Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1863-10-15
Great Union Meeting at Stoughton
Speeches by Sen. Howe and Col.
Fairchild

at otoughton, on thursday last; while 1t
was not large, embraced many of the
leading citizens of that and the adjoining
towns for distance of ten or fifteen
miles, and was a spirited, harmonious,
and impressive demonstration, calculated
to arouse and stimulate to action the
Union men Of the vicinity.
After soul stirring music by the Slough
ton Brass band Col. Lucius Fairchild,
the Union candidate for Secretary Of
State, was introduced to the meeting.
and received with three hearty cheers
for the Iron Brigade" with whose
achievements and glory his name is in
separately connected, Col Fairchild in
his remarks spoke of the character and
views Of the soldiers in the field. He
asked If there was person present who
believed that the army could be used to
! aid in usurping and crashing out the
liberties of the people, as it was charged
By our opponents that they were being,
or were about to be used by the admin
istration. Again it was said that the
soldiers did not dare to vote except al
the dictation Of their officers. He APP
pealed to those present whether they
believed this base calumny Did they
believe that their sons and brothers in
the army would vote contrary to their
sentiments in obedience to the wishes of
officers. No, it was vile SANDER
Those soldiers were American citizens.
AS general thing there was no class Of
citizens who read, or thought more, or
understood better the leading questions
of the day than our soldiers, nor was
there any class more independent, out
side Of their legitimate military dssties.
He woula not dare attempt to control
the votes Of his regiment; it would not
be safe for any officer to do IT, Col. F.
continued urging the Importance of sus-
tanning the administration and filing up
the ranks Of the army More men ought
to be sent forward to save the lives of
those already in the field and that the
blood already shed might not have been
shed in vain.
Senator Howe then followed in an ad-
mirable speech, of about an hours dura-
ton, full Of telling points, and appealing
to the calm Judgment and earnest pa
triotism Of the people. He said there
was but one issue before the American
people. It had nothing to do with par
ty issues. It was not whether the Eman-
cipation Proclamation should be sus-
tanned or not; nothing to do with sup
porting or opposing confscation, the
suspension of the writ Of habaes corpus,
arbitrary arrests, nor anything of the
kind 1t was whether the Nation should
be preserved, and whether the people
were ready to give the last man and the
last dollar for that purpose if necessary.
There never was an administration all
the acts of which were approved by the
people. Much less could we expect an
administration dealing with mighty re-
bellion to avoid all mistakes. But we
mast sustain this administration in pat
ting down the rebellion, and next year,
if we wish, we can put another in it's
p ace. Fail to sustain it, and we may
never be allowed to choose another. We
must either put down the rebellion or be
subjugated by it. There could be no
permanent disunion. IF the rebels
could whip us out Of ten States, they
could whip us out Of thirty-four. It was
fact significant of the nature of this war
that the first gun was fred not to defend
any alleged right ola State, but for the
subjugation of one Of our fortresses,
erected at the common cost, and exclu-
sively under the central of the Federal
| Government.
The speaker referred to the pressing
necessity Of reinforcing the army with
fresh troops. The first battle Of Bull
Run was lost, and untold life and treas
ure as consequence, because Miles fail
ed to bring up the reserves. Would the
people now enact the part Of Miles :?
The army in front needed reinforce
ments. Inc people were the reserve
The order had been given to send rein
forcements. IF they failed to do so, let
them not think they would escape fight
ing or the cost Of war. The war would
come to their own doors if they did not
keep it at a distance by sustaining the
Government.
Hon. B, Z. Hopkins, Of Madison fol-
lowed, making an excellent speech which
i elected hearty applause He showed
up the unpratiotic position taken by the
rebel sympathizing Democracy, and
pointed out the manner in which they
were giving effective aid, comfort and
encouragement to the rebellion.
FAIRBANKS ScALEs.-Weighed in
the balance Of a just criticism, all are
obliged to admit that Fairbanks Scales
ara wit hOut aycoption fba hoct oror