Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-05-09
Bntlar's Name.

The Nashville American says that the But
Ter Club. OF Boston. named after General D.
+. BUTLER, is not, As people viii be apt TO
imagine, conicderacy OF lawlcss charsc~
tiers for tho purpose OF depredating upon
their neiehbors' sllverwsre. but is composed
OF men usually accounted respectable, and
who should be ashamed Of Themselves and
Of their name; and that JoHN NouNG BRowN,
Of Kentucky, was not far wrong when he
gave Builerism as q synonym for all that
is"brutal in war. pusillanimous in peace,
or infamous In politics"
BUTLER bsastineIy declares that he now
knows better how 10 carry on war than he
did twenty-five years AGO, snd that If be had
such a city as New Orleans TO deal with now,
he would be much more brutal in his treat
meut OF il than be was in his treatment OF
that city during the war between the states.
This, however, is mere truculency. BIT
lER's name will 20 down TO posterity like
thst OF the judicial monster JEFFIUYs. II
"the bravest are the tenderesi," Butler
must be greater coward than Admiral
POTTER charges him with being. Such soul
lacking men as BUTLER ought never to
have command over soldiers. He is alto-
gether destitute. we suppose, OF the moral
sense. He knows right from wrong intel
lectuslly-that is 10 say, he knows what by
the common consent OF mankind is held 10
be wrong, but he has no feeling sense OF the
nature Of any offence against morals.
Whist ought 10 be done with such men
Can they help being enemies Of the human
race? 1t is not necessary 10 decide that
question. If they are unable TO live as civil
ICED men live, and TO realize and recognize
their responsibilities and duties to the COM
muniiy, then their fellow-Inen ought 10 be
excused IL they in turn hold that they cam
not help treating such monsters as wild
beasts OF the field.
1t will be reoOlAected that Mr.. DAVIS, the
President of the Confederate States. officially
proclaimed BUTLERto be a man without the
pale Of recognition as soldier. II he had
been captured Whit this price-decsp'tss
tion-was set upon bis head, or rather hsd
been slain and not captured, as so many
southerners thought ought to be his fste, be
would have been esnouized by the northern
people along with LINCOLN and banded
down to future generations as At any rate
not worse than CHARLES l., OF England.
Fortunate It is, therefore, for US Of the South,
and uDiortunato1or the hero OF Fort Fisher
and New Orleans, that he was not captured
and killed during the wsr between the
States. Now he must go dOwnto p0sterlty
as a general who acted Is If he had been
merely the captain OF a gang OF banditt IN
stead OF being, as almost any other man cirs
cumstanced as be WAS could have been. an
officer entitled to the respect Of the world.
The southern people have no preiudices
sgainst any northern general whose acts
during the war were worthy OF the day and
generation in which be lived. Any distin-
euished northern general who simply did
bis duty would be welcomed in the South,
and feasted and.entertained as he deserved to
be. As long ago as 1872 Virginia cast her
electoral vote for General GRANT for PTesi-
dent Of the United States. THIS fact has
been lost sight of by our northern brethren.
But suppose BUTLER were to run for Pre-
sident OF the United States; how many
votes would he get in Virginia. We may
safely say that he would get every negro
vote. Would that we could say he would
get no others. How many white Republic
cans are there 10 the Old Dominion who
would be ashamed to be seen casting a bal
lot for Butter? We don't know, but we
would fsintrust that there are goodly num-
Der Of such. Here we stop to allow them an
opportunity to reflect upon their party rela.
fiong