The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-09-22
HIS DUTY AS PRESIDENT
TO Preserve and Protect the Con-
federate States.
LINCOLN SAID HE MEANT TO HOLD THEM
An Answer to Col. McClure's Article on The Fir.
ing on Fort Sumter Showing That
War Between the Sections
Was Inevitable.

a synopsis of an article by Col. Mcclure,
precipitation of the South in firing on
| Fort Sumter, war would have been
avcrted and the Confederacy successful
| ly established. / undertook to answer
! it in a general way. Having since then
read Col. McClure's indictment-it is
nothing less-of the Confederate author
| tiles, and finding that he Pounds specific
charges upon eX parte extracts from or
citations of the war records, | hope that
you will grant me space to state the
the South needs.
He expresses the belief that if the
South had refrained from it's wanton
attack on the North the Confeder-
acy would have been peacefully estab-
lished, and 1.-THE North and the
South would have drifted into destruct-
i've anarchy" A dark alternative sure
ly. Better even war than destructive
anarchy" But where is the Colonefs
historical precedent for an Anglo-Sax-
on community ever having drifted into
anarchy Law and ordor seem to come
as natural to men CT our blood as round
ness to the raindrop. The explosive
strife of those stressful days might
have split the United States into two
or into two hundred fragments. But
in each fragment law and order would
have prevailed.
But that is beyond the issue. Col.
Mcclure, sometime chairman of the
war committee of the Pennsylvania Sem
ate, viewing Southern men and South
ern affairs through the same inevitable
blackening and distorting glasses, vol
uble of such phrases as The Secession
Oligarchy," THE Wanton Attack Upon
the North etc, ETC., attempts at some
, length to show how easy it would have
| been TO avert war had the Confederate
| leaders been exemplary apostles of
peace and patriotism like those of the
| North, instead of the hot-headed, self
seeking fellows that they were. Still,
no matter in what spirit they are made,
| the charges are very grave. If Presi-
dent Davis and his advisers did heed
| lessly and needlessly bring on the war,
! ladened as it was with ruin and woe
beyond any that modern times have
| seen, history will justly write anathema
J against their names. But let us see ii
these charges are we'll founded More
+! over let us bear in mind that the right
| fitness or wisdom of Secession is not in
question. The question is whether
President Davis could, while true to the
oath which he had taken as President of
| the Southern Confederacy by forbear-
ance have averted war Nobody can de-
| ny that this is the true question.
| Granted that one condemns every act oil
Mr.. Davis life up to the moment of
taking the oath as president, he cannot
condemn him for being true to that
oath. What was that oath? 1t was
| faithfully to execute the office of pres
! ident and to the best of his ability to
preserve. protect and defend the consti-
| tuition Of the Confederate States Of
/ America. Among other things that this
constitution, or the laws made under it
and equally binding on the executive
| till annulled by the courts, prescribed
was the collection of taxes, including
duties and imports and the protection of
! each State from invasion.
! President Lincoln's inaugural which
Col Mcclure cites as so conciliatory
! that even the rampant Secession Oil
| farchy," should have been pacified by it,
declared an unalterable resolve to hold
occupy and possess the places, forts and
arsenals) belonging to the government
! (the United States) and to collect the
duties and imports Meaning as the
context shows the duties and imports
South as well as North. According to
| his own words these things were to be
/ done 'Peacably, if / can; forcibly if !
| must" In other words, the Federal
! President had at decisive moment, AT
a moment when every word that he ut
tered bearing on the subject was of
| tremendous weight, declared his re-
| solve to do the very things which
President Davis must either oppose by
all the force at his command or else be
recreant to his solemn oath.
President Lincon's address was con-
pose to attain certain ends without war
| if possible. But these ends were, under
| the circumstances, absolutely impos-
| sible of attainment except through war
That is unless the Confederate leaders
| were pusilanimous beyond parallel in oul
| race.
For the property and places" which
/ President Lincoln was bent on possess
ing. occupying and holding, were forts
and arsenals within the borders OF the
| States which by acts as solemn and de-
liberat as those by which they
had entered the union. had now left it