The army of exempts.
The measure passed by Congress for the organization of an army of exempts is one which, if prudently and efficiently carried out, will be of great service in the struggle in which we are now engaged.
It should not be so administered as materially to interfere with the productive labor of the country, while it should insure a thorough organization of a reserve force whose services in the hour of trial and exigency would be timely and valuable.
The raids and surprises of localities achieved by the enemy, which have been so disastrous in the destruction of the necessaries of life, demand that the country should be armed and disciplined everywhere; that every man should be a soldier even when at home, and ready at a moment's warning to rush to the defence.
This is the spirit that should actuate us all; and when it does so, we shall have begun to resist in earnest.
The enemy will then find that the war has just begun, and that so far from subjugating the
South he has not advanced a step towards it.
The army of exempts can do a great many things to avoid the necessity of withdrawing conscripts from the field, and thus be enabled, though they remain at home, to strengthen the ranks of the brave Southern armies which are resisting the invading columns of the enemy.
The measure which calls them to this service has been passed because the country needed it. They certainly have by this time become convinced of the reality that the country is threatened with a fate the saddest that ever befell a nation, and which is only to be avoided by the united and determined resistance by the entire people.
This idea is taking possession of the
Southern mind, and stimulated by the bold and energetic measures of Congress we shall see how a nation under the greatest disadvantages can, under a sense of right and justice, rise in its might and majesty and overwhelm a brutal and merciless enemy striving to conquer it and deprive it of everything it holds dear on earth.
