The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-08-22

be called TRAITOR" They haven't any Sc
rieus objection to being styled Butternuts
The word Tory troubles them just little.
And Copperhead is q title some Of them
lately, though not at present, were so
proud of that they inoontinently mount
ed the Sign false one, it is true, but
therefore all the better suiting their char
acter. But they object to being called trail
tor. We can't see why they should do so.
They know, as we'll as We do, that they are
traitors. They have deliberately made up
their minds to be traitors. They have stu
diously occupied themselves in organizing
reasonable associations, and only await
an opportunity which promises success
with safety to carry out their reasonable
purposes. Why, if they think they are
right, should they object to being
named the thing they are? Why should
their tender sensibilities be outraged when
the acts and aims they approve receive
their appropriate title7
There is just one reason. The words
"Butternut," ''Tory," and "Copperhead"
are unknown to the criminal law. OF
themselves, without explanation-unac-
companied by the Light Of surrounding
facts and passing events, they would
imply no crime, committed or intended.
Without them they would have no mean
ing at all. But ''traitor" has meaning
1t is word which, unfortunately for
these leaders Of the blind, is known both
to the Law and the Constitution. 1t is
significant of the blacklist of crimes and
the most wanton perfdy. It is known
to all laws and to all lands, and to
every sort of government. Every where
among civilized nations, the traitor is the
soorn and loathing of society. He is an
object of detestaion-of adherence. He
is Pariah whose existence is hardly to be
endured. In our own country his crime is
magnified a thousand fold, because
here the apologies which exist for,
and sometimes palliate, it, have
no place. Here it is the people who rule,
and traitor commits treason not simply
against ruler, or adynasty, but against
the system-against the Republic. Else
where it sometimes happens that there is
no chance for redress OF public grievances
except by reasonable modes and social
violence. Here there is sure as we'll as a
speedy method of correcting any ascer-
tanned evil. The traitor, in this country,
has no apology for violent opposition to the
Government,-for any NAL administration
may be corrected peaceably and sooner
than by force. Forcible revolutions are
not excusable here, however they may be
elsewhere. Here we have revolutions ev-
cry time the Administration is changed
They are peaceable ones, and therefore It'll
that many do not recognize the fact that
these changes are revolutions. Yet they
are such, and as great at times as any that
have ever occurred under different forms
Of government.
The leading Butternuts, those who now
control what was formerly the Democratic
party, know all this as well as We d.
They know that their dupes understand
what the word traitor means. They know
they cannot be made to believe that TRRA-
SON is Democracy-or that to be member
of the party" they must make themselves
criminals and subject themselves to the
penalties of crime. They know that while
the ignorant may be deluded into the sup
port of almost any policy or measure, they
will not deliberately place their necks in
| the halter.
Hence these villains, who know and un-
derstand what they are and whittier they
wish to lead the ''party" they control, OBJ
l Saof 70 81, e flo
signifies crime and suggest the POSSIBLE
ity Of detection and punishment. They
throw 3 cloud of words and subterfuges
around their acts and designs. While they
purpose committing the treason, they give
to their purpose another name. And by
exciting the fears or arousing the passions
of those who have long looked upon them
as their ''party" leaders, they hope to be
able to accomplish their devilish aims
Call these leaders traitors, treat them as
traitors, punish them as traitors as often as
they can be detected in the act, and their
followers will soon understand exactly
what they are, and join in their proper
adherence. Those who suggest treason
who act treason, and purpose it, are tras-
tors. Why be tender of their crime-why
not give it it's proper name. If they don't
like the name let them not be the thing
~ Gov. Seymour, it seems, could not
escrow his courage to the sticking place"
and determine, rs advised BY Ben. Woods
News, to make forcible resistance to the
draft. He has merely succeeded in ma
king himself infamous in the eyes
Of law-sbiding men, and in satisfying
his friends" that his promises of "protec-
ton" were the bombast of coward who
"let dare not, wait upon, 1 Uo4Id.' His
proclamation issued the other day proba-
bly, did this much good-it gave his
friends" to understand that he was una
BILE, willing as he might be, to aid them in
any further opposition to the laws of the
Union, and that it would be wise for them
to avoid any suoh outbreak as was mani
tested in the recent riot. As We write our
latest news from New York was to noon OF
Wednesday, up to which time the draft