Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1863-05-05
Important Order BY General Curtis--The
Safety Of Missouri.

I42 superior-St.
Important Order by General Curtis--The
Safety Of Missouri.
What Burnside has done for Kentucky
BY his late stringent order General Curtis
is doing for Missouri. General Order
No. 80" prescribes at length certain Of
lenses which will no longer be tolerated in
that State, and the punishnents due to the
offenders. Quotations are made from pub
lie laws, or from the articles of war, to
show the established penalties for these
odenses, and the assurance is given that
these penalties will be melted out with
vigor. A person convicted of being a spy
will be put to death. One guilty Of cor
respOndenee with the enemy is liable to the
same sentence, or such other punishment
as 3 oOurt-martial may decide. Guerrillas
are elassed as insurgents, pa%rtisans, brig
Ends, or guerrillas proper. The frstincludes
those who furnish information to the enc
my, or incite insurrectiOn, as the knights
Of the Golden Circle do. These shall suffer
death upon being convicted by cOurtmsr-
tial. The partisan is considered as a part
and parcel of the rebel army, and as such,
is entitled to the privileges and ussges of
war, 50 long as he does not transgress
them. These must, however, have the or
gsnizstiOn and equipment of soldiers, or
they will be classed and punished as guer-
rillas or brigands. The brigand is a
soldier who detaches himself from his
command for purposes of robbery or MUIR
der. The order states that " whoever is
convicted as a b~rigand, no matter whether
of our own or the enemy's forces, shall
suffer death by sentence of a Military
Commission" The guerrillas proper,
who carry on petty warfare by raids, are
liable to the death penalty when convicted.
Aside from these cases Of those who
shall suffer death, those guilty of feeding
or relieving the enemy shall suffer death or
such other punishment as a court-martial
may direct. But much the largest class
affected by this order are "disloyal per-
sons" who are to be punished by fine or
Imprisonment, or both, or by being sent
beyond the lines. This order is exceed
ingly stringent but a candid mind will own
the Importance Of its issue. Missouri has
been the scene of alternate federal and
rebel possession since the opening of the
war. No military commander has yet sue
ceeded in thoroughly and permanently rid
ding it Of rebels, either open or disguised.
Fremont came the nearest to the achieve
ment but he was superseded before he
could complete his plans. All of them
have acted under the tremendous disad-
vantage Of always leaving q hostile popr-
latiOn in their rear, as they marched
against the foe. General Curtis has taken
hold Of the matter in earnest, and prom
Uses TO accomplish hatheprOposes. 1t IL,
as the St. Louis Democrat says, a triumph
Of "rsdicalism," and the condemnation of
Border State Conservatism" The latter
would have spared the home rebels from
any punishment at any cost to the Gov
eminent. The system was seen to be
worthless at the very outset by those who
were not blinded by prO-slaveryism, but
it has taken two years Of war to convince
the military authorities Of the fact
The redemption Of Missouri from rebel
rule and from all faint Of Southern rebel
lion or "border rufianism" is q matter Of
more than local Importance. Every emf
grant has something at stake in it every
producer and farmer, as well as every con-
sumer and social economist has an inter
est in opening up that great State, with
all its vast resources, to the occupation of
loyal settlers. The prospects are brighter
now than at any time since the opening of
the rebellion.