The Portland daily press., 1862-07-31
Abuses of the Soldier---Misplaced Conf
deucp.

dence.
We are not unmndful of the fact that any
person who has charge of large body ofmen,
whether in the field or in the workshop, in the
hospital or in the camp, has thankless task
before him, for, however cautiously he may
move or however impartally he may act, he
is sure to be found fault with by those who do
not see things in comprehensive light, but
take one-sided and imperfect views of his du-
ty. We know this is almost necessarily so
with our officers near the battlefield, and par
ticularly with those having charge of the sick,
and TO whose case home-aflectons have COM
mitted thousand little tokens of love and re-
gard sent from the peaceful firesides of the
North to nourish and refresh those who are de-
prived of such home-comforts, and are COM
PEELED to take the risks, the hazards and the
hardships incident to camp-liie. We are not
ignorant of the fact attested by universal OBJ
servation, that some people seem incapable of
approaching exact right and justice, so that,
when these are meted out with perfect i'm
partality, they feel that they are neglected
and have reasonable cause for complaint and
fault-fnding.
In view of such considerations we have new
er felt at liberty to give currency to vague
complaints against our army officers, or to lis
ten to indefinite charges of unfairness, partial
ity, neglect, or anything Of the kind. Hence
when we have heard complaints against sur
geons, nurses, matrons, sanitary officers, etc,
we have allowed the tales to float by rs the
idle wind, hoping and believing that such COM
plainings were but the almost inseparabe ac-
compartments of much of the camp-lile to
which our heretofore active young soldiers are
subjected, and that the complainings are not
so much the fruits OF an evil heart, as of rest
less, impatient and earnest spirits, irritated by
non-acton and chatting for that active employ
ment both of mind and muscle, to which they
have been accustomed.
But we cannot thus brush aside and dispose
of specific and definite statements of fact,
which come to us in soberness, wrung from in
jured soldiers, whose word would have weight
in any court of justice, whose integrity has
never been impeached, and whose courage has
never been found wanting. We say then, that
we have the most indubitabe evidence of the
grossest injustice aud criminality practiced by
men whose Office it is specially to protect the
health and comfort the soldier-crimes which,
committed here athome, would doom the guilty
TO public eyecration If not to a public
prison, and which show how sadly misplaced
in some instances, have been the bestowal of
official honors, and the authority and emolu-
,,fS ;al a
We should be guilty of injustice to meritori-
Gus parties did we not speak more definitely.
We will state, therefore, that some ofthe truest
and noblest specimens OF manhood that can be
found in the ranks Of the Sd Maine Regiment,
have felt compelled to caution their friends
against sending forward boxes of comforts in
tended for the soldiers, to be placed in charge
of certain officers who have been accustomed
to take the supervision of such contributions
when they have arrived at their destination.
In some instances persons at home, who could
lily afford to do so, have purchased jeles, pre-
serves, dried fruits, cordials, wines, oranges,
lemons, &c, also shirts, drawers, and other
comfortable and needed articles of apparel and
forwarded them to their friends, or for the use
of the sick; and in some instances, those for
whom they were intended never have seen the
first article. New shirts and draws have been
appropriated by officers, sometimes sold for a
good price; the same with the jellies, pre-
serves, &C.; and it is asserted that in one in
stance, at least, a man connected with the sur
geon's department actually became intoxicated
ON the wine intended for invalid soldiers.
We are not disposed to be more specific at
present, although by vagueness the guilty alone
may not suffer- But if innocent officers will
allow such iniquities TO pass without prompt
exposure, so that correction may follow, they
must expect 10 share the blame due TO others
only. We have excellent authority for saying
that one company officer, at least, is not in the
best of ordor with his fellow-ofiicers, because
he is so singular and so silly that he will in
sist upon having the rights of his men recog-
med, and will not allow them to be played
upon them in his power to prevent it. This,
with some, is not officer-like, though he is ex-
ceedingly popular with his men. In one city
where two tons OF boxes filled with articles de-
signed to make the soldiers comfortable, have
DeeH ioTWrTueu, IN consequence OF the COM
plants that have come home, and the cautions
againsts ending such articles aswe have referred
to, the whole system of aiding the soldiers in
the field is being changed.
We would not have alluded to this matter,
but for the numerous appeals made to us by
mothers whose sons have been the victims of
this misplaced confidence, and of other friends
of the soldier who feel that they have right
to be heard. We know some will say these
are only soldiers complaints, but let such re-
member that ii is the soldier who does the
fighting, who lives the closest, and who re-
ceiyes the least for it, 1t is the soldier who
has the fewest opportunities to make his
grievances known. Officers can look out for
their rights, and know how to get redress for
their wrongs
1t has been with no pleasant feelings that we
have penned the above. We have withheld
testimony, in our hands, because we would on
ly call attention to the matter with sufficient
distinctness to secure, if possible, a reforma-
ton. We have no desire to injure any one,
but it would be criminal in us to keep silent, in
view of facts susceptible of the most indubta-
BILE proofs.
We know that in some regiments such com
plants do not exist. They are Fortunate
Such comDlainfs should NOT exist anywhere -