The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1864-11-22
LINCOLN,.s DEL FITS.

Jst4f 10A<&F ~ 4fftd n Il -.
II any ono supposes that whrm Lin
coin makes draft for Eve Ar,ndred
thousand men, the Eve hundred o ,ousand
arc all forthcoming, tho sxpe riencc Of
Lincoln's whole first terra goes for no.
thing. II is as unwise to ovcrratc as to
underrate an enemy, and therefore we
publish some facts, from Federal official
sources, which reduce to their proper di.
mansions the exaggerated ideas Of abe
Federal military strength.
In the fall of 1868, the Emperor of the
Yankees ordered Consumption of three
hundred thousand men. On the 10Th OF
November of that year, General FRY
made report to the United States Sc.
cretary of War that the CONSUMPTION
brought only one of the conscripted men
into the army for every nineteen drawn
According to General Fry's report, for
every one hundred men wanted, one hun
dred and fifty were drawn, in order to
make sure Of the hundred General Fry
says that Of those drawn eighty per cent.
reported; that is, one hundred and twenty
reported for every one hundred and
fifty drawn. OF those reporting, he says
that thirty per cent. were exempted for
physical disability, and thirty per cent
under the second section of the act, leav-
ing forty per cent. who were held to ser
vice. Forty per cent. Of one hundred
and twenty is forty eight; and of these,
he says, one-half paid commutation so
that the one hundred and fifty men
drawn are reduced to twenty-fOurs Of
this small remainder, General Fry states
that about one-third went in person and
two-thirds furnished substitutes. The
substitutes were, of course, volunteers,
going to the army on account of the
bounties; so that the net result of draft
ing one hundred and fifty thousand men
was TO bring eight thousand cOnscripts,
and no more, into the army! This is the
testimony Of General Fry's official report
to the United States Secretary of War.
The New York World remarked at the
time that if the Federal President had
known what he was about, instead of
adding fifty per cent. to cover deficiencies,
he would have added eighteen hundred
per cent. F.; so that, as the draft brought
only one conscript in nineteen into the
army, the President to get three hun
dred thousand conscripts, ought to have
ordered five millions seven hundred thou
sand men to be drawn
1t is fair to judge the future by the
past. There is no more reason to dread
Lincoln's five hundred thousand men in
buckram in 1864 than his three hundred
draft in 1863. That draft, &C
cording to General Fry's report, could |
not have yielded men enough to supply |
the waste in one of Grants great battles,
to say nothing of the assertions and of |
the losses from s:ckness-always far |
greater than those from battle. Taking
as a standard General Fry's official re-
port Of the result of the draft of 1868
for three hundred thousand men, the
draft of 1864 for five hundred thousand
men will yield to the Federal army
thirteen thousand three hundred and
thirty three men, and no more. In or
der TO add force of five hundred thou
sand bona .fde flesh and blood men to
the army, he would have to make draft
of nine millions five hundred thousand
men draft which, with the present
population of the United States, would
have to take in every man, boy and male
baby in the country.
From the very beginning of the war it
has been the policy of the Federals-and
it is policy which has deceived and dis,
heartened some of our own countrvmen
who ought to have known better-to
exaggorate enormously their military
strength. That they outnumber us
largely no one doubts but that they can
ever so manipulate their greater numeri-
cal population as to bring upon the dis
tant field of Southern operations force
which can overwhelm US by its irresist-
IDLE weight of numbers, we do not be-
lieve. The experience of the last four
years completely explodes the idea
Lincoln has called for millions during his
term, but the millions have never come.
And those who did come have disap-
peared like mist before the rising sun.
We have only to be true to ourselves to
husband our resources Of men and pro-
visions with care and skill; to keep up
rigid discipline in our armies to avoid
alike the extremes of vain. glorious self
confidence and humanity and unchristian
dependency, and with the blessing of
God, who has so long baffied the utmost
malice and strength of our enemies, our
independence is secure.
c. o, MoyrYrpr -Mopf;callo A. -