Smyrna times., 1867-05-08
The Horrors of Military Despotisnl.

DenaC0r Dixon on reaching his home, and
being duly serenaded, we are told by telegram,
"Spoke of the South as in a state of Slavery
under the Military bill, which placed in the
hands of the President the lives of all the citi-
zens without trial by jury"
We entreat the President not to hang ten or
twenty thousand of those citizens without
< trial by jury" 1t wouldn't look well. And
beside, two Bens Butler and Loan) are af-
" ter him with sharp stick, termed impeach-
ment, and third (Wade) stands ready to step
into his shoes. On the whole, therefore, we
consider it tolerably safe that the President
won't string the SouthrOns up like onions, even
though the Military bill did pass.
The World feels even worse than Senator
Dixon. The iron has entered its soul; SO it
shrieks at The Iron Heel after this distress
ing fashion:
" If there is one American citizen who can
read the letter of Gen. Pope to Gov. Jenkins
of Georgia, of Gen. Sickles to Gen. Clitz, and
the warning of Gen. Schofeld to the Richmond
Times, and yet not feel his blood boiling in
every artery, he is more to be pitied than any
citizen OF the PROSTATE, help pless South. 1t is
more degraded to be insensible than to suffer-
Despotlsm has its logic as we'll as liberty.
Pope, Sickles, and SchOfield make no false steps
in theirs. 1t is not inconsistent with the militia
ry despotism established by the Reconstruc-
ton act OF the last Congress- it is in perfect
accordance with that partisan, vindictive, and
law-denylng enactment" &C., g., &.
Let us heed these groans, and try to give the
sufferer an anodyne; first endeavoring to un-
derstand what is the matter.
!. Gen. Pope is in command of the Military
District embracing the State of Georgia Mr.
Charles j. Jenkins was made Governor of that
State under Mr. JOhnson's plan of Reconstruc-
ton. Gen. Pope directs that Jenkins, and all
the ub-Jenkinses, shall remain in office, and
administer the Government, subject to the pro
visions of the Reconstruction act of Congress.
Jenkins sees fit publicly to counsel the Geor-
gians to treat that law as invalid and try to
have it set aside. Gen. Pope tells him that
that won't do +; if the Governor is to remain in
office under ''the Military bill, " he musn' t ad
wise the people to defy and seek to subvert
the act. If he chooses to try that policy, he
must not to it as his (Gen. Pope's) appointee
to the Governorship. Horrible, isn'tit? Yet
what else could Gen. Pope do unless he should
see tit to resign and take himself out of Geor-
gia?"
2. Gen. Schofeld is Military Commandant
of the district which includes Virginia head
quarters at Richmond The Times (ex-Rebel)
OF that city sees fit to speak of the attitude of
vote with the Republican party in these words:
1t is a proposition which implies that they
are ready to grasp the blood-stained hands Of
the authors of our ruin"
Gen. Schofeld says he desires the utmost
liberty OF speech and Of the press, but thinks
this allusion to the army and loyal people of
the United States not the thing. In short, he
just endures this outbreak, and won't stand
nnx ,,tA l. IL
3. Gen. Sickles finds that the fremen of
contracted the bad habit of disfavoring thefag
Of their country. They had a great parade
last year, wherein they displayed a great va
riety of flags but that of the United States
was not among them. He remarked the cir
cumstance, but was assured that it was an in
advertence, so he let it pass. But last Friday
week they had another grand annual parade,
and again their long lines displayed all manner
OF flags but that which was shot down at Fort
Sumter, and wouldn't stay down; and now he
couldn't help seeing that the insult was inten-
tional and deliberate. He was fairly forced to
try conclusions with the unchanged Rebels, and
determine whether they were or were not his
masters. So he gave this order to Gen. Clous,
his Post COmmandant:
" desire that you will at once send for the
Chief Of the Fire Department, and inform him
that the national standard must be borne in
front OF the columns that an escort of honor,
to consist of two members of each company
present, will be detailed by himself to march
with the colors that the colors be placed op-
pOslte the reviewing parsOnages on the ground
designated for the review; and that every per-
son in the column shall salute the coors by lift
ing his hat or cap on arriving at the point three
PAGES distant from the colors, and carrying the
cap uplifted, marching past the colors to the
point three PAGES distant from the same.
"The Mayor of the city, the Chief of the
Fire Department and the fOremen of compa-
nies will be held responsible for the observance
of this order, and they are hereby authorized
and required to arrest any person who disobeys
it. You will take such measures as you may
find to be necessary to insure the execution of
this order
I'D. Z. SICKLEs, Maj Gen. Com'd.
That order brought the matter to focus at
once. As the procession was forbidden to
move till it was obeyed, they soon found U.
5. flag lit had been pretended that they
couldn't get one, placed it and guarded it as
directed, and were then allowed to proceed
I" in order" as they say in Congress. Nobody
was hurt, and nobody is likely to be, in conse-
quence and the World says Gen. Sickle's Or
| der d" is quite in accordance with that military
"despotism established by the Reconstruc-
ton act So we think yet our blood is not
boiling, nor even simmerlng. In fact, It's
condition is remarkable healthful and natural
since reading Gen. Sickle's Order.-N. T. Trt-
bune.