Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1864-10-26

! ltary operations have been successful DuJ
what are the fruits2 Is there a single
State I'M your rear which you can trust to
govern itselfj a single town you can leave
without a garrison? ? Have the people be-
come reconeiIed to our Government p
Are they not bitterly hostile to it, and
only overawed by military force. Take
for granted the greatest amount of mill
tary success which we can hope for; sup
pose the war to end with the present cam
paign. What then? Can we withdraw our
army and let it go home and trust to the
people being loyal to our government
And if we cannot, why can we not2 1t
is because the civil policy of the RePub-
lican party, now administering the Gov
ernment, has made the people Of the reb-
el States bitterly hostile and arrayed all
their pecuniary and other interests, as
well as their prejudices, against US. One
act of Congress provides for sweeping con-
fscation of their lands another excludes
them from participation in the govern
ment they are required to live under
while the emancipation policy-(while it
is of very questionable humanitytO the ne
groes in the way in which i: has been con-
cted)--leaves in their midst at the close
of the war some three millions of negroes
vast numbers of them to be supported
as paupers, and all of them to live along
side of a white population who have been
bred and educated in certain prcjudices
toward them, and who have been requi-
red to acquiesce in the change of relation
at immense pecuniary loss. Are these
the elements which will produce a
quiet and loyal population? 1t may ap
pear in the heat of resentment against
the rebels, and it is frequently said, that
all this is no more than they deserve =
and the charge Of sympathy with the re-
bellion is freely dealt out against all who
suggest a doubt about the working of the
policy. But revenge is
not patriotism, nor is headlong vindic-
tiveness craftsmanship When the fight
ing is over, we will have the same people /
we have been fighting Cor what is left of
them) to deal with on one policy or the
other: either to adopt a policy which
will reconcile them to the Government
aud give them an interest in supporting |
it; or, hold them permanently in subjec-
ton by military force. Before the latter
course is resorted tc, it is worth while to
consider how long to it is possible to con-
tinue it-how far it is practieable2 We
are now sustaining, and have been for
nearly three years, such land and naval
forces as no nation on earth of even twice
our population, ever sustained before
The expense is proportionately great.
The daily expenditure is not far from
three millions a day. Our resources it is
true are great, but at this rate it is a sim
pie question of arithmetic how long we
can continue without rushing into Ma
tional bankruptcy. Even after the mill
tary power of the Confederacy is bro
ken, the fighting over, and great pOr
ton of our army disbanded, the military
force necessary to keep the people in per-
manent subjection to the Republican pol
icy, will be a burden which the people |
already loaded down with the expense |
of a gigantic war-can not sustain.
Mr.. Lincoln in his inaugural address,
said: "suppOse you go to war-yOu can
not fight always, and when after much |
loss on both sides and no gain on either,
you cease fighting the identical old ques-
tions as to terms of intercourse are again
upon you" No truer or more forcible
statement Rf the case could be made To |
borrow again the language of the Presi-
dent Gin speaking of the people North and
SOuth) they can not but remain face to
face, and enternourse either amicable or
hostile must continue between them. -
Fight as long as we may this alternative
will finally be presented: either to restore
the Union on its former basis of self gov
ernment and give the people of the South |
an interest and motive to be loyal to our
or to enforce the doctrines
of the Republican Party and hold them
in subjection with the bayongt. The lat
ter is the policy of the supporters of Mr..
Lincoln. 1t involves first an indefinite
continuance of the war for whatever time
the rebels may be able to prolong it, and
afterwards an immense yearly outlay for
a large standing army, involving neces-
sarily an amount of taxation which will |
bear with heavy weight upon your fami-
lies at home and upon you when you re-
turn thither. We are no alarmists or
groakers, on the subject. The taxes that
are necessary for the preservation of the
Government should be borne cheerfulIy,
however heavy. But the plain question
is-ars taxes for the indefinite proseou-
ton OF the war on the Republican policy
necessary? The Democratic party claims
that if the vindictive and desOlating pol