The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1890-02-15
A PERSONAL DEPRESSION.
Faults of administration Urged against
President Davis.

President Davis.
And here the biographer of Jefferson Da-
Wis Is compelled to take notice of a contro-
versy which went Oh III a quiet way during
the war and more openly afterwards. till it
reached a furious climax. and is still waged
with much bitterness. Without indorsing
the harsh %philippics of Edwin Pollard and
Gen. Thomas Jordan, or even the milder
criticisms of Gems. Johnston and Beuure-ard,
Federal and Confederate may now arree
that President Davis made two serious
should one say fatal.-mistakes: the one was
common - him and nearly aii the leaders on
both sides, The other peculiarly his own. 1t
was a manifestation OF that spirit which is
often praisatl rs the quality of always
sticking 10 oneS friends'-a very amiable
quality indeed in a private man, but one
which in il commandments in time Of
war may be a criminal folly 4 most IN
HAPPY instance is thus set forth by Gen.
Thomas Jordan. chief of staff to Gen. Beau
regard:
Mr.. Davis had beea at West Point, and
subsequently served for several years III the
dragons ut a frontier post with a Lieut.. Nor
throp. to whom he became attached. The
latter was disabled by an accident, vent to
his home and turned parish doctor. Nj
Davis became in time a politician. Lieut..
Northrop grew 50 eccentric aud full Of mental
crotchets as TO be generally regarded in
Charleston as Of unsound intellect and unfit
for the management of his own small affairs.
He had not served long enough in the army
TO acquire familiarity with military admins
tration; neither had his avocation in Charles
ton brought him III relation with men engaged
IN large commercial affairs. This man. with
whom DAVIS had no personal association since
they were cavalry lieutenants together on the
Indian frontier, ne did not hesitate TO make
his chief of subsistence, nor scruple to intrust
with the organization and administration Of
"A bureau upon which the very existence of
lie Confederate armies must depend, and for
the labors Of which it is apparent the sound
est practical order Of intellect was essential
1t would be easy to find Confederates of
high rank and approved Judgment in mill
tary affairs who still look upon this appoint
ment and two others as the nam causes of
the downfall of the Confederacy.
WHO FoRESAw A LONG WAR;
AS to the other charge so persistently urged,
that Mr.. Davis was mot able to compre-
bend the proportions of the struggle impeud-
ing" the obvious answer is. Who VASE A
49, - 49, LhohS 4 ktiOti III SilC tlO III,
who drew their conclusions largely from his
tory, predicted a long and bitter struggle; in
the south it is exceedingly doubtful if there
were fifty men who believed the contest
would outlast a year. If there was one who,
from the beginning, anticipated a four years
war, he succeeded admirably in conceaiing
his views. That President Davis. his cabinet
and all his advisers shared the current delu-
sion that tho yya- ,rn,,iI ba ch,r% o,l -, ,loo
ire confined principally to the coas; atl5 the
border between the two sections, is certain.
Such belief was the parent of many errors.
In the first place, it was estimated that the
south had almost arms enough, and the first or
der sent TO Europe was for but 10000 Enfield
rifiesi Before the blockade could be made
effective il was urged that the Confederate
government should take the cotton and to-
hacco, of which a large stock was still on
hand, issue bonds to pay the owners, export