The New York herald., 1863-10-17
The Military Blspdsrs ~ wssA-
tnWtOR.

Pennsylvania and Ohio, which have between
them sent over three hundred thousand men
into the field, stiN sustain the administration
decidedly and entirely. All over the country 1t Is
the same; and this result OF the elections is the
most generous tribMte that . generous people
ever offered to iA government. Despite the
way IN which the war has been carried on, and
the cruel sacrifices of life that have been made;
despite the millions that have been uselessly
nally lost to car cause, the people new say
to the administSatiOn:- are with yea yet;
we give YOU OR confidence; we will give you
all that you can require. 60 on; sustain the
Union and finish the war;"
How will this generous approval affect the
administration 1t is given honestly, and in
the face of the most misehievous msmanage-
ment of the military affairs of the nation that
the world ever saw. From the disaster Of
Wilson'S creek, in Missouri, and tho sacrifice OF
the able and gallant Lyon, caused directly by
the action of the War Department. down to the
pitiful blunder at Sabine Pass-from Ball run
to the battle of Chattanooga administra-
in view Of its consequences, is the sublimity Of
evil. Wilson's creek and Bull run were caused
by the appointment Of men to high positions, not
for their fitness and ability, but solely because
they were the favorites of men in power. This is
areproducton of the faulty of the anciea regime.
Sabine Pass was the result of that corruption
that gives us old hulks instead Of good boats,
80 that contractors may make money; and
Chattanooga was the result of interference from
Washington, and of the imposition upon Gen.
Rosecrans Of Gen. Halleck's plans Here is an
epitome of the military history of the last three
years. 1t falls naturally under these three
heads: partisan favoritism, corruption and the
blunderers; and every disaster of the war may
be traced to one or the other of these causes.
General Pope was appointed to his command
in Virginia because he left Springfield in the
Presidents train when that gentleman started
to take his position at the national capital, and
bis impotent campaign, from the consequences Of
which the country was only saved by the battle
of Antietam, did not teach the War Department
the improprlety of such choice. General
Hooker was appointed to the command of the
Army of the Potomac through the most violent
partisan advocacy, though his habits were noto-
rious. Thence came the greatest of our disas-
ters-the murder Of the gallant men who
fell at Charlottesville, on Marie's Hill and
at Salem Heights--and moral result worse
than the loss Of those men; for when, in any
cause in which men take up arms, one hundred
and twenty thousand fail to overcome sixty
thousand, the cause in which the sixty thousand
fight inevitably becomes hallowed in popular
estimation with the appearance of divine sup
pert.
General Mcclellan projected . campaign
against Richmond which, il not interfered with
at every step, would have given us the rebel
capital over year ago, and perhaps have
ended the war by this time. General Grant
succeeded on the Mississippi only because the
men at Washington, though they suggested an
interference, "did not press it."
And, Notwithstanding these experiences. the
men at Washington now interfere with generals
in the field more actively than ever For the
result at Chattanooga the War Department
is clearly and directly responsible, and
for the failure to annihiIate Lee after the
Pennsylvania campaign, and for his sale
return to Richmond and present appear
ance at Bealton, not less 30. History is
said TO be reservoir Of examples; but we do
not believe that in all its immense extont there
can be found any example to equal the su-
preme impudence that the creatures of the
War Department daily practs'. General Hal
ieck, man who never fought battle, and who
cannot be chronicled as the hero of any
achievement in our history, sits in his closet at
Georgetown, and, without a knowledge of the
ground in any one theatre of war, dictates
what shall be done by Grant, Rosccrans and
Meade on the Mississippi, on the Tennessee and
on the Potomac. He who never fought bat
tie dictates about battles to the heroes of Shi-
loh and Gettysburg, of Corinth and Stone river
Shall we have continuance Of this. or will
the President, now that the people everywhere
give to his honesty and good intentions the need
Of their approval, at once "whistle down the
wind" the whole crew Of incompetent and i'm
beetle men who thus sport with the destinies
Of the countryf
THE MrssoURr MUDpLE AoAN.-We publish in
another column this morning . statement Of
the demands made by the committee of Mis-
souri, radicals, now In Washington, to which we
also append tho roply Of Messrs. Rollins and
Gibson, in the form Of letter to President
Lincoln, and the recent speeches Of General
Blair and Jim Lane.
Messrs. Rollins and Gibson completely rid
die the radicals. They show that to grant
Jim Lane and Company's preposterous, in
solent and absurd desires would be to dis
band the militia Of Missouri, to weaken our
armies in the field in order to bring federal
troops into Missouri, and to supersede Governor
Gamble, who has been legally elected, and
who has donc nothing In violation OF the laws
of tho United States for which he can legally
be removed
General Dlsir's speech is a tremendous phi
lpic against Secretary Chase, Jim Lane and