The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-12-16

they will be particularly disgusted with Hal
leck. They sent him South in Hancock's
place-who didn't suit for ito act not by
law but in fraud of law; to manage the cleo
tions; to return bogus members TO
Congress to keep on the tariff
for New England in spite of the
great popular constituencies in New York
and the Western States. And quite well he
did il for them when he sent the army Off
Ger Ames, of Massachusetts,, and the mulatto
Revels, Of Ohio, to be Senators from Mssis
sippi. Are these things to be declared and
defined in acts of Congress And now Hal
leck draws back. He is no Curtius for fool
ish enthusiasm and self-sacrihce, when the
earth is rent and gapes wide open its jaws
before him. If he is not the most scrupu-
lous man on the army list, he is one of the
most prudent and intelligent. He is lawyer,
author, scholar, and man of large property
amenable in vindictive damages for outrages
on personal rights when the law shall recover
its authority. We do not at all wonder that
the army men who have all to lose and
nothing to make at such work-those who
know they have got all from the radicals they
are to get-should now grow circumspect,"
like Buckingham when the numbering tyrant
loaded him too heavy.
There is another matter we would fain sug-
gest to them: not to run the army machine
to persecute the Democratic officers, such as
General Hancock and all the friends of Gene
raj Mcclellan. We would even advise them
to take some timely and decent steps back
wards, as in the matter of Fitz John Porter.
OF all the dirty work that was done in the
army for party purposes that takes the lead.
To defend Stanton and Pope, to excuse the
removal of Mcclellan, to defeat his election
to the Presidency, army officers were pro-
cured to find that McClellan's friends in
the army were traitors, and that Porter
traitorously failed to capture Stonewall
Jacksons army. No matter that Porter
showed the impossibility of capturing with
his single division force that routed Pope's
whole army. No matter that lawyers like
Reverdy johnson and Judge Curtis denounced
the finding on the evidence No matter that
after the war Porter brought General Lee
and forty thousand witnesses that Stonewall
Jackson was not there (to be captured) but
their main army. The thing had been done
for party purposes, and was to be sustained
for them. Halleck was head of the army
when the impudent fraud was perpetrated
Sherman is the head when all redress is i'm
pudently denied. We recommend to them
now to conduct the army business with some
regard to appearances until Democratic ad-
ministration shall take charge of it and them.
There is another matter they may as we'll
think of in time: that the army organization
will be reformed as well as the administra-
tion of it, that all statutes passed by a radical
Congress to deprive President Johnson of the
constitutional command OF the army will be
repealed and the General-in-C Chief and all
the generals will be made subject to the civil
head of the State. Then an organization
must be provided to render the control of the
civil authority actual and effectual. Every
responsible government must select its chief
agents Every government ON earth appoints
its military chiefs in the field and in the
! bureau. Such Is the constitutional provi-
sion in this Government. The radicals may
create offices limited to the life of the incum-
! bents. Democratic administration will
assert the exact opposite principle: that Offices
are not life estates, but public service to be
executed by the fttest agents; and neither
| in the great military nor civil offices of the
States will they allow q permanent tenure
not allowed to she head of the State selected
by the whole body of the people. In respect
to military organization, it is sufficient in
small armies to make permanent, by com
mission during good behavior, the commands
| in regiments. In a large army the rule may
be carried to the organization of the divi-
sions. That was the leglonary organization
of the Roman army-so perfect, said great
ancient, that "a god must have devised
| it," Soult, great soldier for the field and
for administration, quotes the opinion with
appreciation, and condemns the institution
OF feld-marshals or other permanent COM
manders of corps d'GTmre The history of
the French army since the First Empire (and
during it, Soult said has justified his saga
| cious opinion. Generals in chief of armies
and departments must only hold command
during the Judgment of the existing Govern
ment, which will select the fittest from a
number of the highest grade. That is the
true principle.