Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1863-11-23
rhe tederal prisoner..

The condition of the Federal prisoners in the
Southern prisons, both officers aud men, espe-
cially those in Richmond. should excite the atten-
ton ofthe country Weare happy to notice that
the rebel authorities have recently permitted them
to receive clothing and blankets, which will in
measure alleviate their sufferings- They also
lack wholesome food, and in fact even suth-
Gent quantity of the kind that is furnished them
IL appears that this privation is a matter of ne
cessty on account of the scarcity of provisions in
Richmond, and we notice that it is proposed to
send the prisoners to points in the Confederacy
where food is plenty. if an exchange is not soon
effected. Tho inquiry here arises, whether our
Government has done its full duty to the unfor
tunate men who have become prisoners by the
reverses or the fate of war. Voluntarily they
came forward to sustain the Government
in the hour of its need, with every
assurance that the care, the protection
and the sympathy of the country should
follow them whatever might be the fortune to
which they should be subject. Why then are
these men permitted to laDguish in loathsome
prisons and many of them to die from disease,
for the want of necessary attention and the lack
cf proper foOd2 For months, thousands of our
fathers and brothers and sons have been in this
terrible condition, while hardly a thought has
been directed to them, worthy effort made
to secure their release 1t appears from the COR
respondence between the federal and rebel CON-
missioners that the exchange of prisoners has
stopped on account of some punctlio or differ
of opinion 80 the number to which each
section is entitled in the count. But while the
discussion of these issues is being procrastinated
from month to month, men enduring the
sufferings and prvations to which we have alud
ed We say it is better to yield point in regard
to what we may claim as our rights in
the exchange of prisoners, even to con-
cede greater number to the rebels
than that to which they are entitled, rather
than the Federal soldiers should be longer held
in captivity, under the circumstances they
are and have been An earnest demand of this
kind should be made of the Administration.
Contrast the scenes which have recently occurred
in Washington, and similar exhibitions are daily
taking place all the country, with those that
are transpiring in the prisons of Richmond. The
munifeence of the wedding of the daughter of
Cabinet officer, rivaling the splendor of royal en-
tertainments, in which the high dignataries of the
land took part, where all was JOY and hilarity,
sounds strange upon the ear, when we turn to the
rebel capital, knowing that there there in con
fnement brave and gallant men, who have risked
life and health to protect our own from the ene-
my, and to whom a crust of bread would be
luxury. Yes, they would gladly feast upon the
crumbs which fall from rich Mr.. CHAsEs table,
This revelry at such time is not right, is not
manly, is not Christian
Have the public heart and the public conscience
become callous to the scenes of misery and the
most every breeze and from every section Of
the land? The staying of thousands and the
wounding of tens of thousands have beee so
often told that the occurrence of such terrible
events hardly exctes a ripple upon the heart,
and grief is rarely felt except in the households
where some loved one has become victim. 1t
is not right to require captive soldiers to
suffer as they have and are suffering. The
an appeal should be made for their prompt re
lease which cannot be resisted 1t is well to
mourn the gallant dead and rear appropriate
monuments TO their memory, but let US not
meanwhile forget the living who have every
claim upon our sympathy and who have the
right to expect tie care and aid of those in au-
thority