Idaho semi-weekly world. (Idaho City, Boise County, Idaho Territory) 1867-1868, 1867-08-24
(From the Wheeling (va.) Registerl
THOMPSON AND LONGSTREET.

The Radical editors of the country have
very suddenly conceived profound regard for
Generals LOngstreet and JEFF. Thompson
These distinguished !" COnfeds" have swiftly
ceased to be !" red-handed traitors helLde-
serving scOundrels," ''murdering and thieVing
rebels and all the other polite and elegant
characters which g loyalty has been IN the
habit of assigning to those who fought on the
weak side of the late rebellion. The prompt
translation of LOngstreet and Thompson from
the regions of disl0yalty and darkness to the
realms of loyalty and light is as astonishing as
| it was unexpected.
What has caused this living canonization of
these former heavy devils of rebeld0m? The
patriotic blood they shed is still upon their
skirts. The houses they burned have never
been paid for. The treason they committed is
as much treason as ever. The tears of or
phanage,' the g mutilated manhood" the "af-
flicted widows, the "desOated homes Of "lOy-
atty" and all the other ugly and mournful facts
for which these illustri0us warriors have hith-
ertO been held accountable, are just as ugly
and m0urnful now as ever before "By what
w0ndrOus alchemy has the dross of vice been
SO instantaneOusly converted into the pure gold
of virtue, the unlighteOusness of treason into
the righteousness of patriOtism-the filthy rags
of rebellion into the purple and fine linen of
loyalty !" i bsg
Strange as it may appear, the only solution
of the mystery lies in the fact that these par.
ties have, in published letters, endorsed the
leading features of the Radical reconstruction
plan, and advised the South to accept I had
Stevens and the negro as the only names given
under heaven, among men, whereby they may
be saved. A more remarkable transtorms ton
by simple means could not well be imagined
Surely "the pen is mightier than the sword"
The men fought ahOlitiOnisln, as they thought
for four or FIVE years, with all the stubbOrnness
and skill of which they were capable, and got
beaten. At the last hour, with that simple wpap-
on, the goose quill, they forced their way thro
the ranks of their former foes and monument
ly captured the whole Radical camp We now
understand the plain remedy for dislOyalty
The prescription is simple and the treatment
easy. Rebellion can be healed and purified by
the judiciOus application of pen and ink. 10y.
atty and treason must be separated by a slen-
der boundary when few lines in newspaper
will form an ample bridge by which men like
LOngstreet and Thompson may pass from one
realm into the other.
An exchange fOrcibly remarks that If the
men of the South were guilty of any crime in
fighting for Southern independence, it certain
" does not wipe it out for them now to give in
to the damnable heresies of Radicalism While
some who distinguished themselves as soldiers
of the lost cause may make defeat all the more
bitter by proving themselves utterly subjugated
in all respects, it is not true that any subser-
viency on their part gains for them in reality
the respect and good will of the dominant par
ty. We honor Gen. LOngstreet for the gallant
ry and ability shown by him as a soldier, and
most heartily regret that in moment of weak
ness and depression he has taken step which
he cannot fail hereafter to regret"