The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-12-06
rsaE COST OF PEACE.

A +.
..,.r from Resers DaIe owen g secre-
LSry Chase...The Condition Of Lasting
Teeec. %
=. ,he Hon. sALxoS P. CHASE, Secretary Of the
Treasury:
4 s,s. In brieiest terms state the propositions
,hcb, as the subject Of our recent conversation,
Irromiscd to reduce to writing.
what are the reasonable hopes Of peace?
Not that within the next fifty days the South,
Ealing herself of the term OF grace offered 10
-. Presidents Proclamation, may, to save her
s..o,;te institution, return to her Allegiance
~, us not deceive ourselves. There are no
.s,ditions, no guaranties-no, not if We prefer
Ssr blank sheet on which to set them down,
18th unrestricted pen, in her own hand-under
"hicb she will consent toreunion, except In one
contingepcy-conques more or less complete,
BY force Of arms e. 'A1e
Are We likely to obtain peace by conquest!
In search Of an answer let Us look closely ct Q
By the census of 1860, the number Of white
males between the ages of lS and 45 is, in the
laval States about 4, 600 900; and in the disloy-
al States about l. 800 900; little upward Of
three to one. The dispropottion seems over
whelmingy great aaa
But this calculation, 40 basis of military
strength, is wholly fallscioua; for it includes
persons of one color only. '1a
Out of the above four millions the North has
70 provide soldiers, and with uncomfortable ex-
ceptions, not usually extending to field labor)
lsborers also. f
But of the three millions and half of slaves
owned in tie Rebel States, about two millions
nay be estimated a. laborers ALLOW three
hundred thousand of these % employed in do
nestle services and other occupations followed
And v,A hA0 nHA>v
hundred thousand plantation hands, male and
female, esch one of which counts against q
Northern labores on farm or in work-ehop.
Then, Of that portion Of population whence
soldiers and outdoor laborers and mechanics
must chiefly be taken, the Northern States have
four millions aad the Southern States three
millions ,f#r
srpposing the negroes all loyal to their mas
ters, it follows that the true proportion of
strength available in this war-that 10 of soldiers
to fight aud laborers to support the nation while
6gbting-may fairly enough be taken at three
in the South to four in the North.
Under this supposition Of South united, with.
out regard to color, in an effort for recognition,
shall We obtain peace by subduing her? If his
tory teach truth, we shall not. Never, since
the world began. did nine millions of people
band together, resolutely inspired BY the one
obtain it. It lie not century since one-third of
the number successfully de6ed Great Britain.
But let US suppose the negroes of the South
loyal to the Union instead of to their masters.
how stands the matter then?
In that case it is not to united people, but
to Confederacy divided against ITSELF that We
are opposed; the masters on one side; the labor.
ers, exceeding them in number, on the other.
Suppose the services of these laborers trans.
ferred to US, what will then be the proportion,
on either side, of forces available, directly and
indirectly, for military purposess
As about five and threefourths to one and
third in other words, nearly as nire to two.
Such Wholesale transfer is, of course, i'm.
possible in practice. But in 90 far % the trans
fer 10 possible, and shall occur, We approach the
above resulta
How much wisdom, under these circumstan-
ces, is there in the advice that we should nut
down the Rebellion first AID settle the negro
question afterward? What shall We say of their
craftsmanship who, In q war like this, would
leave out Of view the practical effects of eman.
cipationi
On the other hand, however, it is to be admit.
ted that African loyalty in this war will little
avail us, If we have not good sense and good
feeling enough properly to govern the negroes
Who may enter our lines.
To render their aid available, In the first place
We must treat them humanely; duty We have
yet to learn; and secondly, both for their sakee
and for our own, We must not support them in
idleness. Doubtless, they are most efficient az
aaborers, as domestics in camp, az .eamsters or
employed on entertainments and Notifications.
or in ambulance corps, or as sappers and miners:
or, as fact as Southern plantations shall fall into
our possession, as field hands But if all these
posts become over6lled, better do awsv with
che necessity for further draft in the North by
putting muskets in the hands of the able bodied
men, colored differently from ourselves. than to
delude their ignorance into the opinion that
among the privileges OF freedom is food withou,
work.
Have we phiar thropv and discretion enough
wisely to administer such q change of system!
Possibly. not. Administrative capacity in pub
lie affairs isrot our strong point. We would dc
we'll to bear in mind, however, that, without
such capacity, not this war only, but our entire
governmental experiment will prove q failure a,
last.
Do other objections hold against the plans-
Does humanity forbid US to accept the aid of an
ensaved race? In so far as humanity Gag ever
enjoin war at all. she enjoins the employment
by u.s. OF the African in this; first, because bis
employment may shorten, by years, the frstri-
IL
permitted to assist in civilized warfare under us
and if, without bis aid, we fail to effect his lib
Grafton, and thus dsappoint bis hopes, he may
be overtaken by the temptation to seek freedom
ssd revenge in his own wild way. In accepting
the liberated slave az soldier We may prevent
his rising as an assassin. By the creation of ne
gro brigsdes We may avert the indiscriminate
msssacres OF servile instruction.
Or is there an iusuperable difficulty of caste in
the ways In contest likely to eventu.te in
securing to another race than ours the greatest
Of temporal blessings, are we determined to shut
out that race from all share in it's own liberia
ton? Are We so ensmored of the Noloch, War,
that We will suffer none out our sons to pass
through the fire? Terrible penalty to pay, with
life and death at stake, for national prejudice
against the Southern Pariah.
As to the duty Of our rulers in the premises, I
cannot see according to what principle of ethics
Government, charged with the lives of mil
lions, the putting down of gigantic rebellion
and the restoration of tranquility to the land.
has the right. in the hour of its utmost need, to
ec0rn a vast element Of strenvth pl.cad vith;r