Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1863-12-03
WORCE S 7 p n
THURSDAY, DECEMBEE B. 1868.



ment of all the men required in the present
exigency is, no doubt, the country's abound
Ing prosperity. This is the lion in the way.
The arts which pertain to peace, now in a time
Of war, and at this distance from its scenes of
devastation, flourish to a degree hitherto un-
paralleled. 1t is not the horror, fatigue, and
hardship of the service, which deters men; it
is the temptations of the counter, the factory,
and the shop.
Now, these cannot be baffied and overcome
by any inducements which the government
can put forth in competition with them. OF
what avail is it for government to offer me-
chanic two dollars and half per day, if he
Is already receiving that and his own en-
ployer will raise his wages, rather than spar4
him from the shop? The influence OF the
merchants aud manufacturers of this city with
those in their employ is greater, by hundred
fold, in this matter, than that of professional
men. Let them shout the issue till they are
hoarsc it cannot be made clearer than it is.
Let them parade the figures as much as they
may, the recruiting officers can do it just as
cffectually. We fear their climaxes of patri-
otto rhetoric will win little but applause.
The quota will not be raised in this way
alone. 1t will not be raised unless by per-
sonal and individual eXertion. Six hands
must go out of this shop, and ten out of that
mandatory, five clerks from this wholesale
hous,, and one or two from this retail store.
We know business is good, and they can be
hardly spared but MIR. Contractor and Mr..
Sturekeeper, it must be done. The men who
are to fill this quota will not spring up from
the earth by miracle, so that your business
may go on without hndrance or delay. Where
is the spirit which once prevailed when all en-.
enlargement was held out to those inclined to
volunteer? When situations were kept open
for those who went away till their return?
When employers reckoned not the cost or the
loss when their hands suddenly quit work to
join the army, but rather praised and reward
ed the act, thus fostering the patriotism of
the whole community to an ardent devotion?
Everybody is enarging or striving to en-
large his business; but if these men are
AtAAoSui "AASAa'Ni ~ 'NAuhtSNiAhS VI NSlSOlla3
ton, so much OF the best working force of the
state must go out of it. The question for the
contractors and merchants is,-will you pat
riotically volunteer these men, or will you
have them drafted from your shops2 The
honor of the state rests in your hands. You
ought to do something. The orators will
help the work, but they cannot persuade
three hundred and fifty men to leave the city
in face OF the frowns of their employers whose
practical judgment is the law with them.
Gen. HItchcOck's Letter.
The evening papers noticed an important
the nom exchange OF prisoners, showing ''that
the rebels have deliberately lied, and in many
other ways acted in highly reprehensible
and dshonorable manner" This brief allu-
sion by no means characterzes, as it deserves,
the unspeakable cruelty, baseness, and dis
honor, on the part OF the rebel authorities,
which the letter reveals.
For the first time, the letter states, in
satisfactory manner, why the exchanges were
stopped, and why they are not renewed. The
hlot hdo tliS iGIbNIOuc lllcSSd6G Vi
JEFF. Davis, threatening unusual and vindic-
tive penalties against loyal officers captured in
states embraced in the presidents procama-
ton of emancipation then followed his abso-
lutte withdrawal of the protection of the laws
of war from captured officers and soldiers of
colored regiments and his utter defiance of
truth and good faith in regard to the rebel
prisoners captured and paroled at Vicksburg
and Port Hudson.
These and other reasons have taken away
from our government the last basis ii had for
treating with the rebels. The question has
already come up, What shall be done lcith a
body Of the enemy, lcho, harlng been pa2oled
as prisoners Of war at TicksJurg, hare been
reeaptu,'ed in arms at Chattanooga, without
haviAg been exchanged? The proposition
now offered by the rebels is that we shall de-
liver up all prisoners now in our possession,
amounting to about forty thousand, receiving
IN return about thirteen thousand of our own.
thus leaving surplus Of about twenty-Seuen
thousand rebels to be considered on parole,
not to take up arms till their exchange is per-
tected With the perfdious example of Vicks-
burg and Port Hudson fresh in all memories,
what reliance could be placed on even such
an unequal exchange as that?
Gen. Hitchcock, in conclusion, reminds the
country again that this rebellion is to be put
down by organized armies in the field acting
upon and destroying organized opposition to
the government, and no real progress can be
made except in this direction to which end
the energies of every loyal man in the coun-
try should be devoted. The progress already
made may afford the fullest assurance of final
success; and this end will appear the more
certain, when it is considered that the corDs
dAfrigue in the service of the government
already numbers fifty thousand brave, athletic
men, under the guidance of a body of most
earnest and intelligent officers, who count
their lives as subordinate to the cause they are
engaged in.
The EMANCIPATION BUREAU.-Several gen.
tlemen of eminence and distinction had a con-
ference at Washington this week, with view
to the establishment OF a National Freedmens
Association. The illness of the president
prevented the interview with him which they
desired, and they placed their memorial in
ha, L. rt