Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1864-07-22
',,o1 NUMBER iaos7s::IIss .7.:I q.
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which they can put an end to this reign or
military incOmpetencelatW Washln No
respect for the President'sl"honesty Ofpur-
pose" and no admiration for thepurity, In
rtelligence and administrative skill which
: they may recognize in the other executive
departments Of the Government will stand
In the way of Kidding the War Department.
of the incubus which nowvisibJy rests on
II under its present anagement--making
1T shame and reproach to the nation
And in so saying weintend no particular
personal allusion to Mr.. Stanton, for we do
not know to-day that he is responsible for
these things.y It may be that he confines
himself strictly to the civil details of his
office, and does not NEEDLE In the matters
which somebody Under him or above him
brings to such confusion. Butwe doknow
that somebody is responsible forMe late gross
ma!feasance, tehich 1nustlecw stand ia. a.onr-nIi-
itdry annals as a hutiOn@ disgrace so Iona as
posteriy shall reveft 10 the time ,clea fire hun
p dred men laid WsstaRgtoas saader siege Jor tpo
days lcth ten o' tlcenty thousand men Jelipd its
defenses' Such Is the penalty which a na-
ton pays for being. ruled in any depart.
lnent by its ignorance rather than itsintel-
ligence. i'ail. TiJT)
Nor does the evil end with the disappear
ance of the late fright. Who, after such an
exhibition of military incompetence in our
councils, can repose any confidence In the
military administration so long as 1t shall
remain subject to its present directors?
What security can any man feel when the
watchmen from the walls of our national
capital lift up their voices only to expose,
their own ignorance of the nature and ex-
tent of the peril from which they call the
people to save them? What Governor of p
what State will be prompt hereafter to res !
pond to the tap of the drum in Washington
If its alarms are beaten with most vehe- !,
mence when there is the least known about
the necessity for disturbing the country?
An immense clamor has been raised with q
out cause during the last few days. Who Il
is sure that while the conditions of our ig-
. norance remain as they are, the next clanlor
may not come with cause, and find the War
Department as little prepared to meet real
danger as it has proved little prepared to
face an imaginary one? Let all loyal peo-
pie lay these things to heart, but above all
and first of alb let the President of the
United States be assured that for these
things his countrymen will hold him to
strict account, and that they will exact full /,
atonement for the great indjgnity which the
nation has just suffered i'll the eyes of the
world. ITO Z
The President, we know. is ambitious to
earn not only the good opinions of his fell
lOw-citizens, but also to receive their votes
at the next election. II he ac0uM receire
he Should in this way vindicate his claim
to the renewed confidence of the country,
we are sure that we could sincerely rejoice
II his success, not from any interest we take
In his personal fortunes any more than In
those of any other man of any other party,-N
but because we desire the best welfare of
the republic in this day, when she requires
the highest statesmanship and the most eX-
allied capacity to conduct to Il wise conclu-
sion the affairs of the state. His merits and
his pretensions are now trembling in the
balance, held by the hands of confding
and much enduring people, who have con-
tinued long to hope against hope under Il c
military misrule of which they are only too
painfully conscious, but to the patient
endurance of which there is limit set,
equally by physical necessity and by po-
litical prudence. The protrartion of thea
war, long-drawn out by di,iled military
Coansels by injudicious civil policies, and
by incompetent officers in the field, is seen
by every body to be the precursor either of
diSunion peace (rendered physical ne
cessity by the military imbecility which is
breaking down the giant strength of the
country or of change in the administra-
tiOns which shall at least afford the people
one last hope of saving the country. where,
II things remain as they are, there is now
none. If the President does not apply
corrective. at once timely and radical. to
the evils of which the loyal States COM
plain with just reason, they will not hesi-
tate to apply the only corrective which lies Z
within their reach. through the ballot box.
We do not so write under any inspira-F
tions of passion or partisanship. We have
used earnest words because the times called
for them. We suppress even the utterance
of that Indignation which we feel it would
be righteous to cherish in view of the re-
cent abuse Of the confidence reposed by the
people in their civil rulers. We speak SIM
ply as to wise men. Let wise men judge
what we say, and we abide their verdict. in
the full assurance that they will pronounce
us to have spoken words Of truth and so-
berness in day when paltering and levity,
whether in office or out of office, are cer-
tainly out of place.