New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1864-02-16
yr,r MODERN mOKANNA.

|
jefferson Davis has now some two to three
hundred thousand American citizens in his va.
rous armies. very large majority OF them
are there because they were conscripted, and
had no choice but TO serve or be shot. Some
thousands were accepted 10y him as substitutes
for conscripts whom he has, in spite Of such
purchased substitution, ordered TO be again con-
Scripted and to serve exactly as though they
had never hired substitutes whom he has ac-
ceptcd Many Of the residue have long since
served out the full terms of their enlistment,
and have solicited the discharge to which they
were entitled by the universal laws of War;
whcrcupon, this arch repudiator has had them
ali conscrpted to serve to the end OF the War
Finally, his puppet Congress has just passed
an act conscripting ersry one to serve TO the emu
Of the War, regardless OF substitution. term OF
enlistment, special contract, or anything else.
Their families are starving, while the Sl1 per
month he pays them is worth less than ~ IN
coin, and years pay of a soldier will moi bny
barrel of flour in bis capital, and will hardly
buy it in any part of his remaining dominions.
His soldier dupes or victims are mainly ragged,
shoelcss, blanketless, and hall famished; fthey
attempt 70 leave the service into which they
have been forced, they are mercilessly shot il
caught; and, since he cannot or will not feed,
clothe, shoe, pay, or keep faith with them, he
| fayors them with Proclamation.
In this document, he thanks them for their
alacritv in rcCnlsting when he has allowed
them no alternative. They may reenlist or
not: but in either case they must serve to the
end Of the war or be shot as deserters. Oi
course. he twits the Union soldiers with being
mercenary, because nnety-nine in every humid
red of them are in arms in obedience TO their OWN
| free contract to serve their country. Don't he
wish he could twit them with having Ia serve IN
spite Of their contracts, and with not hafenough
TO wear or TO eat 2
JEFF tells his soldiers that they won the bat
lies of Shiloh. Perryyille, and Murfreesboro. II
they did, why were they racing southwark at
the close of each Of these battles. with their
Union foes hard on their hcelsi That they did
SO leave those battle-felds, we prove by the
official bulletins Of Beaurogard and Bragg.
WHY not as well claim victories at Antietam,
Gettysburg, yicksburg, and Missionary Ridge
Jeff. boasts of the devotion of his men com
pared with 1.-THE hating and reluctant service
If ours. Yet he knows that not less than treH'y
thousand of his soldiers have deserted since last
October, and that at least fire thousand have
come over to us. We prove this by the com
plants Of his own leading journals, who init.
mate that not more than half the number whom
his Congress have ordered into his ranks can be
found there to-day. From the beginning OF the
struggle, at least ten have deserted from hI'
armies TO ours for every one who has deserted
from ours to his. Is there no sense OF shame IN
this desperate tratori
JEFF talks of our overstrainel resources,
" debt" "repetitions of heavy draits,' . con-
sciousness of bad cause" &c, &c, aud 40
sures dupes that our armies must be less Tor
midable in 1864 than they were in lS62 and
1868 lie knows better; but his remaining
dupes will be sadly undeccyed before the 4th Of
July. We appeal from prophecy TO history.