Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1864-03-30
NEW SERIES-VOL. IV.-NO. ST.

trolling power, and to that will, thus ex-
pressed, all bow in submission. 70 this
feature in our institutions, we as q nation .
point with just pride; we esteem il, as
does the world, yindica,ion Of the puri- .
ty Of the ballot-boX and triumphant ey-
idence Of the capacity Of men for selGgoy- .
ernment. In the civil policy the will of |
majority Of individuals, each of whom is /
the equal Of his fellow is tho controll-
ing power in the army the will of one |
man guides and controls the volition Of
ALL The importance Of the preservation I
Of the former as an essential element Of
our national oxistauce, and the manifest |
tendency of the measure now under dis
cusslon to endanger it, are, in my judg- !
ment, equally apparent. Under our Con
sttution the Executive of the nation is the
Commander-in-chief of our army, and is
possessed OF almost unlimited control
over both officers and soldiers. They
swear to obey him; his will is their will
in his hands lie the power Of promotion
and OF comparative degradation rank
and emolument are in the sunshine of
his favor; poverty and refusal ofgrade are
in the trown OF his displeasure. In our
army all the soldiers may become officers.
Ia this respect they differ from most ar
mics Of the old world; yet this very fact,
whilst it prompts the soldier to deeds Of
daring, makes him but tho more solicit
ous for the good will Of his superiors, and
urges him to seek promotion through the
only avenues that open before HMM
| plicit obedience and courage in battle
! The officer, too, VINO secs his grade, sees
no reason why he should not 60 still high
er; and as position in society and increas-
ed pay follow elevation in rank, all the
selfish motives that operate upon the hu-
man mind, and compel it to energetic &C
| ton, urge him to improve his standing
with his superiors; and it may happen, III
the pursuit Of this object in military life,
rs not untrequently happens in civil life,
the man is willing TO degrade himself for
the attainment OF the object of his desires
The desire OF the inferior to ingratiate
bimself with his superors, in whose hands
rest favor and fortune, is as fixed princi-
pie in the mind of man as is any other of
the baser reasons for human action. II
to elevation Of position and supreme com
mand, the leader unites skill in strategy,
segacity in council, and courage in battle,
he becomes in the eye Of his soldiery a
standard of perfection, and their devotion
to him becomes species OF man-wUrship
All remember the devotion of the soldiers
Of the great Napoleon TO their idol. OF
what weight would individual opinion be,
just and proper though it were, if thrown
in the scale against such a leader? The
brave and unimpassioned soldier of the
Commonwealth of England, through the
forms Of an election, elevated their idol to
the lord poteCtorate Of the realm, where
he exercised moro despotic sway than ey-
er did the unhappy Charles. That army
created and paid by the commons of En-
gland, and commanded by their generals,
at the behest of their commander, dis
persed the very body that made them. and
left the people poweIless in the hands OF
despotism; and yet that army was raised
according to law, its supplies were voted
according to law, and the people fondly
hoped it would preserve to them the lib
critics it afterwards destroyed. The army
of the commonwealth Of Rome, composed
Of the noblest and best Of her citizens
paudeled to the ambition of Caesar, theil
leader, and aided him in snpping tho foun
dation Of the Republic, and enslaying the
people.
1t is in time Of war, particularly, that
the strength of the Executive, command
: er-in-chiet is magniied, and danger re-
; suits from his superabunGance Of power
, This is thus graphically portrayed by Mr.
s Madison in his fourth letter over the sig
4 nature of IIelyidius: "War is in fact the
true nurse of executive aggrandzement
. ! 1r, ,,lt Il Il 20 lp al
and it is the executive will which is TO iii
rect it. In war the public treasures ar
p to be unlocked; and it is the executive
t hand which is to dispense them. In wa
T. the honors and emolumenls Of Office arr
3 10 be multiplied and it is the executive
} patronage under which they are to be en-
o. jOyed. 1t is in war, finally, that laurel
- are to be gathered and it is the eXecu
tive brow they are to encircle. ThC
o. strongest passions and most dangerou
{ weakness Of the human breast, ambition
avarice, vanity, the honorable OF venia
love of fame, are all in conspiracy agains
the design and duty OF peace"
T. "Hence it has grown into an axiom tha
the executive is the department Of pOwe
e most distinguished by Us propensity Il
war ilClGt ~ lh buG pld'tiCo vi ull PNdASe
iu proportion as they are free, to disarn
- this propensity Of its influence If a FREE
, people he q wise people also, they will no
! forget that the danger nf surprise can nev
, er be so great as when the advocates 70
I the prerogaLve OF war can sheathe it in
3 symbol of peace"
Q And Mr.. Hamilton, in the 2jLh numbe
S of the EciraibL says: "AslGr as an ar
5 my may be considered as a dangerou
/ weapon Of power, it had better be in thos
2 hands, Of which the people are most like
r ly to be jealous, than in those Of whicl
e they are least likely TO be so. For it is
t truth which the experience OF all age
: has attested that the people are common
D ly most in danger when the means Of in
l juring their rights are in the possession o
! those Of whom they entertain the loas
I suspicion"
! When war is once commenced by a mn
l tion it is in the power OF the executive Il
= protract and continue it so long as no cal
= obtain the senews necessary for his pur
| .a.. o.,l lboro rae npVpr IA uTOtTlCtod