Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1863-09-25
Can't Tell tlAe Truth.

Cant Tell the Truth.
The Courier has heard another fire bell
in the night" and it has thrown him into
another fit of lying. When we frst saw the
caption Of his leader in Mondays paper our
first impression was that this vicinity had
been visited by severe thunder storm, and
the fellow had hied him to his feather bed.
But he insists that it wasn't thunder that
threw him into fits, but "fire bell" We
searched his article to find where the bell
was located, and learn that in his insane raw
ings he became impressed with the belief that
the Presidents proclamation suspending the
writ of IDEAS corpus in the q. my and navy
was ponderous /" fire bell" We plodded
through the article and became impressed
with the belief that the writer couldn't see
much difference between severe thunder
storm and his fire bell, for he starts out in
poetic fancy and talks of UNNATURAL RE-
vEHBERArIoNs," "sroRM CLOUDS" OZARK,
DISMAL AND DREARY NIGHTS AND CONFLAGRA-
TONS"
Now all these things usually attend those
scenes that make feather bed a and pile of
quilts more to be desired by some than a
seat by an open window, but as his fancy will
mould them all into bell, let it be so, only
don't let the tongue of that bell tell such
monstrous lies.
When the Courier declares I" the writ of
habeas corpus everywhere suspended" don't
it know it t.lls downright ia school? Don't
the Courier know that the entire article is a
tissue Of misrepresentation, and that the
truth is not in it? Your article is in
tended to mislead and exasperate the ignor-
ant and unthinking. Can an intelligent,
reading public journalist be engaged in such
work without being downright villain :? The
Courier knows full we'll that the great wit is
NOT generally suspended, but suspended only
as to particular c'ass Of cases where the
"public safety" requires it. 1t knows full
well that no civilian, ooedent to the laws, is
deprived of the privileges of the writ. Then
why will it persist in its lying?
1t asks: "For what reason is the writ sus.
pended ?" We do not answer for the benefit
of the Courier, but for those who may be
missed by its Interpretations and false
hoods.
The Federal Constitution confers upon
Congress the power to raise and support ar
mics, without defining how it shall be done.
The manner of raising an army is therefore
left for Congress to determine. At the last
session Of Congress law was passed to raise
an army by enrolment and draft. 1t is a
law, and as such is entitled to obedience, and
whether its provisions are just or unjust, We
will not now discuss. No sooner had the law
passed than the Democratic party commenced
| its hostility to it. Democratic meetings re-
solved, speakers and editors declared they
would resist it to the death. In the mean
time our heroic armies in the field we're being
rapidly decimated by fire and sword by dis
ease and by the expiration of the terms of
enlistment. To carry on the war and sup
press the rebellion it was necessary that IL e
battle SCARED remnants Of our armies should
| be at once reinforced. Under the law re-
ferrcd to draft was ordered upon the citi-
Gems of several States.
In the Democratic city of New York the
Democrats seized the machinery and rolls and
burned them, and, with unrivalled barbarity,
murdered unofending citizens and soldiers OF
the Republic-burned and sacked public and
private buildings. The authority of law was
thus openly defied by Democratic Mass
Meeting. Our Generals in the field called for
reinlorcements to move upon the enemy's
works. Another draft was ordered, and the
Government backed it with 10000 bay onets.
The Democracy found that physical resist
ance was useless, and they determined upon
another expedient to defeat the law re-inforc-
ing our armies with the writ of ha6eas corpus
and this was the mode: When man was
drafted an officer of some tory court stood
by with the writ and demanded the body of
| ILlC uIdlLcu udu 1uCIC WIS IlO dlltTIlAtlVc
but to obey the writ, and the man was carried
before some villainous Judge of reasonable
proclivities-like unto the infamous McCunn
who at once examined the papers, pro-
nounced the draft law unconstitutional, and
discharged the man from the service of his
country. This was a cheaper method of
Withholding support from our armies than to
raise $500 for each drafted man. To carry
on this nefarious and REASONABLE work, sew
era! hundred thousand dollars were contrib
uted by the Democracy of New York.
For the good of the country the Federal
Constitution contains provision "that in
time ofrebellion, if the public safety require it,
the writ of habeas corpus may be suspended"
The power Of suspension belonged to Con-
gress or the President. The Democratic par
ty had insisted that Congress alone had the
power, and, to avoid all cavil, Congress pass
ed law authorizing the President to exercise
the power in certain cases. In conformity to
this law, the President believing that the
public safety required the defeat of the Dem
ocratic plots and intrigues, SO that our armies
might be reinforced and the war sooner
closed, suspended the writ in relation to per-
sons in the army and naval service of the
country. This is the history of the " fire
bell" 3.
Even Mr.. Thayer may be guilty of high
misdemeanor, and unless it be military Of
Tense he cannot be deprived of the writ 1t
would be we'll for the countrywide for him
and his like-better for his that shall come
after him-if some friendly hand in the shape