Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-04-25

has been four times as great as il would have
been IT the army had been encamped on the
heights OF CenueviIle and on the line Of Bull
Kun In the latter position. % miles from Wash
ington, the capital would have been covered just
as well, in6eed much better: and the rebel army
could not and would not have advanced north OF
the kapidan, because of the difficulty they would
have experienced in getting supplies 1t will be
very strange II General Grant permits the army
10 remain so far away from Washington. 10 no
purpose, any longer If. as soon as the roads
become moderately good. the army should be
ordered TO fall back to Cenireville and the line'of
Bull Run. il would give occasion for the exer-
cise OF some good tactics on both sides II the
Couiederate army followed ours. say a. far as TO
bfehtsviile and Manassas, il would put them 10
enormous Inconvenience and expense 10 feed
their troops If thew attacked US, We should
nave such an advantage in position that Do UOO
troops on our side would be amply enough TO
rspel the assaults Of twice that many.
! DO not say that this part of Gen. Grants
plan for the spring campaign. for as yet no man
here knOweth what that plan is. But | do say.
IN the light of our past experience. that some
such movement as this on our part would give
the Contederates ten times as much annoyance
and trouble as To keep the armv on the Kappa
hanhock | will 60 further Such movement
would demonstrate. in two weeks after II had
been made, the utter uselessness of keeping any
large army at all at any point between here and
Richmond. Gen. Lee might make feint of
following our army towards Washington as he
did last tall. But no man knows better the iu
tilIty of attacking strong position like that OF
Centreville. defended. as the latter would be, by
an adequate force. The result would be, that
Gen Lee. after making some demonstrations to-
wards Washington in order 10 draw our forces
away from their vantage ground at Centreyllie,
as he did on the LIST of September. 1862. would.
if he failed To do 30. (as he would fail now lead
his army back to their camps on the Rapidan.
de would not dare to attack W Washington with
Grants army at Centrevle ready to fall upnn
his TANKS and rear: and he would not invade
Pennsyvaria, for the time for the inv aston of the
North has not yet arrived.
This movement would, then, leave the whole
of the Army of the Potomac at liberty to move
on Richmond by way of the Peninsula For
Washington now, surrounded as il bv Gordon
OF 80 forts aud redOuts. all bristng with long
range guns. and manned by corps of experienced
srtillerists, NAV be said To he impregnabe MS il
certainly would be so until 81, 000 of the trained
militia OF the adjacent States could rush TO lis
defence.
If General Grant wishes to make the Army of
the Potomac available in an attack gu Rich
mond. he must adopt some such course this.
Kept where it is now, that fine aud large army is
worse than useless; and any attempt to reach
Richmond with it by the overland route, will be
attended with disaster and defeat.
The alarming crisis which The country has
reached In tie disordered state of the finances,
ought to open the eyes of the people to the reai-
ty OF the danger 10 yards which We are fastening.
The recent visit OF the Secretary OF the Treasury
to New York is said to have had in view the
discovery, il possible of some means whereby
the rapid depreciation of the national currency
may be averted Both here and in New York,
butter sells at 81 to 60 cents beef % To 80 cents;
white sugar, 90 cents: white muslin ward wide,
40 cents. In other words, to buy $40 worth Of
the necessaries of life, We have To pay $50 40
in Mr. Chase's paper money And the matter
has only been made worse by Mr. Chases recent
movements. There is no doubt in the " orld that
the volume of paper money with who the
country is already ueuged, will be still greatly
increased. and the prices of everything that we
need to eat and will become higher and
higher and very soon gold will be quoted at 300.
Then. perhaps, the geople will see where this Adj
miniStraton is leading them to.
The first false step which led to this utter de.
rangement OF the monetary affairs of the nation
was the authorization by Congress of the green
back currency, "A currency without any basis at
all This bad enough But the legal ten
der act was another false step, still more runOus
in its results. These steps must both be retraced
before the country can expect any return to its
former prosperity. But there is no hope that
this will be done under this Administration On
the other hand, not satisfied with the headIong
pace at which we are going towards ruin. Lin
coin. Chase and Stanton urging upon mem
bers of Congress the adoption of other -PlsssareS
which they cope will advance Lincoln's prospects
for re election. but which will certainly cause a
still higher rise in gold that it shall be quoted,
U.,k = L.
then, we will only be able to buy 81 worth of the
neces>aries of life Will that be enough to open
the eyes of the people. and to make them ACT?
X