The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-10-03
Washington Corre.ponde,c.
WAsHIN0ToN Sant 90 ,ooa

xtOn SOffespOndence.
,.B WASHINGTON Sept q, 1892
dnere Is intense anxiety here with refer.
snGe 70 tne situation at Chattanooga. And
well there may be. The movement tbar"a
In general point of view, Is scarce,v ins,,
important than any campaign since us
war commenced. And the Union arra ue
IS known 70 be out numbered-it has fly
long time been known that il was liz
to be out-numbered in the pending enoaoy
ment-and the importance of the enSase
ment was at the same time realized T,
mas peen an error too often repeated, that
at the important point the rebels bans
been permitted to mass their forces ans
hurl them upon our ranks, which wara
not correspondingly augmented. Thar
may be one instance of this policy Which,
will prove to have been just one instanConu
too many. This may be the instance. Ne
wonder about the anxiety, in responsNo
quarters. And yet, the genius of Ross'
Grams may, as it always hitherto has dom
prove adequate to the emergency and sNs
ticient to retrieve all blunders and failinn,
in higher quarters. If so, the more homo,
| to him. N"0'
But meantime the question is askad
Why, when the rebel army is depleted in
front of one our armies, to fight anotber
is not the occasion improved to attack III,
weakened force? And no body can an.
! to fight the armies Of the southwest and
| the army of the Potomac, as Circumstance
may require, with perfect impunity,-
There has not yet BEEN an instance w6ere
the weakened army was attacked and
why? 1t seems to border upon idiocy that
such occasions are not turned to account
Here is the great army OF the Potomac
idle, with a full knowledge of the absence
of large detatchments of the enemy enpag.
RnQQnraYQ IS vonf II
| time to strike the army of Lee? 1t is not
enough to say that the army of the Poto.
mac is weak, for it is not true 1t is ta
day the greatest army we have in the field.
But two or three days ago Gov. Andrew
asked Secretary Stanton how many men
it comprised, ''eighty thousand" was the
reply. "Then why is it not doing some
thing" THAT is just exactly what I
would give large sum to know, myself
said the Secretary. And so would the
country, / think, for if it cannot be EN-.
ployed advanatgeously at such time as
| this, it is difficult to tell its proper Uses.
except as mere defence of Washington
see our friend Wilson mentioned in the
HaWk-Eye as candidate for Speaker of
the House. / have not heard his name
mentioned here in that connection
Still, it may have been. Ofcourse it would
be gratifying to us Iowa people, and Mr..
Wilson has those qualities and that expert
ence which would make him a useful
Speaker-superior in every respect to the
Speaker of the last House. He has, also,
that position before the House which justi,
fles the use of his name in connection with
that highly honorable and responsible Of
fee.
1t is generally considered, here, that
Schuyler Colfax is most likely to be the
next Speaker. The position is conceded to
the West. And Colfax, being a candidate
before the last House, gracefully retired for
Mr.. Grow and his Eastern friends. But
Washburne, of Illinois, is also a candidate
from the West. He is an active, ambitious,
energetic man, who has many friends at
the West, in the same region where Cofax
is strong-and is Astounding in expedients
and log-rolling capacity. In cafe of divi-
sion at the West, Fenton, of New York and
Dawes, of Massachusetts, are mentioned
In fact, hear that Washburne and Fen
ton are at this moment consulting, in New
York, upon plan to promote their re-
spective aims, with the inside track allow
ed to Washburne, doubtless. Fenton is an
estimabie and competent man. And Mr..
Dawes has few superiors in the House.
But Colfax has every present advantage.
Old man Blair is still laboring and intr-
guing for "his boy Frank, who has not
yet lost sight of that goal.
For Clerk, Carey, of Kentucky, is almost
altogether spoken of as the Republican
candidate. The inevitable Tom Florence
was capering about here, short time since
inspired by the N. Y. Herald with the idea
that his party was going to control the next
House, in which case he thought it would
be good thing for him to be Clerk. Cali
fornia has dampened his ardor, and his
bald pate is seldom seen bobbing around
here now. He will have to wait for the re-
surrection of the Breckinridge's before he
sits down again to the feast of fat things
wherewithal the Democracy have so long
fed him. Mr.. Fessenden, of Maine, was
also mentioned in connection with the
Clerkship. Perhaps he still is, but have
not latterly heard him spoken of-and new
e., much.
In a former letter I said that Geo. Cowie,
OF Poweshiek, was appointed Commits
sioner for the collection of internal taxes in
the insurrectionary States, and would go to
Arkansas. I was mistaken. He goes to
North Carolina.
Gen. Fitz Henry Warren is at present in
Washington, but leaves tonight for Bur
lington on short furiough. He is under
orders to report to Gen. Banks, at New Or
leans, for which place he will depart ina
few days, and join the expedition now
moving or soon to move for Texas. 1t will
be pleasant to his many friends to know
that he is not likely any longer TO be kept
purposely, in the shade, but will be en-
ployed in field adequate to his talents and
activity. And it is, indeed, high time that
all men of brains and energy, wherever
vegetating Sin coventry from any cause,
should be pressed into the thick Of the
fight. His name will be urged for still
higher and very important command, to
which he may possibly he assigned Instead
OF going to Texas. Iowa.
U. s. HOSPITAL, KEoKUK, Sept. %.
EDITOR HAwK-EYE.-De0T Sir. Among