Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-05-28
80 The LADIES' Covena mt "-What
Mercantile Organ says 81 &c.
From the Z. 5. EeonOmi''-

=
We must confess 70 peesssr reluctance IN
sllnding 70 this now popalar topic we never
ike TO speak OF our countrywOmen otherwise
than respectfully. aud in terms Of commentator
The men monopolize the power OF the press ana
il IS ungeuerous 70 make any structures on 'he
acts OF a class who nave no adequate means oil
defense. Moreover. the motives Of the ladies Ia
the formation OF their covenant are OF that
warmly patriotic character shich commands the
admiration OF every higb-minded citizen, now
ever little their measures may be approved Oy
his judgment. We can persuade ourselves 70
allude, in what may be considered uniriendly
terms. 10 the Covenant" only on the ground
that we do not believe the ladies are responsible
for the origin Of the movement
There are certain political grannies at " ash
ington, who are smiten with moral terror
about gold expectations. and who can see moth
Ing in this war but "Providential opportunity"
sent for the consolidation OF exclusive domestic
interests. These parties have bad the ungallant
astuteness TO set 10 the women Of the nation in
a position that will bring them little else than
rdcule, in order TO carry out the crusade against
the foreign element of our commerce They
know that women have certain power IN the
community. and they have. in a most unworthy
cupidty, stopped TO employ their influence for
their own narrow and selfish purposes.
The scheme has been engineered with the ut
most tact. Ii was started at Washington under
the patronage OF some of the first ladies of che
country, whose husbands, by the way, should
have known better than TO allow their wives TO
be used for such purpose; II was recommended
under high-sOunding pretensiOns of patriotism;
the names of popular clergymen were brought in
20 the movement with much facility as the
ladies had been drawn into IL; a system of public
meetings has been instituted for the formation of
national organization. aud the scheme j. now
spreading with all the rapidIty of popular fu-
rore
Thus far the development OF this plot of the
protectionist politicians has proved signally sue
cessful. How far it will answer the purpose of
its authors is another matter. Viewed in respect
To its object. the Covenant IS the grand Utopia
of the times.
At time when our stock Of goods is
pletely exhausted and we have no possibility of
increasing our production, the women of the
country are asked to solemnly pledge them
selves not to buy so much as a spool of sewing
cotton made by foreigners. Ii the ladies intend
to carry out this ridiculous pledge, they must pre-
pare for the alternative of dressing themselves
in rags; for it is utterly beyond the ability of our
producers TO supply all they want Our wooden
mills are running to the utmost of their capacity
and movement for excluding all foreign woods
is being vigorously agitated in Washington,
which. if successful. would reduce the production
OF domestic wooden fabrics over One-thlrd Ii,
therefore. the ladies persist in buying only do
nestle woolens, one half of them must die
next winter from colds contracted through Datri-
oticaly denying themselves sufficient warm cloth
ing.
The ladies have been told by their Scion
prompters that il is necessary for them to wear
domestic calico in order to prevent the country
being drained OF its gold, though these thee
rists had not been the very parties to drive gold
out of circulation by supporting Mr. Chase in his
policy of flooding the country with greenbacks
And so the ladies have to be brought in TO save
the couutry's gold A committee of impartial
husbands we opine, would pronounce their
wives and daughters adopts in spending il, but
very poor hel ps in boarding their treasure Sup
pose, however. the ladies refuse to buy foreign
products aud clothe themselves in hOmesDln,
what then?
why as should import nothing Eu
rope, in turn Europe would import nothing from
US The result would be that e should lose our
market for the immense amount OF produce that
goes abroad: our farmers would be ruined. our
ship owners have employment for their yes
sels, our railroads and canals would be deprived
of large proportion Of their freights and the
prophetic grass would certainly at last cover the
teemng thorOughfar OF New York city.
We sympathize with the ladies in the ridicu-
lous position into which they have been led by a
few deluded manufacturers Within few
months the order of The Black Bee and Tri-
color" will take its place in the history of popu-
lar decisions, and the sensible women OF the
country will either congratulate themselves that
they have never lent themselves up TO Utopian
effort to regulate our foreign commerce. or be
ashamed to acknowledge their past association
with the Covenant"