Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1864-03-09
CAN THE REPUBLICAN, PARTY
RESTORE THE UNION2

Nel IN inc lfeslptNll! ClD'.lDn, IS not
eCiipsed by subordinate or irrelevant is
suos. SO allow ourselves to bo drawn
into discussions with the Republicans as
to what they will do with slavery after the
war, we virtually cOnced9 that they can
BRING the war Ia such a conclusion rs viii
give them control Of the subject. /, is con-
rary to our belief that the war, rs con-
duc,el by them, will over lead to such
result II the philosopher who pretended
TO extract suni cams from cucumbers
could have engaged his advorsaries i'm
controversy as TO the bestmode Of bOtlling
the sunshine, be would have gained over
! their unwgriucss an implied admission of
| the possibility of h.s primary exploit
/ On the abolition question we will be as
/ liberal with tho back Republicans as
| they can wish We will concede all tbey
ask as to the size aud shape Of the bottles
and the way they sEaII be sealed At
/ least until they have succeeded in the
| preliminary experiment and have actually
! produced the BEAM. The wholesale con
/ iscG,i1n Of .Outhcru property with which
! they amu,e their diLOO.iCtl imlglnali1ns
VIII be possible only after the war has
been brought to a successful termination.
To occupy public attention with such
scheme now ia an impertiucnce which
would be 81 npIy childish, die it not serve
10 delude the country into false eXpecta-
tlon1.
The main question fp- the people to
decide in this election is, whether the
Republican party has given evidence, du-
ring the presidential term soon to expire,
Of ability and capacity to restore the
Union. They have not been -uutel in
men nor SC,ntea in mean, no govern
men. ever before welded such immense
resources. If they have not succeeded
! they cannot plead That they lave not had
fair trial. Money, men, the command
| Of the sea, new and surprising inventions
| in the naI al architecture and in guuuclv.
| the advantage Of operating against peo-
! pie whose main industry was cXerled in
producing a great article Of foreign ox.
port, and whose first necessity is foreign
market, and this peoYlo hamned in by
blockade, without navy or any rcsO grcas
to create one-with this extraordinary
combination Of advantages the admins
traton has failed only by reason Of It's
imbecIity.
1t may lie said indeed, that our armies
have made great progress. Bu, who with /
out renounciug all claims to so.ji,ty of
Judgment, can say that this progress has F.
been al all prOpOrtiOnate to its COst?- /
East of the Alleghenie7, the war has been, .
on the whole, q SAD failure. We have
made few indentations into the rind Of
the rebellion on the Atlantic slope but
Richmond and Charleston still bid us de- 1
fance, and the vast belt Of territory I.
stretching from the Potomac to Cape
Sable remains with the exception of
few hundred square miles, in possession
OF the rebels Is thi. success? We do
not ask If it is proper, oned to the enor-
nous scale Of our expenditure, bat /, II
not prcposterous TO consider it a, succa,s .
at all ? Washington has been alm0s.
constantly menaced; the Invader has
been twice upon our soil in great forc,
and no longer ago than last sumner the .
safety Of our great Atlantic cities depend
ed on the issue OF single battle That.
battle wGs, by fierce anA vigorous Ggh0ing. .
decided in our favor; but since then, east
Of the Aileghanies, we have gained abso-
lutely nothing. 20 settle down in ex-
haustion and impotence after rcp-liing a 3
formidable invasion, gives bat feeble prom
ise Of that complete conquest oG the ere,
my's country which !s the objec: Of tho
war.
/ In the West, where our generals have
been further removed from the laundering
Surveillance Of the administration. our sue
ccss has been more propoItiOnaie 10 the
vast scale OF our expenditures. But even
in the West our gains are SO insecure that
one great rebel victory mi rht change the
whole face of affairs. IF Grant should be
beaten by johnson, and Tennessee be
| thereby recovered by the rebels. our most
important advantages in the West wolld
be almost annihlated. While matters
remain in such a state that q single battle
might dispossess us Of q great part Of
( what We have gained, eXultaliJu il prema-
ture, and preparations 10 administer upon
the estate of the dead rebellion is absurd.
/ II we get through the spring campaign
/ without heavy disasters we shall owe lit
tlo thanks 10 tie administration. They
/ have trilel away the fall and winter in
veutiating crude abolition f0iiies and in
president-makinC; aud the spring cam
pairns are opening with inadequate prep
arations We are to have an immense
draft in March CT Aprl. IT, a. we are
told, the great death-grapp'e with the re-.
bellion is to take place this slItnc, how
can these raw lcvies profit Us? They are
too late to help IA win victories; they
are not even early enough TO arrest and
roll back the tide Of defeat, If the fortune
Of war should be against us. The admin
iatration has no foresight; all its chief
movements are forced upon it by the
Preparations or the successes Of the reb.
els. II found out, all ofa sudden, in the
summer of lsG2, that it needed six hun.
dred thousand more men than il had
anticipated the preceding sprinc. when
Il put stop to enlistments. The draft
last year was ordered close on the heels of
a rebel invasion. The draft ordered for
this spring results from an unexpected
/ discovery Of the great extent Of the rebel
preparations during the winter. An al
ministration which is never wise ill after
! the event, which is perpetualy making
! renresentaii0ns that The war il near its