Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1864-11-07


fas REASON FOB rue EESEcfIoN-rnE NEcRc
the ONLY OBSTACLE.
I G wrongs, indlgnities and pr
vations suffered by our (whtc) sold. r,
would move me to consent I" anything t.
procure their exchange. EXCEPT to barter
away the honor and faith Of the Govern.
ment oi the United States, which has been
soiemnly pledged to the COLURED soldiers
in its ranks.
BENZ. +. Bu LER,
Maj. Gen. and Agent Of Exchange
All other questions between
Us may be postponed for future settlement,
but the fair exchange Of cotortd soldiers and
Of their white officers will be insist, on BY
the Government BEFORE ANOTHER REB-
Ell SOLDIER OR OFFICER WILL BE
EXCHANGED
WILLIAM WHITING,
Solicitor Of the War Department
now TIE WHITE SOLDIERS sUFfER AND DIE
From the mei.or:al u the thirty hyd thousand
peris.ing prisoners in the Pen Of 'esiiience
and Famine. u; A8dersonyiiic, 1a.
THE SITUATION OF THE MIN.
To The Prssiieat OF tae United .,tttts:
These thirty &c
thousand are confined in field Of some
thirty acres. enclosed by board fence.
heavily guarded. About onc-,h,rd have
various kinds OF indifferent shelter, or even
iade Of any kind, and are exposed to the
storms ana rams. which are IF almost daily
occurrence; the cold dcws Of the night and
tn, mere terrible effects of the sun striking
with almost tropical fer, cncss upon their
unprotected heads. This mass Of men JOS
7 4, al.
limits Of their enclosure, IN storm or sun.
anu others lie down upon the pitileSs earth
at night with no other covering than the
clothing upon their backs, few Of them raw
.ng even Blanket. Thou
sands are without pants or coat, and hun
dreds without even pair OF drawers to
cover their nakedness.
TIE sCANTy RA1IoSs.
To these men, as indeed to all prisoners,
there is issued three-quarters of pound Of
bread or meal, and one-eigh,h of pound Of
meat per day This is The entire ration.
and npon it the prisoner NUS live or die
The in-4' is often unSiftcd AMI sour, and
the Lle.t such as il the North is consigned
to the soapmaker.
SICKNESS AND DEATH.
But TO starvation and exposure to sun
and storm. add the sickness which prevails
to most alarming ard terrible extent On
AN AVERAGE ONE HUNDRED DIE
DAILY. 1t needs no comment.
no efforts at word paint ne. to make such
picture stand out boldly in the most horrible
colors.
DESPAIR AND IDIocy-DEATn couRTED.
They are fast losing hope. and becoming
utterly reckless Of life. Numbers, crazed
by their suiicrings. wander about in state
.: idiocy; others deliberately cross The
dead line" and are remorselessly shot
down.
THE CHARACTER OF THE MEN LEFT TO sUcn
FATE By LINCOLN.
Few Of them have BEEN captured except
in the front of battle, in deadly encounter
and only when overpowed by numbers.
They constitute Is gallant = position Of our
armies as carry our banners anywhere. Ii
released, they would soon return to the ar
my again to do vigorous battle for our cause
WHY THEY SUFFER- ASD DIE-THE MN UNDER
STAND TIE REAsoN-rnE NEGRO
We are told that 1.-The only obstacle in
the way Of our exchange is the status Of ne-
gro soldiers captn'e ed from our armies" the
United States claiming that the cartel covers
al who ser under its flag. and the Con
irtlerate States refusing to consider the COL
orcd soldiers. heretofore slaves, as prisoners
Of war.
THE >RGRo PRISONERS FOR WHOM OUR wulrE
MEN ARE sACRIEicED-How THEY L.vE
AxD ARE CARED FOR.
The blacks, on the contrary, are seldom
imprisoned. They are distributed among
the citizens, or employed on government
works. Under these circumstances they re-
cei,e enough to eat and are worked no
harder than they have been Accustomed o
he. They are neither starved nor killed eff
hy the pestience in the dungeons Of Rich
n,ond and Charleston. 1t is true they are
again made slaves but their slavery Is FREE
dom and happiness compared with the cruel
existence imposed upon our gallant men.
They are not bsreft OF hope, as are the white
soldiers. dying By piecemeal. Their chances
Of escape are tenio!d greater than those Of
the white soldiers, and their condition, in
all its lights, is tolersble in compar. son with
that OF the prisoners Of war now anguish
ing in the denS and pcns # secession.
VIEWS AND CONCLUSIONS OF THr MEMOIR .LIsas
We are profoundly impressed
with heronvictiou that the circumstances
1.-THE two classes Of soldiers are 50 widely
different that the government can honorahly
consent to an exchange, waving for stirsc
the cs,ab ishcd principle justly claiming to
he apf -lisable in the case Let thirty i've
thousand suffering, starving and dying en-
listed men aid this appeal. By prompt and
decided sction in their behalf. thirty five
Thousand heroes will be male happy. For
the eight hundred commissioned officers now
ps isoners we urge nothing. Although de-
slrous Of returning to our duty, We can bear
imprisonment with moro fortiiude if the en-.
listed men, whose sufferings we know to be
intolcrable, were RESTORED to liberty and to
life. 1et