Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1862-12-04
The Cost ofPeace.

Letter from Robert Dale Owen to Scores
t.ry ch.ss-rh. Conditions or Lasting
Psses.
To the Hon s.Lxos p. cnAsr, Secretary Of Treasury
Sin: In briefest terms state the pro.
po,itions which. as the subject Of our reeent
Conversation, / promised to reduce to writ.
tine.
Not that within the next fiftv davs the
offered in the Presidents Proclamation.
turn To her alleg;anoe. Lat no not dece;vc
ourselyes T6ore are NO conditions
NO puaranties-no. not II We nroffer
her = bianE shset on vh;ch n .et
them down. with Unrestricted nan. in her
own band-uuder which sbe will consent 20
re. union. exoept In one continssncv--con. .
ous,t mora or 'lsss oon, nleta- hy .foros Of
srmc - = -
Are wa l;kelv IN obtain neace bv conouestp
In search Of an answer let us look closely
at a few statistical facts
Bv the ccnm,s of 1890. the number of
white males between the ages of Is and 15
ia. in the loval States. about 4. 600. 600: and.
IN the disloyal States about 3OO OOO n
little inward Of three tn one The disnro.
portion seems overwhelmingly great.
But this calculation. as basis of military
strength. ia wholly faliacious: for il includes
persons of one color only.
Ont of the above four millions the North
has to provide soldiers. and with ineon.
siderable executions. not usuallv extending
to field labor) laborers also.
But of the three millions and a half of
slaves owned in the Rabel States. about two
millions NAV be Estimated as laborers. All.
low three hundred thousand of these en-
ploved in domestic services and other 90.
cupations followed bv women among us.
and We have seventcen hundred Thousand
plantation hands. male and female. zach
one of which counts against a Northern
laborer On farm or in work. .shon.
Tben. of that nort;on NJ nonulot;on
whence soldiers and outdoor laborers and
mocha MICS must ch;eflv he taken. the North.
ern States have four millions and the South.
ern States three millions
Snnnos;na tbe no.ross % al, Iowa, n THAR
masters, il follows that the true proportion
of strength available in hi. warrtbat il IF
soldiers to fuht and laborer, to sunnort the
nation while fightin9--may fairly enough be
taken AZ three in The South to fonr n The
North
Under this sunnos;tion of South united
without regard TO color. in an effort for re.
copnition, shall we obtain peace by subdu-
inc her? If history teach truth. we shall
not Never, since the world began, did
nine millions of people band together, reso.
lutely inspred by the one idea of achieyirI no
their independence. vet fail to obtain Il. II
is not a century since one. third of the NUN.
ber successfully de6ed Great Britain.
But let us supnose the negroes of the
South loyal to he Union instead of to their
masters how stands the matter then?
In that case il is not to a united people,
but to a Copfederacy divided against itself.
that we are opposed the masters on one
side F; the laborers. exceeding them in mum.
ber, on the other.
Suppese the services of these laborers
transferred TO us, what will then be the pro-
portion, on either side, of forces available.
directly and indirectly, for military nur.
poses?
AS about five and three. .fourths tn ,ne
and a. third In other words, nearly as nine
to two.
Such a Wholesale transfer is of course
impossible in practice. But IN 40 far as
the transfer il possibIe. and sball occur. we
approach the above results.
How much wisdom. under these circum
stances. is there in the advice that We should
nut down the Rebellion fr,t and settle the
negro question afterwardP What shall we
saw of their statesmsnshin who. in n wa,
like this. wonld leave out of view the nrsc
tical effect, of emancinstionp
On the other hand. however. II ia tn bs
admitted that African LOYALTY IN hi, VA, M
will jittle avail ma. n we have not rood sense
and GOOD feeiin. snongh nronarly IN sovarr
the negroes who NAV enter our lines
To render their aid Available. in the frs,
place va must treat them humanelv a dut,
We have vet n learn and secondly boti
for thar ssiss and far our own. We musl
not snnnort them in ;dleness Doubtls.,
thsu e .pe most ss;c;ant as ishorers as 4"
mest;cs @ in csmn. ~ ss tssmstsrs or emnlovst
m ;ntrenchmcnts and fort;fications or r
smh,Isn"e corns or "a ssnnsrs and r;nars
or 40 far as Snn,bsrn nIsntat;ons Il. IJ II ii
inc onr nosssss;on 40 Hsld. .hands Rut \
I Iii tha.a ph nosts hecnms over. .f;lIaJ battsr a.
,vsv v;tb ths nscess;tv for furthsr drsft Il /,
~. North bv nntt;ng mnstats in tho hand.
.so ~ MoiI In Y S!d ws" uso color.a Sarsntl, dS s
So,, g. no orrssl.es ~. th.n % 90 asImJs thar ;sno.
.noa into ths nn;r;or that smorr The ps;v;l
snSs ~ Ss.J,yp l. food w;thout y"rI
'eTsus 'efT ws nh;ls, T tbronu % and J;scret;o,