this House, to beget dis
trust and soy discord. lido not know
Eeir, Low mueil weight viii be attribg
ted to my colleagues military strict
ures. If his facts are no better thar
his conclusions and / will demon.
strate that neither are correct his
speech will only 60 for what it ia
wOrth--the scOlding Of an uumilitary
Congressman.
My colleague began with the cry
that generals are nothing, that if any
general was incompetent, to take him
away. tie read from tie Richmond
Dispatch to show the errors our gen.
eral had committed. The article
read was SO fall of slander apa false.
hood that he himself corrected 3 part
oft. He charged the Commander
in. Chief with eanselesslY holding
back our eager soldiers for months
He charged him with denying to them
the victory which vas in their reach.
He said that no man living was fiji
to command over three hundred
thousand.
Mr.. GURLEY. ! said six han.
dred thousand.
Mr.. COX. have read the gentle.
mans speech in the Globe, and am
right. lie further said that it was
not unwise, but alarming to The last
degree. lie found fault with his plan
AS lie claimed to know ito al.
tack the enemy's whole line at once
at all points. Ee said this was pn.
wise because it was impossible. He
l
did not approve of the gen ERALS mice
and precise adjustment of military af-
fairs" before the Army moved. He
wanted the Army to oyerwheln the
enemy without waiting for orders from
Washington City. lie then under
took by a statement Of facts as to the
Affairs at Romney, in Missouri, and
Kentucky, to depreciate the character
of that Commander-in chief. He
| demanded thai the Army should move
at all hazards, unrestrained by a sia.
gle hand. He thought he saw in the
aceenBion of Mr.. Stanton a streak .ol
| sunlight, for be AMr. Stanton was
like brave Ben Wade, OF Ohio. ue
thought il we did DOT move spop, our
&, reputation as a military people you'd
about equal that OF the Chinese; and
then my colleague wound UP Ills
speech by the fgn:e Of the anaconda
in which he tried TO be humorous at
the expense Of General Scott, Sho
originated the trope, ,acd finally he
was for stirring up the anaconda, ev-
en- though, like the snakes from Tene-
dos 10 Virgil, they woppd their tails
around the most sacred of our hopes
to crush them forever. This is the
analysis ofmy colleagues speech.
Gu the very eve, eir, Of the most
important movements, aud when, too,
our Army ip one section has already
given eafnest in carrying cut success
fully one part of Genara. McClelian's
scheme, we have this rnost iaoppor.
tune display of impatisnes sgainst
General Mcclellan, I woald rather