The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1863-08-13

A writer in the Boston, Saturday
Evening Gazette, thus forcibly rcfatss
the Copperhead objection 10 the three
hundred dollar exemption clause Of the
| conscription act. The same views have
been repeatedly presented. but never
more terseiy and so unanswerably. All
opposers Of the ''draft' should read and
heed the following:
1t is strange, or rather not stranger,
that the most benignant provision Of the
transcription law should be SO perverted
by the instigators and leaders of the mob
that the very clause which in truth is in
the interest of the poor man is represent
ed to be his greatest grievance. + ,ea
Tho object Of this provision Was to 6x
the price of substitutes, 80 that It should
in no case and by no possibility be raised
by the spectators who. last year preyed
upon the necessities Of the penr, above a
sum which any naa Of moderate, means
could contriye to raise. The. very poor,
ofcourse, could pay no sum, whether great
or small, bat the man of narrow means
.conld raise this moderate sum if his cir
cumstancss, required him to remain at
home rather than serve in the, field
Take nm example. A man, for instance,
is blacksmith in country village
whose living and that Of his family de-
Ponds upon his daily earnings. He owns
. little house and his shop. II he leaves
these to 90 into service, his family lose
t their support and he returns. (if he does
return, to find his anvil occupied By
another and his occupation gene
But il is obvious that this man eau, with.
out difficulty, raise the sum of three hun
bred dollars upon his little properly, pay
! it into the treasury of the United States
through the Collector Of the Internsl
Reveuue,--the Government finds sub,
siituta for him with the money, and hs
remains at home. " a.. siss
The money paid by him, instead of be
ing strained through the pockets Of bro
kers and spectators, goes directly int
! the hands Of . responsible officer Of ths
United States Government, under heavy
bonds, who transmits it, untouched, e
/ the Government which in turn gives il
entire to substitute, who, as soldier
i what the Government wants. takes the
place Of the man who thus elects to stay
at home.
Is there any candid common sens,
man, who does not, or will not, see tina
this provision of the law is directly in ia
vor and in the interest of the man il
humble circumstances, neither rich no
poor, whose sense of duty constrains hin
! 10 stay at home! 4ts4s. a4
4 Suppose there was no sum of none
fixed by the law as the price At which
ones personal service might be commu
ted--the air would ring with outcrie,
from the present leaders Of discomfort
They might truly aver that such draf
was without example or precedent foune
in the laws OF any country Of Europe, o
in any former law Of the United States
They would accuse the Congress of hav
ing turned the people over to the shark
for the purpose of enabling unscrupulou
politicians of low degree to speculate GU
of the common necessities. As it is
while man may hire his substitute a
less amount than $500. il he can--stil
he cannot be compelled to pay more b,
, combinations of spectators. into whose
hands experience has proved the mass 0
proposed substitutes would fall, and will
little advantage to any save the specula
tors themselves.