Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1863-07-17

was the scheme of the rebels, who are they
at the North that give it conntenance and en-
cOuragement? . .fgie..a43 -i .... .
Who are they that address the multitudes
in inhammatory harangues, hurting de6anc'
at the constituted authorities of the Govern
ment, and inculcating in the minds of the
people doctrines of disloyalty and insubordi
nation destructive alike of the peace of indi
vidual communities, and of the welfare of the
nation at large? Who are they, that profess
| ing to wish success to the armies of the Union
yet continually decry the war as prosecuted
for base purposes, deride the Chief Magis-
trate Of the Nation as untrustworthy and i'm.
beetle, denounce our military chieftains, eulo.
gise the skill of the rebels as matchless, and
intimate that they are invincible? In short
who are they whose unremitting efforts seem
to be to throw obstacles in the path of the
Government, to shatter the confidence of the
soldiers in their leaders, and to depress the
loyal heart Of the nation with forebodings Of
ill Do they who, at the inception of the re-
bellion, openly avowed it to be utterly with
out provocation, and whose bold utterances
then contrast strangely with their treachery
now-do they, in this course of factious op-
position to the Government, emulate the
fidelity Of Douglas to the Union?
Men of Iowa, you are ready to answer
these questions You have, doubtless, closely
observed those quondam supporters Of the
Government they now revile. You knew
them, in the beginning of the war, to be We
hement in their denunciation Of the rebel
rulers, civil and military, toward whom they
now evince infinitely greater charity than to-
ward our own. You have discovered that
their avowed indignation at the fall of Sum-
ter was but political yielding to the torrent
of enthusiastic patriotism that then swept
over the loyal States. The great masses of
the people of the North continue to this day
truly patriotic but it is certain class of self
constituted leaders who seek to poison the
fountains of loyalty They are PROFESSIONAL
POLITICIANS, nothing more, nothing less
Men who live and thrive by political NEGRO
mancy,-men who in secret cabal concoct
schemes to promote party purposes, and Gre
ate martyrs, as furnishing favorable pretexts
for fierce hue and cry against the Admins
tration. tits ostensibly the cause of liberty
they advocate, and yet solely, in fact, for their
own personal aggrandizement, and the attain
ment of mere party advantages, that they
thus continually harp upon the tyranny of a
Government indisputably the most lenient,
the most humane, the most beneJicent on the
fsee of the globe. 1t is in this fearful juno
ture of our national affairs, demanding the
greatest unanimity in support Of the Govern
ment, that demagogues seek to gull the peo-
pie into the belief that they are really living
under despotism. that we have a Nero for
a President, whose tyrannical Vaccinations
can be thwarted only by these blatant mar
plots. Instead of fair and manly criticism
of the Government officials when they err, as
they often do, and just rendering to them
of the praise to which they are often entitled,
we find in certain places, issuing continually
fiom q Hoes cylinder press" and from the
mouths of party hacks, the bitterest denun-
ciations, and most offensive belchings of par
ty hate and calumny, till the air is filled with
their noxious odor. Is this the course of
patriotism, or is it the accursed dictation of
party spirit, threatening the subversion of our
free institutions? How often now, in the
midst of the greatest struggle in which ma
ton can possibly be involved, are we shock
ed by the conviction forced upon US, that the
professional politician is seeking to erect the
monument of his unholy ambition even upon
the calamities of his country.
See to it, men of Iowa, that you submit not
yourselves to be the victims of such afro
cious political chicanery
u There are two paths before us-one the
path of bravery, of patriotism; the other,
the path of cowardice and treason. The one
leads to enduring peace and national honor
the other to protracted wars and national dis
grace. Let the issue at Vicksburg and Port
Hudson be what it may, whether it be glo
rious triumph for the Union, or be adverse to
our arms we must-we MUST stand firmly to
our colors, and invoke the aid of the God of
nations. trust and believe that the mighty
river, whose turbid waters roll before us, will
ere long resound with the triumphant shouts
of the Union hosts, as they mount the ram
parts of its frowning forts. And we wait,
with like intense and breathless solicitude, for
further doings from the new battle fields of
Tennessee and Pennsylvania. The rebel army
invaded that loyal State on the 14th and 18th
of June, both days of early historic associa-
ton. On the 14th of June, l777, the Con-
gress of the United States adopted this reso-
luton: 1.-THE flag of this nation shall con-
sist of thirteen stripes, alternate red and
white; the Union shall be thirteen stars,
white on the blue field. representing new
constellation" On the same day, twenty
four years thereafter (June 14th, 180D there
died in England the infamous Benedict Ar
mold. The 14th of June, therefore, is the
anniversary OF the birthday of our flag, as
the hallowed national emblem; and also of
the death of Americas traitor son, who
sought to do it dishonor. So, too, the 18th
Of June is also invested with high historic
interest, as commemorating the appointment
1HH6N <c Gonrrrn w oh c,%ou
as Commander-in-C Chief of the American army.
May our gallant hosts in Pennsylvania be an
imated to battle by these historic memories,
and may the traitor bands be reminded of the
career and infamy of their great exemplar,
whose memory is held in universal execra-
ton. But should misfortune befall our arms,
either in the East or West, or in both, and
gloom again should shroud the land, then
will be the occasion for the exercise of Spar
tan courage. Then let every Union man
pledge anew his fidelity to the sacred and i'm
periled cause Is not the history of the Rev
olution pregnant with significance and en-
couragement to us now? Could any condition
be better calculated to produce discourage
ment, and to depress a people, than the mill
] tary condition of this country at the end OF
the compaign Of FITS? And yet, at the very
, time when the British, under Howe, had ar
rived in great numbers, with large and eff.
cient armament, and our forces enlisted, as
they were, but for single season, were gen
erally disbanded-at that very time were the
Hessians surprised at Trenton; and still later
the victory at Princeton was achieved, entire.
" altering the aspect of affairs and convert
ing the gloom and depression Of the people
into universal rejoicing. And when, afte,
the reverses at Brandywine and Germantown
the Congress of the United States was com
PEELED to abandon Philadelphia to the British
and seek other quarters for its sessions, the
victory over Burgoyne was inscribed upor
our banners, reviving the spirits of our peo-
pie. So, too, the campaign Of 1881, which