The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1867-11-28

icOsslon, the ssin pniEnes His endless
course, and We who still survive mus,
lplod on toiotirs appointed time, and
lninglo with the present and 9fApple
with the future. ! Therefore, at CON
siderable personal risk, I feel com :
PEELED to deal With them. 's'- 81
Iihave often been asked ~ my
fellow soldiers, when troubled ~ tht
reports Of the disturbed condition 81
things at tho South, whether, aftel
oil. our iabOrs had not bcen in vain |
Whether we might not again bc call
cd on to repeats the scenes Of 1863
and 1864? Or whether the rebels,
defeated in battle, might not, iii the
hurly bdrly' Of time and poIitics, re-
gain Atheir -lost cause and their los,
pride Z
On these points I feel no great
solicitnde, but whether can convey
to your minds the same conviction /
viii rot say. History rarely goes
back ward, and events in the past are
usually as real as the granite rock on
which we stand. Surely, no men
ever had Il more glorious cause than
We. ADdsnever, III my jnd gment, did
wsr sotcAmpleteiy fnial its ratural
Pofilce. When we laid down our
arms and each man returned TO his
vocAticn, not an armed rebel remain
cd 70 question the national aut hofity,
andg II peffect subordination and
tranquility have not resulted, we
must look for the cd3se7 In the nature
oftthings, or in the civil administered
tfon ofour govctnmelt. The former
lays within my province, bnt the
latter is not fair topicof discussion
for the soldier, who Is sworn to obey
the laws ofLis country, duly enacted,
and the orders Of his snperiors.
Ifslavery was then tho real cause
of our civil war, or even the prctext
fir it, and If children must inherit
the sins of their fathers. even to tho
'third snd foartf generation, stiirf1
none of ns who trace onr origin back
to the earlier days of this Republic,
can escape tbs mathematical and
philosophical conclusion ]; or, Ia the
ofDr. Draper: a
equity, then, both Of sis, in the
sight Of God, let ia not vex each 9TH
err withemutuaf elimination, but boar
our punishment with humility ss
How has this punishment been
partitioncd by the resnlt of the war !?
We Of the North have to mourn the
loss of fathers, brothers, sons md
friehSs, and are burdened with u vast
National debt, binding on rs in fact
In law and in honor. nevsr, hope, to
be questioned By any honorable man
in America till every cent is paid.
Look to the South, and you who
went with me through that land can
best; say if they too have lot been,
fearfnlly punished. Mourning 10
every household, desolation written
in broad characters across the. whole
face Of their country, cities in ashes
and fields laid waste, their commerce.
gone, their system of labor ,annihila-
ted and destroyed. Ruin, poverty
and distress everywhere, and now
pestilence adding the very cap sheaf
to their stack Of misery; her proud
men begging for pardon and appeal
ing for permission to raise food for
their, children. her five millions Of
slave free, and their value lost to-
their former masters forever. How
any Southern gentlemen, with these
facts, plain and palpable, everywhere
staring him in the face, and recorded
forever in the book Of history, can
still boast Of his & Lost Canse. I or
speak Of i in language other than of
shame and sorrow, passes my under
ana instead of being revl-
VEG ! Know tnat their Lost Cansc
VIII s'nk deeper apQ leeper INTO MIA
ny AZ Time more keenly PROBES lts MO.
gen mysteries and rcveals them 20 p The
llght q Gay. js sa N
! Now that eiavery IL gone, and
gone torcver, with its nnnappy
wrecks left behindyand ali danger Is
passed, ii any set Of men again ~.
peal to war when they have courts
10 secure their rights and redross
their wrongs, I would trnsti our na-l
tional destiny again to- those grSnd
old national laws which raised orr
sssssss sssssss s ss ss sss ssss
ed us safely through the ordeal of