The New Orleans daily Democrat., 1877-04-29
ABOLISH THE ARMY.


or to reduce 1t to five thousand men, is
growing in popularity with the people.
The hard common sense OF the country
is inuuiring into the utility Of the pres
ent armament OF men and ships, and
the answer Is not satisfactory. There
is no rebellion or insurrection to be
crushed; we are at war with no power
on earth; neither Canada on the north
nor Mexico or South America on the
south menace ns with invasion.
A few beligerent Indians on the from
tier occasionally require chastisement,
and troops enough to repress these are
positively all the army needed by the
country. Why, then, should the gov
ernment continue to annually squander
thirty millions or more to keep up Tor
midable military establishment such as
that we now have?
A large standing army is not only un-
necessary in this country, and heavy
drain upon the Treasury. 1t Is also
dangerous to our free institutions, as
well as to the public peace and to our
commercial and industrial interests.
President Grant discovered and blazed
the road to military despotism in this
country, and the next ambitious and
unscrupulous man the people raise to
the presidency, II he finds an organized
army of eighteen or twenty thousand
men at his command, will have no diff
Guilty in reaching the end OF that road.
The experience Of the last two years
shows us that an army In the American
Republic Is precisely the brutal. ire
sponsible and unthinking instrument
that an army was in Rome, and in Eng
land, and in France, and in every other
country-the willing tool Of authority,
however lawless or licentious. That
was an eloquent but empty compliment
which an English writer, in letter to
British Minister, paid the English
army when he said Never hope that an
English army will join with YOU in over
turning the liberties Of their country.
They know that their first duty as citi-
zens is paramount to all subsequent en-
gagements, nor will they prefer the
discipline, nor even the honors Of their
profession to those sacred original
rights which belonged to them before
they we're soldiers, and which they claim
and possess as the birthright of Eng
lishmen."
Notrained standing army in the world
ever acted upon the exalted principles
and noble sentiments expressed In this
quotation. Indeed, no army indoc-
trinated with such ideas of duty could
exist month, or, for that matter, a
week. A standing army is in its nature
an organization Of brute force, and the
only intellectual portions Of tits off.
cers-are educated and drilled in the be-
lief that obedience to orders Is their first
and highest duty. The American people
ought to know and recognize this fact as
we'll as any people on the earth. for in
the past eight years they have seen the
men and officers-even the highest Off,
cers-of the American army employed
as willing tools to carry out the most
shameful, brutal and fragrant violations
OF the American constitution and the
liberties Of the American people. And
it was not only in the South that the
generals, colonels and privates OF the
army displayed their readiness to out
rage every principle Of law. When
Grant at one time threatened to employ |
them in controlling an election in New
York, they were ready at the word to
s'lall in."
Indeed, Gen. Grant has made it plain
ly obvious to intelligent and observing
men that the American army is the
same brutal force, different only in
strength, that raised and sustained the
throne OF the Caesars, and obeyed their
will whether they were tyrants or
philosophers, brutes or men.
It should then be one Of the first OBJ