The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1870-01-22
Horace Greeley.
He SWINGS BENJAMIN BUTLER
AROUND A CIRCULAR SAW.

DEAR SIR: THANK you hearti,
ly fOryOur response to my former
letter, and that you took ample
time to make it full and deliber-
ate. | am glad that you saw fit
to make it public, so that | first
saw it in print. For the questions
on which we differ are nowise of
private or personal interest, but
deeply concern our country and
all her people. Pardon my belief
that they also concern humanity,
and that their solution will deter
mine that our race has or has not
made progress since the good old
days when the gallows was always
brought into free play at the close
of every civil war. In the hope
that public sentiment may be
somewhat enlightened and cor
rected by our discussion, | pro-
pose here to review several OF
your more important positions.
THE ''EXAMPLEs" AS A MATTER OF
POLICY.
I. Let me thank you once more
for the frankneSS with which the
main point in controversy is pre-
sented in your letter. You state
correctly that your position origi-
nally was that ''the leaders" in the
Southern rebellion ''shOuld be
punished, asexamples." You and
are both aware that nc list OF
those ''leaders' could have been
made that would have reduced
their number below one hundred,
including the Cabinet officers,
Members of Congress, Governors
of States and army officers of West
Point education and grades from
Lit. Colonel upward, who abandon
ed the service OF the Union for
that of the rebellion. Yet YOU
now suggest that "some half-doz
en-, more or less" would have sut-
feed for such exemplary justice.
When five more years of peace
shall have interviewed, / am quite
confident you will consider that
two or three examples would
have been enough; and, after the
lapse of five more years, You will
be satisfied that to have strung
up in 1865 him who was your
choice for President in 1860 would
have answered the purpose.
] shall differ from you then as
differ from you now. | believe
the killing of many, or few, or one
OF the Confederate chiefs at any
time after the complete overthrow
and collapse OF their revolt wOnld
have been fearful, ghastly blum
der, sowing seeds of bitterness
and wrath that must have borne
evil fruit throughout future ages.
| dislike vicarious pnnishmentS
altogether, and ] realize that in
this case they would convey to
the spared rebels this monition
"You, too, deserve hanging; but
then you are Insignificant and
hemp is dear" 1t would have
been patent of nobility for gen
erations at the South to be able to
claim kinship with one who was
tried convicted and executed as
one of the Confederate ."leaders.' ?
Their death would have opened
a deep abyss between those who
fought for and those who fought
against the Union. One life thus
taken would have ranked more
and longer than a hundred thou.
sand sacrificed in fair, manly col
lision on the field of battle. The
great Hebrew warrior and men.
arch fully comprehended this diff
ference when he directed, from
his death bed, the cutting off from
life of his valiant lieutenant Joab
"because he had shed the blood Of
war in peace Il. Kings, ii, s.,
mot A VOLUNTEER LIKE YOU
Ii. Let me thank you again
that you preferred truth to chiv.
airy in reminding me that you
were in 1868 Republican candi
date for office, and succeeded by
iattering vote, while l, when
still more recently a candidate
was defeated, in part by Republi
can ballots. | do not care to scru
tinize your figures, since the zen
eral fact is clear. Nay, more, hat
been, like you, a volunteer, ant
not a conscripted candidate,
think still more Republican.
would have refused me their vote.
Oh this ground; for | am sure tht
few thousands who scratched ny
name Off their ballots by no means
measure the strength OF the ad
. | L. 4 l.. 4.