The mountain Democrat., 1864-02-27
"PsAse Democrats"

The Administration penSioned libel
ters, the partners Of shOddy contractors.
with uuWeAried industry and vehement
zeal, heap unmeasored Obloquy upon the
advocates Of peace. As 1t is safe and it
pays and it pleases their masters for them
to do so in these exciting times, and as
their slanders are perfectly harmless, be-
ing unheeded by all honorable and intelli-
gent persons, who despise sycOphants and
knaVes who flourish by detractiOn, We
shall not quarrel with them for enriching
theme41.rS Hs snSh Asrsputable means.
The ignominious crew, it is reasonable to
presume, find the task congenial to their
taste, education and nature. 1t is the
price servility pays fOr'irs loyalty. 10y
atty bows to power, submits to insult and
sells its 6irthright for the privilege of
robbing the Government and calumnia-
ting those who despise its baseness.
These mercenary wretches solemnly
declare that the opponents Of the Admin
istratiOn desire "peace on any terms. y
The declaration is false, cowardly and
malicious If there be any such "peace
men" we do not know them, have never
met them, nor are they tc,be found in
the ranks Of the Democracy, nor do we
believe a single advocate Of peace desires
it or would accept it on any other than
honorable terms. But we take it that
these Abolition hirelings, in their sneer-
ing and virtuouS rebuke of what they
term "peace men," mean those who de-
sire peace upon any terms which shall
preserve the Government, maintain the
Constitution, and restore the Union. We
confess we are peace men in this sense,
and no other; and we presume the same
is true Of the mass of Democrats, every
where; while the larger portion of the
supporters Of the Administration, espe-
cially the shoddy contractors, Govern
ment informers, spies and agents, desire
no such result and would abandon their
support of the war to-day if they sup
posed such were to be its results.
If the war were prosecuted for these
great ends alone, and they could not be
otherwise attained, then we should esteem
tia patriotic and holy war but as it is
not prosecuted for these purposes, but to
emancipate the negroes and "subjugate
or exterminate" the Southern people. as
a leader of the Administration atrociously
avows, we regard it as a cruel and crimi'
nal war. The larger portion of the sup
porters Of the Administration, the men
who control its action and dictate its pol
icy, approve of and applaud every step
and measure calculated to divert it to the
unholy and infamous purposes above
mentioned-thu showing that they are
dishonest and hypocritical in their pro-
fessions of devotion to the Union. Thus
they were delighted with the Presidents
emancipation proclamation, with his arm
ing the slaves, with his refusal to allow
Louisiana to elect officers under her Con-
stitution and return members to the Fed
eral Congress, with the admission of
Western Virginia as State, and with his
amnesty proclamation. 1t is to be ex-
pected that these traitors will denouncc
as copperheads all who desire peace thro'
q restored Union, and the Constitution
maintained in its ancient integrity; but
this is what +he- great body Of the people
want, and they hold him as traitor who
would prosecute the war for any other
purpose.
Who objects TO peace on terms "which
shall preserve the Government, maintain
the Constitution, and restore the Union"y
"Peace Democrats" are in favor of peace
on such terms, and we believe all patriot.
ic Americans are with them. The Ab0l-
tionists are for preserving the Union if it
will help the negroes; if not, they are
for destroying it. They would infinitely
prefer disunion with the Abolition OF
slavery to the Union with slavery. Now
they are fighting to destroy slavery, not
to restore the Union; and because Dem
ocrats refuse to endorse their reasonable
acts they vilify and persecute them. The
time must come. and the day is not dis
tant, when Peace Democrats" will be
hailed as the saviors of our country.
= . . -
Baltimore has changed considerably since
1850. 1t would be perilous experiment Ia