The New York herald., 1864-08-08
The military and Financial Situations
North and south.

General Lee is confident Of holding his de-
fences with half bis available forces, If we n ay
| Judge from the numbers detailed to protect lis
| communications, to harass the Maryland and
Pennsylvania borders, and to threaten the rear
! Of Washington. Intelligent and patriotic men
are beginning to ask desponding questions
| Rebel sympathizers are boisterously preaching
degrading peace, on the basis Of Southern
confederscy as inevitable. They tell US that
| Washington is in greater danger than Rich
mond; that Petersburg is stronger than Sebas
topol; that Grants diminished army is power
less to do anything against the invincible army
Of Lee, and that to cap the climax of our mis-
fortunes, a ruinous financial revulsion will be
our punishment if we longer persist in the
| prosecution Of this wicked war.
| We are, therefore, drawn to brief exposure
Of the military and financial situation North
and South; and very brief exposure, we
think, will suffice to establish this gratifying
conclusion: that the rebellion is really now in
its dying struggles, and that it cannot survive
through the coming winter We place no reli-
ance upon the blundering administration at
Washington. We look to Genera, Grant, to
the armies under his command, and to our CO.
operating naval forces, East and West for this
great consummation. The administration mean
time is too much absorbed in the dirty work Of
the Presidential campaign to do anything but
throw embarrassments in the way Of General
Grant, and yet we believe that he has the re
bellion so firmly by the throat that il must
surely die.
The fortunes of jeff Davis and his corfede-
racy are now staked upon the army Of Lee in
Virginia. and the army of Hood in Georgia.
This latter army, when turned over from Joe
Johnston to Hood, at Atlanta, numbered
about fifty thousand men. BY the cautious
policy of Johnston, of fighting only behind
strong line of intrenchments and Of retreating
when in danger of being fanked, he had car
red this army from Chattanooga to Atlanta
without any disastrous losses. But, as Atlanta
was position the loss Of which would be a
serious disaster, Johnston and his Fabian
policy were superseded by Hood and the des-
perate policy of not only attacking superior
adversary, but Of attacking him behind his in
trenchments. What has followed? In the as
sauts upon Sherman's lines of the 20th, 22d and
2sth Of July Hoods losses, upon a moderate
estimate of his wounded from his killed buried
by our troops, have amounted to twenty-five
thousand men.
To repair these immense losses Hood has
been drawing in all those little outside detach-
ments Of rebel cavalry and guerillas lately
operating between Georgia and the Mississippi
river, while Governor Brown has been pushing
forward bis last militia reserves OF old men and
half grown boys to Atlanta. These miscela-
neous reniorcements, however, will not repair
Hoods damages, nor save him from the finish
ing disaster which awaits him, whether he shall
elect to remain in or retire from Atlanta. We
expect soon to hear or this event And what
then! Why, then the remaining armed frag-
ments of the rebellion, from Georgia to the Mis-
sissippi river, may be disposed Of at Sherman's
convenience, and he may at once push forward
q column of fifty thousand Of his veteran troops
to the support of Grant.
This view Of the military situation will per-
t1sps serve to explain the apparent inactivity
of Grants army and the evident uneasiness of
Lee, from Fls bold diversions along the Mary
land and Pennsylvania border. He at least
knows that the destruction Of Hoods army rem
ders Richmond untenable, and that, with that
army half destroyed 10 the first weeks fighting
before Atlanta, another week or two may finish
it.
The military situation, then, is encouraging. |
1t never has been more so. And now a
word or two on the financial situation.
A dollar greenback in Wall street is worth
shout forty cents in gold-a serious de-
~ e. "a -
content yet while to bear it. But what is tie
paper money Of JEFF Davis worth in the so
called "Con!ederate States?" 1t takes twenty
dollars in Richmond to cover the value Of o
dollar greenback; SO that even in Richmond,
upon the gold standard, Jeff.s treasury notes
command only two cents on the DOLLAR. Two
cents, and nothing whatever as secarity for
these two cents. Is not this two cent "confe-
deracy" very near lbs last kick? How much
longer can the rebel soldier sustain himself
and family on sixteen cents month. On our
side we have the securities for our Treasury
paper IN Treasury receipts, from taxes, customs
and subscriptions to the new loan, to the ex-
tent Of some two millions OF dollars a day.
These receipts before the end Of six months
will probably exceed our expenses.
Why, then, making all allowances for the
blnnders andj the incapachy Of the present
administration, should there be any doubts Of
the final issue of this war; We think the end is
near at band, and that we shall not fall short in
the men or money required to secure the COM
plete triumph of the Union.
VNp1cATroS OF COLONEL DAHLoREN's MEMO
Ry.-Our readers will remember with how much
horror the report OF the desecration Of the gal
liant young Colonel Uric Dahlgren's body by
the rebels, after he was killed in Gen. Kilpat-
rick's cavalry attack upon Richmond in March
hast, was received. They will remember, also,
80 ~ Tho rnhnl MI nj on.