The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1890-01-24

q bureau upon which the very existence Of
the Confederate armies mutt depend, and for
the labors Of which II Is apparent the sound
est practical order Of intellect was essential"
II 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 main causes Of
the downfall of the Confederacy,
WHO FoREsAw LONG WAR;
As to the other charge so persistently urged,
that Mr., Davis was mot able to eompre-
hend the proportions of the struggle impend.
ing,n the obvious answer is, Who vast A
few, a very few, thoughtful men in the north,
who drew their conclusions largely from his.
tory, predicted long and bitter struggle; in
the south It Is exceedingly doubtful II there
were fifty men who believed the contest
would outlast year II there was one who,
from the beginning, anticipated four years
war, he succeeded admirably in eoncealing
his viewa That President Davis, his cabinet
and all his advisers shared the current delu.
sion that the war would be short and its thea,
tire confined principally to the coast and the
border between the two sections, is certain.
Such belief was the parent Of many errors
In the irst place, 1t was estimated that the
south had almost arms enough, and the FIRST or,
der sent to Europe was for hut 10000 Eufield
rihes Before the bloCkude gould Oe made
effective 1t was urged that the Confederate
government should take the cotton and to-
bacco, of which a large stock was still on
hand, issue bonds TO pay the owners, export
the stuff to Europe, and make it the basis OF
a fund to draw upon. The owners generally
were willing, and the effect would have been
tremendous At the same time oonsideTa-
ble amount Of foreign exchange In the banks
was offered TO the government on favorable
terms. Both propositions were rejected or
ignored, and the golden opportunity soon
passed, never to return. 1t should be noted
also that tho legislation Of the provisional
congress, and Of the first session OF the Tegu'
lar congress ut Richmond, shows the same
lack of perception as to the greatness Of the
impending struggle
On the Federal side Of the line much Of the
froth and nonsense about "a short war; was
swept away by the battle of Bull Run; the
rest was done for at Shiloh After the latter
thoughtful men both north and south made
up their minds that the issue was to be tena-
ciously fought to a close The north erred
often in expecting great aud decisive yicto-
ries; the south quite as often In expecting
foreign interference or division In the north.
True, Mr. Benjamin at Richmond continued
to promise qualification in ninety days" long
after MIR. Seward at Washington had ceased
to do so, but he found few echoes,
AN APPALLING DIFFICULTY
The victory Of Bull Run produced great
exultation in the south, but appears to have
had a decidedly sobering effect upon Presi,
dent Davis and cabinet 1t may now be con.
sidered proved that he was in for aggressive
action Immediately after that battle, but
yielded to the adverse opinions of Johnston
and Beauregard, and thereafter, with rare
exceptions, Insisted upon defensive policy.
During the long period of inaction which fol-
lowed he embraced every opportunity to do
clare his earnest desire for peace. He even
excited criticism by suggesting oonoiliatory
measures; for many months all his utter
Ruces were amplifcations of that passage in
his first regular message, The moment that
this pretense of our subiugation is abandoned,
the sword will drop from our grasp and we
shall be ready to enter into treaties of amity
and friendship"