Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1862-12-27
Arrests for Disloyal Practices.
remarks of Senator Doo1ittle.

The following remarks were submitted
in the Senate of the United States on the
9th inst, by Mr.. DooLITTLE of this State,
the pending question being on the adop-
ton of Mr. SAULsBURY's resolution calling
on the Secretary OF War fer full infcrma.
tiop in regard 10 the arrest of two citizens
of Delaware:
Mr.. Doolttle. Mr.. President, the SEN
ator from Kentucky made a personal ap-
peal to me TO know whether |, if arrested
would be willing for the sake of obtaining
my liberty to take an oath of allegiance to
the Government of the United States. I
answer, that I would. l look upon the
question OF being required to take an oath
OF tealty or allegiance to the Government
as being very different thing from what
it would be if were asked to swear fealty
to any particular party, or to any sect in
religion, or that | favored any particular
belief. On question of that kind, instead
OF taking az oath, q man could very prop.
erly go to the scaffold or to the stake. But,
sir, on simple question of whether he is
loyal to the Government or not, it seems
to me that any man can properly make an
oath to that effect. if he is loyal; or he
can give his certificate to that effect. |
presume every Senator on this floor has
had occasion to cross the Potomac to visit
friend in one of those camps or forts.
Whenever we ask permission to go there
do we not have to get pass, and give our
pledge of honor, which is perhaps equiva-
lent to our oath, that we are loyal to the
Government? By what law am l restrain.
ed OF my liberty of crossing the Potomac
unless give my oath or my certificate OF
honor that am loyel citizen of the Uni
ted States? Where do you find it in the
Constitution
As said the other day, and there has
been no answer made to it on this floor,
even if you maintain that there is a tech
nical illegality in the form OF the arrest of
these men, here is no oppression practiced
by the Government upon the men who
are arrested upon suspicion when they are
told, "Sir, if you are loyal, say so; if you
will swear teatg to this Government, and
come the effect of our suspicious" This
is in the case of men who are arrested
upon suspicion merely not men who are
arrested upon evidence. There is no diff
ticulty in those cases where the evidence
is plain and palpsbe They can be hand
ed over to the courts; they can be arrest
ed and held; but there are cases where it
Is necessary to arrest upon suspicion
merely. Now, take this case: we all
know that Joe Johnston-I believe that
is the one-for nearly a month after Mr..
| Lincoln came into power Was your Quar-
termaster General. He resigned to Join
the confederate army. Your officers in
the Navy resigned, and went over and
Joined the confederates. Here comes
home another officer from the sea, who
| sends In his resignation to the Govern
ment What is that for9 The Govern
ment suspects that by resigning in our
service, be means to JOIN the contederates,
and battle his hands in the blood of our
sons, and overthrow the Republic; anG
what do they dos The very fact that he
resigns is suspicion enough, and the Gov
eminent puts its hands upon him. "Sir,
you are arrested; swear to support the
Government of the United States that
you are loyal and you may go at liberty
If you do not, you must wait until this
fight is over.'
Mr.. President, Senators on this floor
seem to labor under the greatest misap-
prehension in the world, in my Judgment
They seem to think that this country is
not at war in all its length and breadth
! in all its entirety. They seem to think,
although the Government of the United
States, extending from the Lakes to the
| Gulf and from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
Is struggling in a gigantic civil war for its
very lite, that that war exists only where
the armies happen to meet upon the field
of battle. Sir, it is at war through it's
whole length and breadth. 1t is at war
in Kentucky, in Tennessee; it is at war in
in Illinois, Pennsylvania Wisconsin, Maine
and New Hampshire. Take the very case
which the honorable Senator from New
Hampshire has stated this morning, where
men organized together in band and
marched through the streets of one Of the
towns Of New Hampshire, fired on the
flag of the United States, and went into a
meeting where they were raising volun-
teers, to discourage and prevent it. Why,
| sir, there was actual war in New Hamp-
shire, and In my own State, where the
poor ignorant people of one Of our coun-
ties, most of whom do not speak our Ian
| guage, and do not fully understand what
is going on because they had been impos-
ed upon, and told that if they voted the
| Democratic ticket this fall there should be
| no draft into the Army, some two hun
dred of them, l believe, rose in actual re-
belllon against the authority of the gov
| ernneLt of the United States, and made
war on the men who were drafting the
soldiers into TIE Army. What was the
| consequence? The troops in the service
OF the United States were ordered upon
the field, and they arrested these men;
and, sir, how did they take them They
took them as prisoners OF war.
Sir, let me put the case back to
the Senator from Kentucky Does
he not know that all over Kentucky
war has not only legally existed, but
that actual conflicts have been taking
place z The commander of our army, as
be marches with his army into Ken
tucky, must judge, upon his discretion
and responsibility, whether the people he
meets there are loyal or .disloyal He
makes arrests. He says to those whom
be arrests, " take the oath of allegiance
and you will be discharged if you will
not take the oath you shall be held as
prisoners" Suppose the men who have
fought against Us in Kentucky run over
into Ohio, and the President catches them
there; are they not still held as prisoners
Of war? Suppose they run into Pennsyl-
vania, and he finds that the men who
have been engaged in fighting our armies
down in Virginia have escaped into Penn
syvanis, and he takes them there, he
takes them "a prisoners of war SuDDo.e