The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-08-27

politicians are being drilled to r0.eot0OllSn
At Chicago and in the ensuing Election
generations will have been ignored. and
seas OF blood and treasure lavished in vain.
IN Y. Tribune.
CONSERVATIVE" WAR PoL1cY.-We
hear much Of late from persons who pro-
ion, yet in the same breath profess HOSTILE
ty to the war now waged in its defense
excited, they would probably say, by the
kind of war thus waged. They want con-
sentative, conciliating, easy-going war,
wherein all the private property Of rebels,
but especially their property in slaves,
shall be satisfactorily resPected-wherein
bring them by solid knocks to . realizing
sense Of the folly and wickedness Of their
revolt, and 30 to glad return into the boz
som Of the Union. To the sincere apostles
Of this faith, we beg leave to commend the
following considerations
You are proposing nothing new. We
had just such war ~ yOu prOpoee-eo far
a. human infirmity would permit-for the
twenty months succeeding the lombard
ment Of Sumter. Gen. Scott, Gen. McClel-
Ian, Gen. Patterson, and Gen. Sherman
were, each in his sphere, disciple Of your
school, and 80 proclaimed themselves and
were recognized. Everything that could
be was done in their day to coax and cod
die the Shareholders and their white satel-
ties into acquiescence in . restored Union.
To this end, slaves, escaping from rebel
masters, 10 our lines, sometimes bringing
important intelligence, were surrendered
to those masters vengeance. Proclama-
ton after proclamation was issued, sur
charged with devotion to slavery and the
Union. Gen. Mcclellan declared that he
would .'crush with IN iron hand" any in
surrection Of slaves. when Gen. Fremont
declared free the slaves Of rebels in his de-
partment, the President suppressed the or
der. So with q like order Of Gen. Hunter
in the department Of the South. General
Halleck ordered our lines to be closed
against every negro fleeing to our camps.
Gen. Sherman tried to proclaim his devO-
ton TO slavery to the South Carolinians.
but could COAX none Of them to receive his
proclamation. In short, nothing was left
undone that could be done to assure the
slave power that its only safety was to be
found under the protecting egis Of the IN
ion.
And all in vain. Not jot Of this salt
would lie on the tail Of the shy bird, Sla.
very. Its instincts could not be thus chea-
ted. It knew-no matter If it's foes did not
that the Rebellion and Slavery were con-
nected as root and tree, plant and flower.
The Union might shut its eyes to this; Sla-
or stab, hang or drown, every negro taking
refuge within our lines; but the masters
knew that, II we were not Abolitionists, We
ought to be, and would haze to be il we at
tempted in earnest to put down the Rebel
lion. And 30 we 'toiled all night and
caught nothing. The Rebels did not even
thank US for repelling their runaways from
our lines.
It was while We were doing . large
stroke of this negr0-catching business that
we were beaten OF from Richmond to the
James, and hurled back from Cedar Noun
tain to the defenses of Washington; while
the army Of Buell. ian intense slave-hunter
and hater) was cut of by regiments and
brigades, and finally compelled to retro
sidering the immense preponderanceo of our
armies at the outset, our campaigns of 1862
were by far more discreditable and disas-
trous than those Of any other year Of the
war.
Emancipation was threatened on the ed
Of September, 1862. but was not initiated
till January LIST, 1868. We had thus two
under conservative leaders and conserv-
alive policy. If the Rebels had been will.
ing to return to the Union with their
rights" guaranteed, they would have been
most welcome. But they chose to stay
away.
1t is quackery, therefore-it is impudent
assumption-to say, ''Give the slavehold-
ers their constitutional rights, and they
will return to loyalty" If they had been
content with these, secured by q Demo-
cratic Administration, they never would
have seeded. They split the Democratic
party At Charleston on purpose that they
might escape from the very category which
they are now proclaimed ready and eager
to re-enter. The pretense is baseless and
impudent. They are fighting las their
Chief says) s'for independence" and for
nothing less. They want to be .'let alone"
If beaten, they must submit; but they are
not coming back 20 long as they can help
it.-N Y. Tribune.