The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-10-04
telegraph
FROM GENERAL BUTLER TO
UON. SIMON CAMERON.
u ruEsDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1904

The subioincd letter, marked as il is by the
smnbatic terseness which charactorizes III the
deductions of its distingu ishod author, viii be
,e,d with especial Interest,"
urApouARrERs DEPARrNEyr oU ViReiSlA AND
NoRrH CAROLINA,
IN rHs Field, Sept. 20, iett
NV Dear Caneron--You will deem me o most
,ep.iss correspondent Ifyou had been enabled 10
.o,ne here you would have found much Of Interest
,nnns,ver 10 the question What Of the rebellion
from your point OF view
W have been lying in 'front.' OF Lees army now
"A, four months, which have by no means been
.n,nt in vain. From the examination Of thousands
- prisoners and deserters, aud articles in the
,onthern newspapers. 1 am certain that these
Aave been months Of depletion 10 the southern
aymy-that the whole arms-b bearing population Of
the states within the rebel lines have been eH-
IAN ed In the effort recruit their forces, and the
sapabiiity II not the Will % resistance Is fast
awindlmg away,
The confederate Congress in December last
passea an act the first section Of which is in these
words: uThe Congress of the Confederate states
40 enact that all rhie residents OF the Confederate
states between the ages Of seusRtsen and Efty are
in the service OF the Confederate States"
The act then provides how farmers, mechanics |
ana others may be detailed BY military athority
yaiss the provisions and do the work for the a1sy
IN he fed
what would our Democratic friends who are 50 |
araft as that on our side 1 would like TO see
Governor seymour's mild protest against IT, |
xould not like TO hear Voorhees, denuhoauons /
Of Il, for they would be vulgar.
Now, wnen l read in the Richmond papers /
elamorous calls that detailed shall DO all |
put into the ranks, how eau / doubt the uuited |
1stImony Of deserers and prisoners that the rebel
means as TO men are at an end.
Never having been convert 70 the theory that |
me provisions at the south would be readily eS-
Aausted, have not placed much reliance upon
nat result Yet it is certain that the means Of
n4uspo ting those provisions from point to point
by rsn have given out, and The railroads are be-
somiug 20 crippled in their equipment that II is
imposeioie for them to furnish the movement OF
men and supplies necessary to the extensive mill
nary operations required to meet cur forces.
Add 10 this the concurrent testimony of prison
ers, deserers and refugees, that the rank and file
Of their armies In the confident expectation and
ReHef IN the promise of their leaders, that this will
De their last campaign, that the nominees of the
Chicago Convention will be elected in November,
and that the independence of the confederate states
win be acknowledged and treaty of peace be
concluded and you have an imperfect synopsis OF
the re sons why believe the rebellion near It's
enc
Il Will be for the loyal men of the north tosee 10
Athat their treason does not end in the way pro-
Iossd by the southern leaders, aided by the cleo
hon Of Gen Mcclellan and The Chicago platform.
Therefore whatever may have been or may be
TIE preferences Of any TO any person for
the Chief Executive of the nation, or dissatis-
faction with the course Of The government upon
matters Of mere administratOu--yea. even in im-
20 tsIr points OF administrative policy, laid
down in the platform foreshadowed in It's acts
Il see 8 to me the plain duty of every loyal man
tosupport the election of Lincoln and Johnson
The quesfio now before the people is not as 10
the prepondei ance or fitness Of Mr. Lincoln or
General Mcclellan for the Presidency. Admit
hat neither or either one or the other is of himself
N b6at mi for the place. What then One must
Dc el' cUd No other result is possible. We are
then rpmtted TO the class Of political ideas which
each represents and 10 what is still more i'm
portlnt, TO the men and their affiliations by whom
each will be surrounded, and controlled in fact
and by whom his administration will be shaped in
the event OF election. Can It be that any man,
especially any Andrew Jackson Democrat, can
desire this government put into the hands & 81 ne
ton, Long, Harris Voorhees, and their surround
ings, north and south Let see what their plat
form and their candidates. mean. The war is 70 DO
sarried on or It Is not If not, then disgraoefui
AID dshonOrahle peace, which Will be no peace,
and which true man wants, 70 be the result.
Or, II carried on, then both platform and oandi-
dates are pledged TO the .disbandmeut OF two hun
ar thousand colored men, now doing duty
soldiers or serving the army, their places 70 DO
supplied either by Volunteers at an expense of
Buudfeub OF inhliOnb IN DOuuIehi OF by uEhllf
which is the great ground Of complaint by the op-
ponents of the government
Nay, more, IL either the Chicago platform or Nc
Clellan's acceptance means anything, these
groes to be returned to their masters, 70 fight
labor on the other side, because most of them
ing from the border States, does any one doubt, II
returned to their masters, they would be at once
cent into the rebel lines, where alone such pro-
per'y has any Valuei Upon the theory of the
Chicago platform and McClellans unconstitutional
rights Of States,n think It "would exhaust the
resources OF statesmanship" to show why these
men should not be returned to their former mas
ters, as, indeed, was the practice in General Nc
Clellans army.
Snll further, does not General Mcclellan twice
over in his letter and platform promise new con-
sututonal guarantees TO the rights of the soulhi
Is it possible that all these CONCESSIONS to be
forced from the north by secession ;he point Of
the bayouetl
That which specially Affects the mind Of the old
and true Democracy of the country in the Balu-
more platform is its declaration as TO slavery. In
the view take of this question It uufortu,
nate that such declaration made As II proye
astumbling block TO many.
Why not trSat the slavery question according 4
the fact that slavery dies and is buried whereye
our armies marchl No political action aid, n
resolutions Of conventions can hinder that result
The war, III prosecuted to the end, will acoompls
all that the most ardent anti slavery man can de
Rre that If the war goes on 70 the bitter end 70
the restoration of the Union, then Ella very is n
more, aud ali declarations that the war shall {
shall not be carried for the extinction Of SLAYER
futile and worse than useless. The wi
extnguish slavery whether wish it or not. MAJ
Il has extinguished slavery, by rendering the say
worthless. In Charleston, to-day, negro 1
bought for 5000 in confederate money which sell
for $50 for in gold, making the value Of n
negro 500 And this, too, with cotton at 81 75 I
pound in New York. Before the thelsam
negro would bring $1,000 in gold, with cotton az
cents in New YORK
Some different system Of labor must be devise
for the southern country in the future, and peaS
upon any terms, even the ackno wledgment OF Il
confederacy, cannot prevent IT, II am right
this view Of the subiect-and upon this conyicto
have acted since 1 the fact in Louisiana
1s62-then what is there in the Baltimore platfori
10 which any true loyal nemocrat, who loves h
country, and is determined 10 fight If need b.
for its integrity and honor can obiecu 50
nothing. But in the changes rapid in ac
ministratYe policy made by this war, no one wi
tie himself TO any party cry or party platform
have but one article in my political creed at th