The mountain Democrat., 1864-12-03
THE MOUNTAIN DEMOCRAT.
AFiendIsh War Policy.

Nothing tests the civilization and spirit
If a nation like its conduct Of q war. In
neace we can no morerjudge of the nature
IF A people than we can that Of a savage
or a wild beast when sleeping. In both
cases the passions are dormant, the ener-
0ies unstrained, and consequently we have
no means Of judging Of the strength Of
the one, or the ferocity of the other. But
when the wild beast is on the spring, when
tN& &essese is, %. the trail, and the civil
lied Christian nation is at war, then we
have the requisite data for forming . cor
rect estimate Of the instincts Of the first,
the nature of the second, and the civiliza.
ton Of the third. Judged from the stand
point of this war, how does our civiliza-
ton appear to-dayf Have we earned q
character for moderation and magnanimi-
ty. for hcroism and generosity 2 If the
Confederates have snatched the laurel of
victory, have we carried off the palm of
humanity Have We conducted this war
in accordance with the gentle spirit and
benign precepts Of Christianity? We
boasted Of our progress, Of our superior
enlightenment, but how have we proved
it? By outrages that would have disgrac-
ed Vandals, and by brutality that would
have thrown diScredit on the lowest tribe
of saVAges. Sherman, with the serene in
difference Of Turkish bashaw, drives
thousands Of people from their homes in
the face Of the approaching winter; and
Grant, With a GOODNESS that argues no or
binary degree of mental obtuseness. or.
ders Sheridan to lay the Shenandoah Val
lev waste. Yet both these men remain in
their positions, and not one solitary Re-
publican, jealous Of the honor of his coun-
try, has raised his voice in protest.
Let the Shenandoah Valley remain a
barren waste" were the orders given to
the rniding General Of the Army of the
Potomac by Lieut.. General Grant How
these orders were obeyed Sheridan him
self tells US in his dispatch to his military
superior. 81 have destroyed" says he,
over two thousand barns filled with
wheat, and hay, and farming implements,
over seventy mills filed with flour and
wheat" "All the houses within an area
Of five miles were burned"
Are we reading Of Cromwell in Ireland,
or Alva in the Netherlands, or having
passed the bounds Of Christian warfare,
are We supping full Of horrors with Tam.
crIane or Gcnghis Kahn? "All the
houses within an area Of five miles were
burned" Good Ileavens What a phlcg,
matte people we are! Even this dispatch
has not raised ripple on the surface. -
The Republican journals and the organs
IF ha w. Il.,na,rnn, .iln,,t
dumb dogs, and only open their mouths
to SLAYER with their fals"mc praise
the Generals who are disgracns the
North by ficndish and useless cruelty
And these things are done in a country
which they still insist is part and parcel
Of the United States. This is the treat
nent they deem proper To fellow citizens!
These are the seeds whose fruits they tell
Us will be peace and reconciliation.
DO men gather grapes Of thornS OF
figs Of thi>t,cS:' VIII fratcrnal affection
spring up like weed, without care or
culture, in the charred fields aud ruined
plantations Of the South? Let no man
believe it. No man who is not a slave al
heart could entertain the idea for mo.
ment. We have sOwn the wind; if this
war lasts much longer. and such a,roc.-
ties are perpetratcd as those enumerated
by Sheridan with the coolneSl Of mcr.
chant giving list Of his goods, we may
expect to reap the whirlwind ere long.
Would that, for the honor Of the c9un-
try and the credit of human nature, the
people would give voice TO the horror that
Is felt among the unperverted masses at
the cruelty that goes masked as military
necessity" If they cannot put stop to
these impurities, let them place the re-
sponsiblity where it rightly belongs, and
in The face of heaven and earth purge
themselves Of this national sin Metro.
pulitan Record.