Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1877-08-11
CITIZEN SOLDIERS.

We suggested last week the for
nation of a volunteer company in
this place in view of the likelihood
of our being visited bya turbulent
class of tramps next Winter. Our
neighbor, the Tobacco Leaf, opposes
the proposition and takes issue with
us on several grounds, which we
will briefly notice.
First" The condition of society
here furnishes no cause, etc." That
we fully admit; the conduct of the
laboring classes here, and also of
their employers, was creditable to
both parties during the late disturb
anees; but it was not in view of any
thing in the condition of our resi-
dent population that we made our
suggestion, but in anticipation of the
influx of dangerous population
during the Winter.
Second uch activity would ex-
cite prompt organization by that
class to be dreaded" The class we
speak of is already organized, and
it is only society which is not.
Third" All probable dangers can
be met by enforcing our vagrant
laws, increasing our police force and
giving employment to the idle"
We are in favor of all these meas
ures so far as they can be put in OPP
Grafton without special legislation,
which cannot be had for year and
a half; but the population we speak
of do not intend to be put to work
at anything, and any work at road
making we might give them would
require as many policemen as va
grants to keep them at it.
Thus much in answer to our
neighbor. We persist in the Opin-
ion that there is great need for such
an organization as we have suggest
ed. The mining population Of Penn
sylvania, large portion of which
cannot now be employed in mining
event if they would, are men of feroci-
Gus and desperate characters; they
are not Americans, but belong to the
turbulent, uneducated classes of
other nations, and their depredatiOns
in the North have already been at
tended with murder, rape, arson and
robbery. They travel in organized
bands and numbers of them will be
in the South next Winter.
+ Our contemporary continues:
"Should such an emergency as our neigh
Dor anticipates arise, we apprehend our good
citizens would rally promptly at the tap of
the drum, under the banners of such veter-
ans as Capt Crusman, Capt. Polk Johnson,
Col. Young, Capt. Gracey, Col. Atkins, Gen.
Quarles, Col. Bailey, and Others"
But that is exactly what could not
be done, and no one knows it better
than the gentlemen whose names
are given. Without organization,
precOncerted arrangement and dis
cipline, men cannot bepromptly con-
centrated on one spot at the tap of
the drum, and, even if assembled,
would be a mere mob againsta mob,
howeverrespectablethe persons who
composed it.
Lastly our neighbOr says:
"No; tits not military organization that
we want. Deliver us from any more mill
f,1,x
straps; the tendency is too strong towards
consolidation and despOtism."
We heartily agree with him, but
local volunteer companies such as
we have suggested are the best rem
edies for consolidation and CEN
tralism. The politicians who are
DESTROYS of centralism are even now
talking of the necessity of largely
increasing the United States army
with a view to keeping large garri-
sons in every State, Ostensibly as a
precautiOn against future disturb
ances. Sooner or later this will be
done, unless we occupy the ground
with local organized forces, which
have always in history been an OBJ
stacle to Capitalization rather than a
means for promoting it.
We can only add at present that
this is not mere notion of our own.
A very prominent citizen of this
place was, few weeks ago, in con-
versatiOn with Gov. Porter who was
very anxious that q local military
force should be organized at this
point and offered to supply a COM
pany with arms of the best quality
and made according TO the latest i'm
prOvements.
We trust that the matter will re-
ceive attention from those who can
carry it out.