Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1864-03-30
Pa, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 80, 1864.

and no act OF ours, mr. amendment of our |
Constitution, can divest him Of the right |
to use his own pleasure in his control.
The position needs 40 elaborate recapi- |
tulation OF facts on high-strung argument
for its support. ! confidently appeal to |
the dispassionate judgment OF the unbias-
sed voter and to the experience Of every
intelligent soldier, for its truth The We
ry el1nents that TIT man for the proper
discnarge OF his duties as q citizen, are
those which in his position as a soldier
are and necessarily must be, denied to
him.
By the articles of war all the troops mus
tered into the service and under the pay
OF the United States, are subject to the
| provisions of and amenable to the penal-
ties provided in those articles. And each
OF them, volunteer as we'll as MALTA, are
sworn to "obserye and obey the orders of
the President of the United States and the
orders Of the officers appointed over me-
according to the rules and articles for the
government of the armies of the United
States" If the troops now in the service
Of the United States rs volunteers or draf-
ted men from the several States, were
raised and mustered in under the provis-
ion OF the Constitution for discplining and
organizing the militia, were ofiicered by
the State, In accordance Herewith, and
their term Of service, as in lSl3-l4, was
limited las 1t then was by the act OF Con
gress OF lI95) TO three months, or even TO
any period not exceeding one year, the
character Of their service would not APP
pear to unfit them for the duties Of the
citizen. And the act of Assembly Of 1879
1t recognized their duty as citizens of the
STATE to aid in the support of the General
Government, they were taken from their
advocltions, their homes and their usual
habits Of thought for but a brief period,
and naturally would feel that their true
position was that of citizen and not of a
soldier. The Legislature, too, in limiting
the right OF suffrage to the election Of the
officers of the State, palpably expressed
the idea of citizenship, and demonstrated
their Jealousy of the power of the com
mander-In-chief when, however, as now ,
men are taken from the States, not ms mil
itia, but under the provisions OF the clause
giving power to raise and support armies,
are mustered Ia for period of three years,
and many re-enlisted for the same time,
are sworn to obey the President and the
officers he may appoint over them under
the army regulations, and are ofiicered
mainly 10y the United States, they become
IN reality great standing army, and all
the dangers 10 free institutions, that eX-
perionCe teachers, flow from the existence
OF such armies, are TO be feared Is it not
in all its constituent parts, a standing ar
my In its organization, its mode of dc-
pline, its su6jection to the Executive. and
its time of service, in what does il differ
from our recognized standing army? And
if the present policy is to govern the ma
ton, who can doubt the necessity for its
/ existence for years after the rebellion shall
have been crushed. Ifall our volunteer
soldiers viewed the pursuits of peace as
their field labor and preserved their rela-
tions to the community, the result might
not follow bat we all know OF the wild
pursuIl of our officers Of position in the
regular army, and who can fail 10 perceive
in the re-5nlistment of whole regiments oil
: our soldiers, the evidence of their love for
81 the professions of arms, and palpable
demonstration Of their preference for that
mode Of life The motive of this re-en.
e l,stment, whetheTpatriotism, fame or gain
3 Il trust it is the iormer.) is however unim
1 porlant we have the fact and are to dea
with it as practical men.
The world of the soldier, considered a
0 such, is embraced in the simple sentence
/ command and obey. lie swsars obedience
D to his superior, and punishment follows
, the violation Of his oath. lie becomes
| mere machine in the hands Of his officers
! and within the sphere OF his duties hC
9 dare neither think nor act independently
5 Man is q creature Of habit and OF c:rcum
i stance he readily acquires the first rudi
g ment Of the soldiers education, the hab
D Of obedience to orders, and Just in proper
ton as he learns to obey, he unle,rns thu
s habit Of self reliance as he progresses t
l the status Of the trained and intelligent col
dier, he sinks the characteristics and hnb
= its Of thought Of the individual.
1 "Ihe freeman obeys law, the soldier o
G beys orders" The highest a.Lainments o
y citizen Of republic considered with
j. reference to tho sphere of his duty, as
= such, are implicit reliance and the enligh
J. tened control OF himself, and these quail
+ ties applied to the realities of life, and
:, consclenlously exercised in the manage
:, ment OF his own affairs, constitute the es
SShSS VI iOpuJ4lGal ebll-BONGIuuleuJ'
h IT 1t were practicable, the citizen sol
G dier, fitted for the exercise of all those
II high duties, 10y nature and by education
n qualified for the position of freeman, the
is equal Of each and of all of us IN intellec
, and in devotion to his country, if he were
L able to preserve his individuality 10 th,
p army, and to remain uncontrolled by it
= influences, should be vested with thi
e right, but such men know, and to then
/, | willingly submit the decision Of tn,
question, whether those are fitted fo
IS these important obligations, who, at th,
10 inception Of their career, take the vow 0
L obedience to asuperior; who, by the yer!
n nature Of their duties, are isolated from
g. the community and unacquainted will
" It's necessities, who from the uubroker
S. routine of soldierly obedience, have los
Y the control Of their individuality, anC
/ who, by sheer force Of habit. have learned
to look upward TO men for the line Of con
s. duct they are to pursue, instead OF judg
ing for lhpmgplvaa aycba oing n,,in