The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1864-07-29
NEW DRAFT ORDERED.
Gall for Five Hundred Thousand Men

II tho half million Of new soldiers for which
The President calls 10 his proclamation are need
ed, the cali is a cry of distress and a national
humiliation. The bogus proclamation of How
ard called for only four-fiths as many, and that
inventive scamp Is immured in Fort Lafayette
for conveying to the world the impression that
the Virginia campaign was a failure. Certain
it Is, that public expectation is disappointed,
and the country will not hesitate to inquire who
is responsible for the terrible and unavaing
waste of life whichfrenders five hundred thou
sand new men necessary so soon after the OPEN
Ing Of a campaign that promised to be triumph
ant. We say .suRar1l{lay waste of life,'' for we
cainot see that any substantial advantage has
bsen gained by our army since it left the Rap
idan. II has recoied again and again before
rebel intrenchmentsi it is now arrested by rebel
Petersburg TO Richmond IS necged up py fsugl
intrenchmsnts, placed at short intervals for the
whole distance of twenty miles. "My plan,
Is Dir Lincoln called the overland march, has
cost an tbs singis campaign more men than Ma
poleon or Wellington commanded 1t Waterloo
not more men than either OF them lost, we be-
4 seech our countrymen to mark, but more than
either of them had to lose. And yet the pros
pect of taking Richmond is not much better
/ than tue prospect of taking Charleston.
/ We trust the President in calling for so i'm
nepse levy has considered It's bearing on the
national finances, as well as on our military
prospects. 1t is equivalent 10 adding at least
/ three hundred millions to the fiscal estimates
! for the wear. But how is this enormous addi-
tion TO an otherwise large deficit to be made up
+ One Of the last official acts of Mr.. Chase, as
/ Secretary of the Treasury, was to make strong
representation to Congress of the inadequacy o.
the means il had provided for meeting the ex-
penses of the wear, although his estimate of the
expenses was based on the size of the army as
il then stood. He employed $50 friend OF his
publicly stately careful experts to go over the
/ internal revenue tax, and they were unable tt
figure Up more than two hundred and twenty
five millions as the receipts from that source
during the fiscal year which commenced the frs
Of the present month. Mr.. Chase estimated
that the revenue from customs would not eX
csed sixty millions; accordingly, the whole IN
! come of the government from the two main sour
ces Of revenue, would be only two hundred ane
eighty-fye millions. Now this new levy of five
hundred thousand men will alone cost more
than that; to say nothing of the existing army.
tho navy and the expenses of evil administra
ton. The financial effect of this new call FOL
SOueTS IS lhefeto!Ss IiSNl0SA1 wv S''1i'S eA0 =
the President had drawn sponge over the tarlt
and internal revenue laws, and had wiped then
out And this at a time when the Ireasur-
Department is staggering under its accumula
ted burdens. Men enough are to be added t
the army to absorb all the taxes, and SO Ieav
the government no resource but loans. Ih
war, for aught we can see, might as well breai
down for want Of men as for want of money
to pay and support them.
In the first year of the war, five hundred thou
sand men were thought TO be sufficient for al
purposes which could not be served by the nl
itia This opinion was expressed by Secretar
Cameron in his annual report in December
1861 ''With the object of reducing the vol
unteer force to five hundred thousand, ihe SAID
81 propose, with the consent of Congress, t
consolidate such of the regiments as may, tror
time to time, fall below the regular standard
The adoption of this measure will decrease th
number of officers and proportionately diminls
/ the expenses of the army" In the same report
Secretary Cameron, quoting from Jomini, state
that the forces OF Napoleon, on the lst of june
; IJS15, after exertions of great vigor to recru
, them, amounted to four hundred and fourtee
) thousand men. At that time Napoleon had th
, allied armies of Eur ,pe to contend against. W
recur to these ffguies to show how far we ar
exceeding all the old standards of military pr
t dence in our expenditures. This substitute
of numbers for brains is an experiment who's
t success, thus far, does not very clearly justif
its adoption We are profoundly coDyince