The Dickinson press., 1888-08-04

RUINS OF PROVOST MARSHAL's OFFICE.
second ward, being the third subdivision of
the Ninth congressional district of the state,
the provost marShals districts being for the
most part identical with the congressional
districts. Both on Saturday and Monday
the papers announced that all would he quiet
Before many hours one Journals Office was
OH fire and mob was hunting for the editor.
and before Friday noon the city OF which,
according to that paper, "the most perfect
quiet was assured" had lost S2,OOO,OoO by
fire and robbery, while some 200 of its citi
zens had been slaughtered 1t may be profit
able to trace the genesis and evolution of
such an unexpected, murderous and destruc
tive mob
Unquestionably the most gloomy period of
the civil war, for the Federal side was the
last week of June and first three days of
July. 1853. On the Potomac every move
ment for ten months had resulted in disaster
In Middle Tennessee the army of Rosecrans
was hundred miles nearer the Ohio than
was the advance of Mitchell and Buell. wear
before, while of Grant the public only knew
that after some brilliant victories he had re.
nained five weeks in front of Vicksburg and
could not know that Pembcrton's surrender
was near In this condition of affairs the
Washington authorities ordered a draft for
''3Oo,0UO morel" Scarcely had tho people
read this order when they learned that Lee
had invaded Pennsylvania with eighty thou
sand veterans flushed with victory, and i'm.
nlediately after that Hooker had been ere
lieved from command" and the Army of the
Potomac placed under a general Of whom
uot one in ten of the people had ever heard
The most steadfast supporters of the admin
istration wavered in their support. The
cynical sneered and the critical loudly
exclaimed against this unstable and
shifting policy" while tho opposition press,
especially in New York city, famed
with fiery invectives against the enanc
patton proclamation, against the employ
lnent of negro troops, against the arbitrary
arrests Of opposition speakers, against the
suspension of the right of habeas corpus and
especially against the draft, which they al
legged to be unconstitutional and unfairly ex
ecutcd In this condition of the public mind
nearly all the militia of New York city were
sent into Pennsylvania to serve against the
invaders, and it was generally expected that
the Fourth of July would witness riot
Midnight Of the Sd brought the first au
thentic news of Gettysburg Gen. Meade
,elegraphe1 that he had "repulsed the enemy
people read on all the bulletin boards of TIE
principal cities that "the Union army has
won n glorious victory" By night it was
added that the Confederate Cen Longstrcet
is killed we have 10000 prisoners, and moth
ing can save Lees army from capture or de
struction Only two days later the eeople
vi Richmond read in their papers: I'VE have
captured 10000 Yankees; Baltimore and
Philadelphia are at our mercy" But the
-ary dispatches of July were Official and
implicitly believed in New York, and the
lay was one of the most peaceful in her his
tory
Soon after came the inspiring news from
.l'ksburg, and Immediately after that the
rei"ort Of Gen Rosecrans that he had driven
Bragg from Tullahoma There was general
acceptance of the official assurance that no
trouble need be apprehended, and so the draft
vas ordered to proceed. Some measures were
taken to test the constitutionality Of the con
scription act-an unsettled point in United
States law-and it was quite generally be
lieved by the opponents of the act that the
course Of those New England governors who
refused to obey the conscription acts Of 1872
IA would be taken as precedent Still it
was emph1icaly declared by Governor Sey
mour and his supporters that it was ex-