The Lansing state Republican. [volume] (Lansing, Mich.) 1855-1874, 1863-04-15
The consc,ipt Law aud the Poor Men.

The ConscrIpt Law aud the Poor Men
The Peace Democrats have commenced an al
Jack on tse Conscription law Of Congress, be
Cause, as they allege, it makes distinction be
tween the rich and the poor The Mozart Hall
Democrats, led BY Fernando Wood. have proc
claimed hostility to the act on this ground, one
OF their resolutions passed formally. at heAdquar-
tiers on Tuesday night declaring that
"The people everywhere should be awakened
to the Infamous distinction which it, (the Con
scriptiou lawi makes between rich and poor,
whereby the former il allowed TO buy his free
dom for the sum Of three hundred dollars, while
the latter, unable to command that sum, 10 10 be
torn away from his employment, his home anc
his family, and forced at the point Of the Oayo
net into the army.
The ta6isau OF the reluctant conscript pricked
away from home By bayonets, is calculated to
be effective, aud if the objection to the law, as
thus presented, we're well taken, its moral force
would be greatly impaired. But the fact is 9th
erwise. The complaint made OF the law is Who'll
" unjust, and the attempt to create prejudice
against il must fall. The Law does not f1 three
hundred dollars as the sum that any one must
pay in order TO obtain exemption from draft
II gives the Secretary of War Discretionary
pOvs- to fir the sum Which shall buy exemption
in each individual case, but in no case shalt
over three hundred dollGrs be demanded The
Secretary may require Of a rich man $500 for
exemption, and he may let poor man of-one
Who deserves exemption for reasons OF sickness
and helplessness ia his famy-for the sum OF
IS, il he will. The language of the law is this
"Thst any person drafted and notified to sp-
pear as aforesaid, may, on or before the day
liked for his APPEARANCE, furnish an acceptable
substitute to take his place in the draft, or be
may pay to such person as the Secretary of War
may authorize to receive il. such sum, not
ceedDg three hundred dollars, as the Secrets Y
may determine, for the procurAtion OF sucn sub
stitute."
II is impossible for language to be palmer
than this and it scatters to the winds the wretch
ed bit of demagogueism that Fernando Wood
L Co. are about TO poison the minds of their
followers with. Besides this specific provision
Of the Law, which enables the Secretary of War,
by sliding scale, TO adapt it to the case of ev-
cry man. according to his wealth or poverty,
the lav in other respects is full of humane pro
visions, intended TO relieve poor families from
TOO large a share Of its burdens The second
section Of the Lac contains exemptions as fol
lows:
That the following persons be and they are
excepted and exempted from the provisi rs Of
this act he only son of widow
dependent upon bis labor for support;
the only son OF aged or in6rm parent or parents,
dependent upon his labor for support;
the only brother Of children not 2 years of age,
having neither father or mother, dependent up
on his labor for support; the father OF
mOtberess children under y years OF aye. de
pendent on his labor tor support. Where
there is 8 father and sons in the same family
aud household and two of them are in the mill
itary service OF the United States as nOn-com-
missioned officers. musicians or privstes, the
residue of such family aud household, not ex
ceeding two, shall be exempt"
With such exemptions az these, which are OF
manifest propriety, and which preclude, as far
as Law can, the possibility OF aged and in6rm pa
rents or orphan children suffering-and With the
discretion which is given to the Secretary OF
War to FIX the exemption money, in every
case, "a low IS the condition and nece ssites OF
the drafted person may render proper-it can
not occur that any, the slightest Injustice can
happen under its enforcement Ii was intend
ed 10 bear equally on all classes. according TO
their condition, and it does IN letter ano in spir-
it, treat the poor as justly as the rich N. Y
Times.