The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1906-01-13
PATRIOTISM AND MONEY.
Correspondent Points Out Position Of
the Government.

I 49, GSfNA0A4ASAAs
Editor on The Times. The impress
sion which may be made by some, all
lusion 10 the bounties paid TO secure
enlisimcnts IN the war 81 The Rebellion
! which was communicated in a recent
issue of your paper are SO misleading
that ! deem it An injustice to let them
| pass lmnoticed and beg 10 call your
readers attention more particularly to
| the Facts Of the history of those mat
| tefs
/ IN 1861 BY the schcming Of those who
proposed 70 destroy the union the ma
tioral credit was ruined, private enter
+ prise and industry was paralyzed; there
WAS nothing but uncertainty and ap-
| prehension az to the future. But the
firing upon Fort sumpter changed ID
all As b. IN electric shock. The shirt
OF the North, which had cowed and wait.
Eed and questioned, was aroused to IN
assertion Of itself The call for $4,000
men for The army was signal for the
hosts OF the unemployed to reopen the
closed work shops and factories and to
create such new industries as the main.
tenanee OF an army and the proseeu-
lion OF war required. Tie band OF
iron rails with which il had been plan
ned to span the continent must lie laid
at once, that the people OF the Atlantic
and Pacific coasts iEsgat be united n
defending the union. SO while the first
call for troops was met and the next
for 100000 men for three years service
promptly responded to with volunteers.
the law Of demand and supply was in
operation; wages went upa man was
worth two and three dollars day
on the farm during haying and harvest.
ing. Good men could contract for three
or six months as farm laborers for $50
per month. There were no restrictions
on learning or working at trade, and
any man who could buy the tools might
be at once a mechanic with liberty to
charge his own price for labor Men
were scarce in every field Of industry.
Congress, to secure men for the army,
did what business men were doing-of-
fcred wages which they hoped would
secure them. Patriotic citizens in the
various communities OF the country met
and discussed the matters and decided
that as they could not 20 to the war
they would make il an object for others
to respond to the cali for troops who
could. Many business men, some in re.
Spouse TO draft and others voluntarily.
hired substitutes to represent them in
the service and fathers sent other men
TO the front in place OF their sons.
1t happenede at the close Of the war
that there was large number of troops
who had received heavy bounties who.
while they had enlisted for 4 period of
three years, had served only few
months, but this was only one of the
accidents OF war and could not have been
anticipated by anyone,
Another fact to be considered IN rela-
ton TO the question Of bounties is this, !
that Lincoln was elected president by
a minority party--he had received more
than 100000 less votes than were cast
for the candidates opposed to him. His
administration was always subject to
the sererest criticisms and the attempt |
TO raise troops by CONSUMPTION and draft |
was met IN various places by open re- |
sistanee and rioting which in New York |
had resulted in the destruction Of a |
vast amount OF property, but when
bounties were voted the recruits were |
found and the quota filed. The sue.
cess OF the plan was complete and we /
did not then hear it criticised nor have
we since except by those who desired
the defeat Of Mr. Lineolns administra-
ton
Those communities in which the draft |
was resisted were those in which the
foreign element largely predominated. | /
do not know that their course was al.
together surprising, and it certainly was
better to persuade than to COMPEL them
to defense of their new liberties. else
they might have forgotten that this
was a land Of liberty. The paying Of |
bounties was proposed and carried out
by our most patriotic citizens. 1t seem
cd to help distribute the burdens Of
Lhe war enabling those who could not
-erve at the front to contribute some.
thing for the encouragement and sup.
port Of those who did, and 10 have paid
u or to have received il under the cir.
,umstsnces cannot be urged against the
patriotism Of either party. But the
adoption Of this method Of recruiting
.hc armies is another evidence of the in.
ipiration Of good sense and sound iudg.
nent given to the patriots Of the land
It a crisis in its history.
Respectfully,
Chas 4. Smith