Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1867-03-21
Taik scifh a. soldier.
"Good morning, Johny! !"
"Good morning p

ana tnat is more than some OF us did. =
"Glad to see you baclx---sorry any
Of you were killed. What did you en-.
list for?
Swell | enlisted to save the Union
Cousin Paul enlisted under later
call to secure the bounty and escape
the draft, for he YVES poor man. And
cousin Bill, who owned that farm up
the creek, was drafted, had no money
to get a substitute, and was obliged
TO 60"
"Well that was the Inconvenience
of being poor Now tell me what
you fought for r.
ITO restore the Union p
"Did you go into the war to free
the negroes Z"
"No sir, went to fight fopour flag
"Could you have conquered without
the aid of negro troops p
"Could we have conquered without
the aid of negro troops? Do you
mean to ask me if the white men OF
The North are inferior to the white
men of the South Do you mean to
insult me-to insult the army
"Not a bit of it / only ask for
information, as the Radicals say had it
not been for the negro, you never
would have won your battles 70
"Tell the Radical he lies Perhaps
if all the troops had been like him, we
might not have won, but all were not
like himw
(which did the most service in the
army, the niggers or the mules p
"A mule was worth dozen niggers,
and is good for something now when
the war is over, and nigger is not
The mule can pay his way-the mig
ger cantw
"When you heard that the war was
over, what did you think Z"
"Well, all thought the Union was
restored, and we could live in peace |"
"Iow much did you make by going
to war;"
"Not much. Ibad no rich relatives
to push me ahead-except in battle !
When we went to fight | could always
get front view !"
"What made the soldiers hate the
Democrats so 7"
awe were taught to believe you
were disunionists. We could not get
a Democratic paper to read, we
must read those against you or none,
and gradually we began to believe all
that Republican papers said about
you"
."How do you find us on your re-
turn Z"
ave find you in favor of the Union,
the Republicans opposed to it, and
asking us to go into another war to
fight an unarmed, submitted foe, that
a few rich men may be made richer
and that more contracts may be given
to the friends of those who live by war
and agitation"
"Did the Republicans keep faith
with you while in the army p
"No! They DID NOT !"
"Please tell me how and where they
deceived you p
"Well, sit down on that bench or
log and | will tell you. They asked
me TO fight to restore the Union. We
fought till there was no more army
left, and then they tell us our fighting
amounted to nothing, and that the
Union is not restored !
They said Democrats were disunion-
lists, and we find them all in favor Of
the Union.
They said if we would go and fight
for them, they would take care Of our
families, and stand all the expense Of
tie lodr, and that the rich ones should
and would take care of the poor ones
the brave ones; the patriots"
"But have not the Republicans kept
their words Z"
"No, NOT EVEN IN ONE respect,
We went to war, we werc poor and |
had TO go. Myself and two cousins
They took care Of our families by
town tax, taxing our property, our
little farms whiio we were fighting |
And after we had gone to war, they |
gave bonds of the town and county,
bought them for half their face, and
now demand full pay and interest, and
us soldiers must now work 10 pay
their bonds
And when cousin Bill was drafted
he had to go and leave his farm. And
when the tax call came, to escape the
draft, they piled the taxes on the
farms of us who were fighting, to raise
money TO exempt those who dare not
90, and who were smart enough TO
keep out at our expense.
And you see, now the war is over
with, we come home to find that our
fighting did not restore the Union,
and so we had better staid at home,
and voted taxes for somebody else to
payl
And we find the towns and counties
covered with bonds, mortgaged, and
that beside doing all the fighting we
lre now made to pay more than our
share of taxes--we are made TO sup
port the niggers we liberated We
are made TO work to raise gold to lay
in bank for rich men to draw out as
interest on their bonds, which are not
10 be taxed We are working, in
short, to pay ourselves for the luxury
)f being shot at; while the FRIENDS
'f the soldiers q were getting rich
It home.
And we find the same Congressman
Who stampeded our army at Bull
Run, who got rich from the war, vo-
ing 500 bounty to white soldiers,
1900 bounty TO black ones, and then
tealing two thousand dollars q year