Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1862-09-12
MILITARY Politicians.
From the New York Times, Sept.

| From Inc New ork Times, Sept. IL.
The worst result Of incapacity on the part
of the civil authority in times Of peril and dis
aster such as now beset our country, is the
| haSty and desperate resort to military leaders
for counsel and command, which such inca
pacity is almost sure to breed. The expert
ence of the world is full of instances of ma
tional ruin thus preciptated, and although we
have no positive fear of any similar catastro-
phe as impending directly upon ourselves,
still we think it well to note the least begin
nings Of evil in this as in all other directions.
| What policy the government of the Union
shall pursue in dealing finally with the great
rebellion, Is still legitimate matter of discus
| sion for loyal men who are determined only
that suppressed the rebellion shall be, and if
1t shall appear on grave and full considera-
ton, that the life of the nation can only be
preserved by the death of slavery, he is a
traitor double-dyed who would oppose the
exhibition Of the decisive remedy, be its OPP
Grafton never so painful and never so stern.
1t is necessary, therefore, for us to call the
attention of the loyal public to the inStdious
| efforts arhich are making IN certain quarters
to create sort Of rague and passionate pub
lie feeling IN .faUor Of the uSmpation By soon.
stttutionat" generals Of absolute control oge,'
the issues Of thiS var. Hints hare been re-
| Of the differentiation" aCtich is said to ernst
IN ''miL,ta9y quarters" to assume the control
| Of public affairs rather than permit that con-
troll to pass into the hands Of "aJolition
SChemerS," the said ''schemers," so far as we
can understand being the constituted pOliti-
cal representatives Of sundry loyal states of
the Union. This talk may be idle-it is GER
tainly dangerous and disgraceful, so far as it
means or can mean anything at all. The
military arm Of the republic is its arm and not
its head. The final voice upon the policy of
the great struggle we are making rests with
the people and their representatives. 1t can
not and it shall not be taken from them by
any clique whatever, be that clique executive
or military.
The people ofthe United States intend to be
victorious in this war upon which they have
| staked such tremendous values of treasure
and Of life. They intend to preserve not only
the present unity, but the self-respect, the lib
erty, and the future of the nation, and they
| intend to preserve these, at whatever cost to
local institutions and provincial passions.
From the rank and file of the national army
they have no fears. These men are blood
of their blood, and one flesh with them. But
| if (Which we by no means yet believe) there
| exist among the accidental leaders of the
army any disposition to mistake the objects
| of their commission, any delusion as to the
power vested in them, and any tendency to
believe that the American people of the
free states will accept of military settlement
of their score with the rebellion, patched up
without reference to the convictions of any
great sections of the free states, it will be well
for the victims of so perilous a hallucination
to emancipate themselves at once from its IA
tai sway.
We have had enough of the cobbler trans
| crossing his last. We have suffered enough
from politicians assuming to be generals
We have not so much patience left as will
tolerate experiments of state made by gener-
ais turned politicians. Our commanders in
the field have one plain duty to do-to find
and beat the armies of the rebellion. They
have not done this work yet so handsomely
that we can afford to spare them for new
eNertions in another quarter. And when
they shall have done it, the issues of victory,
we beg leave emphatically to say, will re-
man to be controlled by the people them
selves! and by the explicit delegates of their
explicit wills.