National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1879-04-22
THE ARMY Ar THE POLLS.


The post states, with its usual mendacity,
that General SHERMAN Is reported as say
"ing that military duty at the polls is I'M
" pleasant TO both officers and men. " And
upon this reported saying ii impudently as
serts Unquestionably this is fair state
ment Of the views of the army on this SUBJ
eject" To assume for moment the most
infnitesimal foundation for such report
would be an insult to General SHERMAN
and our army, ofwhch any respectable citi-
zen could not be guilty. Therefore, we have
no hesitation in prOnouncing the alleged
report unqunlifedly false, and the views at
trbuted by the post TO our loyal army
most mendacious SANDER upon that gallant
body of citizens. The General commanding
is too good soldier, too loyal citizen too
thoroughly Republican in principle to even
have said anything of the sort, or to ever
have said anything from which it could
be implied that the performance of military
duty at the polls was unpleasant to HIM
self or the army he commands. Military
duty at the polls unpleasant to the United
States army! Unpleasant TO afford protec-
ton to the American citizen in his most sa-
cred rights of ballot and equal represen-
tation in Government for whose
existence he fought and for whose
maintainance he is so heavily taxed IN
pleasant to protect the peaceful citizen at the
polls from the shotguus and bowie-knves
of the murderous, bloodthrsty, rebel ban
ditti of the South, forsooth 'Tis a base,
malicious slander upon the army as body,
and we would like to say upon every officer
upon its roster, if we could feel assured that
there are not some few epauletted sCoun-
drels in the army whose Democratic dough-
flcedness would set better in the vermincd
gray of the late Coniederacy, than in the
loyal blue which it disgraccs.
Unpleasant duty for the American soldier
TO obey the laws and Constitution of his
country, and to respect with military fealty
his oath Of allegiance TO faithfully execute
and perform all lawful orders of his supe-
riors in authority, civil and military! Were
the charge true, it would degrade any pr-
vate in the ranks to whom ii is applied to the
level of such forswOrn traitors as ROBERT
T.. LEE, STONEwALL JACKSON, and BENE-
DICT ARNOLD, who deserted the cause of
their country in the flce of the enemy.
The United States army would have to
have had some experience in the perform
ance of duty at the polls before any officer
or man in its ranks could Justly say that
the duty was an unpleasant one. Our Gen
eral and the army are too intelligent to
coniound the unpleasautness of the neces-
sity for military duty at the polls with the
performance of such duty, when permitted
! to afford military protection to citizens Mt
| such places. We venture to say that the
neglect or omission of the proper civil au-
thorities TO order military protection for
penccable citizens at the polls, the thousands
| of times that such protection was begged aud
prayed for in the South rs constitutional
| right of citizenship, was the most unpleas-
ant feature of our soldiers life in the South
| since the first gun was fired against Fort
| Sumter.
The post has lively imagination, but it
caps the climax of absurdity when it mag
ines "the disgust with which an officer of
the Union army obeys orders that origi-
"nate in the headquarters of campaign
committee" Its ignorance Of the methods
of command in loyal army, however, may
be excused, since its association with the
rebel Brigadiers in Congress, who are ma
nuuyred according to such tactics, would
naturally suggest that sort of military dis
cipine. If the post could imagine the dis
gust which our army felt thousands of times
at not being permitted to afford the prot6c'
ton they were 80 eager to give to citizens
who were being slaughtered like sheep
within gunshot of their barracks by rebel
banditti at the polls it would be able to dis