The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1867-07-06
Snldiers of Vengeance.


be required to meet in convention again at I
Columbus. Probably a state Indignation !
Convention would be more appropriate to
the very urgent and eNctablc emergency
At their grand pow-wow the other day,
for becoming one Of DAVIS bondsmen, they |,
Indignantly resolved that llORAcE GREE
LEY is an ass
For this peculiar encomium HoRAcE has
come back on them, aud he has SHE'D his
heels into the midst Of their camp with all
the vicious vim of whole corral full oi
jackdSses. Gracioie, how he kicks
In the IriJupe, OF the lst, he stigmatiles
the organization as Soldiers Of Vengeance
Admirable souJriquet "a palpable hit
heavy Kick from the Tribune "dSsl' The
article should not have been printed on the
first of July-how admirable it would have
been for Fourth Of July reading in the alb
scncc of the played-out Declaration! eve
hold these truths to be self-eyident.'
GREELEY, doubtless, felt when he opened
his battery-and so they are, when he in
dignantly ussails the order of G-A-R's as |
OF that class of merccnaries who "JoAowed
the drfy ,ttd robbed the bodies Of the stain!
We give rs much of the article rs reasona-
BILE space justiiies. GREELEY acknowledges
having received letter on the topic from
H.W. BENNErr, of Davenport, Iowa, which
lac thus replies to:
From the Tribune Julyil
We understand the Grand Army Of the
Rrpublic To be a secret society, composed
of persons calling themselves discharged
soldiers of the army, with the purpose of
taking part in politics. Mr. Bennett rath-
er denies this. but we are not satisfied with
his denial We scarcely ever can take up a
certain class OF Western papers without
finding that some "IOst' OF the G.. A. H..
has had a meeting, and resolved that every
thing is going wrong, and that nothing
will 20 right until some one is hanged, and
everybody has contscatCd farm.
In the first place, we call this organiza-
ton unrCpublican. Secret associations for
social purposes, to aid in charity, or to de-
velop virtue and friendship, are very well.
They rarely interfere with anybody. II
people find amusement in meeting in guard
ed rooms, and wearing SpangCd dresses,
and calling themselves SachemS. and broth
ers and comrades, soldiers of Gideon, and
sons of Rechab, it is their own business.
We may doubt their taste, but mans
tastes concern only himself.
This Grand Army of the Republic pro-
poses, according to Mr.. Bennett, to RE-
new associations formed amid the roar OF
artillery. the lightning of battle and the
thunder of victory We fear Mr.. Bennett
but half states his case. The memories OF
the late war are no doubt very high and
holy. There is something sacred in the
comradcship which drank from the SAINT
Cantccm. We can understand with what q
lusty grasp the comrades of the mess
would meet in civil lite. If this We're al
we should be content; but il is not all
These men combine for political purposes
They propose to keep alive the wrath ant
bitterness of that dreadful time. They
mean to control conventions to nominal,
men for oflicc-to perpCtuate in our CiVi
system the bitterness of war. We bclicv
the soldier should receive abundant re
ward. When n soldier and Il civilian APP
ply for office. all things else being equal
we should prefer the soldier. But we dis
like this making privileged class, and rs
pccially dislike this getting into corne
and having passwords and grips, an
making an exclusive class.
Washington foresaw this when he op
posed the Society of the Cincinnati. ii
saw in the association the first step to Al
aristocracy, and he declined to ally himscl
with it. What Washington said should
remembered now Here is an association
more numerous and more powerful tina
the Cincinnati, which proposes to eve
keep alive a war with brothers and fellow
COuntrymen, to cXut in victories ovi
Americans, to rejoice over the destructio
of men in whose blue veins run the bloc
lndl COURSES through lntlf own, anu VII
whatever their crimes or errors, are of OF
own country. We say, let all the mem
ries of the.pa sink into the hell to whi,
they belong; let us think only of d
wounds to be healed, of harvests to gro
again, of seas once more covered with q
commerce, education for the ignoral
protection to the oppressed, justice To all
We say this, and sacrifice none of t
principles defended by Mr.. Bennett. lie
no doubt, earnest in his belief that
work is worthy. But there are Graf
bold, bad men who look upon these soc
ties rs so many instruments for their o'
advancement. They propose to ally the
selves with this military sentiment W
no more claim upon it than Thenardier,
Hugo's novel. had to be called the Serge;
of Waterloo. lie JOilOlced The army
robbed the bodies or the slain. The Il
soldier sheathes his sword and buries it
his closet, and 1t remains an heirloom.
becomes citizen. and makes no claim
political honor but that of citizensl
Above all things he does not carry his ep
lets and ribbons, his wounds and bru
to political convention, to be knOcl
down to the highest bidder. There II
he many of these men unwittingly in
Army of the Republic, who probably
tered with the views of Mr.. Benn
They will soon see how they may be
occupy their time.
Especially do we entertain these vi
when we find in the declarations of Il
secret soldier associations so many exp
sions of madness The true soldier is
most generous of foeman. Take the g
captains who commanded the contend
hosts. Do we find Grant, or Sherman
Sheridan, or Thomas, or Meade. assemb
together, and bowling for more blood, N
strife, more bitterness? Do we find
or Longstreet, or Johnston, or Beaureg
insisting that the hates of secession S
be prolonged? These men fought t
fight and ended. Their anger ceased '
the last guns fired in anger. From
Grand Army of the Republic now paraC
through political conventions in the "
commanded by the captains of the eau
the lobby and the barroom, we appe
the Grand Army of the Republic W
carried our banners over a hundred fl
under the eye of Grant Sherman and S
Idan. We denOunee this new secret q
citation as out of sympathy with the
Republican party and as inimical to
Constitution and the Union. 1t will
sad day for our party when soldiers fin
In