Year: 1864

which no human power can stand Indefinitely
Assuming that both sides are determined t.
| fight il through, the question which will give
way first depends solely upon their relative vi
tai resources. We say Uitdt resources, for The
time has ceme when they alone are 10 be Ia
ken into account.


The progress OF the war has wonderfully
smplifed the problem. 1t has eliminate
many elements which once were important
and by many even decisive. Foreign inter
ven(ion-civl war in the North-servile in
surreclion in the South starvation of the
South-the wearing out Of Southern Rail
! roat. and rolling stock-the~ secession o
North Carolina, or other States from the
"Conlederacy" popular acceptance Of tht
Amnesty Proclamation-the bankruptcy oI
the rebel treasury-the ruin of the rebel cur
rency-nO longer appear as any part of the
problem 1t is seen that they never had any
real bearing upon the result or, if they once
had it, that it has all come o nought. .


What, then. are the elements actually in
voived On our side there are only two-mer
and money. On the rebel side only one-meu
This struggle in other words, now turns upon
who shall first iaiI-the men and money of the
North or the men of the South. That is
the real gist of the matter All else is "leath-
er and pruneIa."


If il be asked why we make money an ele-
ment on The Northern and moi on the South
ern side. we have to answer that it is settled
thar the South can and will get along without
money while tie North cannot and will not.
1t is easy enough to say that there ought TO
be ne difference but war is decided by the
aDhat is, and not by the aohat ought to be-
There is Just that difference The "Confeder-
acy" does live without money. Luxuries it
does not need aud it has completely shut off
their importation by act of Congress. Those
of its necessities which can be found at home


it obtains by taxation in kind, and by arbitra-
ry impressment. There is no lack on that
score and never will be. Those of its nsces-
stiles which must come from abroad it pro-
cures by cotton, run through our blockade,
which brings in Europe enormous prices.
This cotton it can continue to grow to any ex-
tent it plsases.


Nor is there any earthly probability that
they will ever lose the power of running the
blockade. English vessels swifter than any
in our navy will do them the same service
hereafter as heretofore, and Confederate
cotton will continue to be exported to the ex-
tent required by those necessities OF the Con-
federacy which are not supplied at home. So
far, then, as the Rebel Government is con-
cerned, there is no need of money. AS for the
people, they will easily enough make shift to
do their mutual business by barter and with
printtd rags.


On the other hand, money, or something
truly representing it, is a necessity at the
North Government or the United
States cannot, like that of the rebels, rob +; it
must 6ug 1t cannot like the other, repudi-
ate it must pay. Unlike the other, it has a.
character which it must maintain. Its peo-
ple too, are not so near the primitive state a g
to be able TO .transact their business by bar
ter; or with wampum and eowries They
must have a currency with either an intrinsic
value, or a sound basis OF credit. With scant
exports, most of what they get from abroad
must be paid for in gold. The amounts they
thus get from abroad are very large in ne
cessities much, in luxuries more. This can
not be prevented, perhaps, as furnishing geld
at the Customs for the payment OF national in-
terest. and strengthening of national credit, it
ought not to be prevented if it could be. This
way of living, in Government and in people,
requires money, or a form of credit equivalent
to money, and to the extent Of hundreds OF
millions annually.


Again, then, we say, the question is, which
will fail first, the National men and the Ma
tionaI money, or the Confederate men


First, as to men. On this poiat there is
no possibility of mistake. TheIcensus figures
cannot lie The eleven Confederate" States,
including Tennessee and Arkansas, and inolud-
ing Missouri, contained by the last census fUs
millions and half of white persona, OF which
one million and q quarter were white males
between fifteen and fifty. We make no ac-
count of the portion of the population of those
States now within our army lines, no longer
available for the supply of the rebel armies
The remaining States, by the same census;
contained twenty-one millions Of white persons,
of whom little more than fUe millions were
white males between fifteen and fifty Grant
ing that three-fourths between these ages are
physically incapable of military duty-which
is a very large allowance there were about
nine hundred thousand men OF whom soldiers
might be made. in the "Oonfederacy," and
thirty-seven hundred thousand in the loyal
States.


So, in round numbers, the two sides started
at the beginning Of the war. Have the great


losses to both sides, inflicted by the war ITSELF
materially changed the proportion? There is
no good reason to believe that these losses
have much differed Perhaps we have lost
more life outright, in consequence of acting
more generally on the offensive than the Reb
els have done, but this is more than counter
balanced by the fact that oar wounded have
far more generally recovered than theirs, with
out disabement on account Of the superior
skill and large number OF oar army surgeons.
aud the splendid work OF our Sanitary Com
MISSIONS which are unknown to the "Confed-
eracy,"-and the other fact, that we have a
very large excess OF prisoners.


Is is estimated that the armies have lost,
since the war opened, half million by death
and disablemen, ii the rebels have lost an
equal number = which there is no COED reason
to doubt-thsy have but four hundred thousand
white men left fit for military service, while we
have thirty-two hundred thousand. So stands
| to-day the undeniable iact. We make no ac-
count of the circumstance that to the Rebels
! the black race is not available for military


purposes, while to us it is so in an eminent de.


gree, we already having ore hundred thousand


of them under arms, able and willing to dc


most effective fighting Let that pass, The


relative figures we have given concerning the
material for white soldiers, is OF itself more
than euouph-making every allowance fop tbs