Brownlow's Knoxville Whig, and rebel ventilator. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1863-1866, 1865-02-01


I3oesan aud imperial Now York, to 60 % chat.
fsring with poor, Har-strieken, starving Sa.
ganba for the food she needs fgr her famished
citizens No, sir; j should as soon have ex-
pentcd the fond father in the parable. that
/ Iuveliest page Ia the saercd volume. 10 drive
bargain with bis returning son for meal
ohsietuals cut Of the fatted calf Let Us
offer il 70 them freely, not in the spirit Of
aims giving. bnt as pledge Of faternal
feeling, aud as an earnest Of our disposition
% resume all the kind offices Of fellow-citi-
senship with our returning brethren. Do
you say that they were lately our enemies7
! am well convinced that the majority, the
! great majority, were so bat nominally But
what Il they were our enemies2 sIf thine
enemy hunger, feed him; If be thirst, give
him drink, especially #hen be has laid
down his arms and submits 10 your power.
Aud hops we may never have to retalate
in any other way the cruelties Of starvation
practieed upon onr poor prisoners Moth
Ing 80 plainly shows the ruthless spirit Of
the leaders Of the rebellion ab the manner
IN which our prisoners Of war have been
treated at some Of the dspots. The ae-
counts Of these crnelties which have reached
as, hare, of course been contradicted, but
know them TO be trns know Il from some
Of the living victims Of these cruelties. A
young officer exchanged from Libby-a per-
son as well entitled to credit as any one,
high or low In Office, priest or layman, by
whom his account has been or eau be con-
tradieted--assurcd me that the statement
30 frequently made Of the cruel manner in
which our prisoners were treated in that
prison are uncxaegefaied An officer, re-
Gently escaped from Columbia. informed q
friend Of mine, who repeated Il 10 me last
Saturday, that the allowance even to officers
was a very small quantity Of uncOoked cob
meal daily, with aspooniuI Of sorghum syr-
up. Tho condition in which the returned
prisoners come back 10 us--their wasted
frames, their snnken eyes, their neryelees
Iimhs--shows that il Is the settled policy Of
the rebel leaders 10 send them home broken
down body and mind and unfit for service
In other words, to keep them out Of the
grave just long enough to bc exchanged for
rebel prisoner, who will return better fed
and clothed than be was at homo, hale and
hearty, aud ready 80 take the field. That
such is the case with the Southern prisoners
of war at depots, had some opportunity
TO know personally. The prisoners at Fort
Warren arc as well housed and fed, as far as
sabktantials are concerned, a. nine-tenths
Of the people OF observation-disclosures is,
they have comfortable shelter, space for
exercise, adequate clothing, and food, ami
nal and vegetable, in abundance visited
S4UIp 9pugIass Dear Chicago. at time
fined there They had twenty acres Of
ground for exercise and games in which
they chose TO indulge They had cOmforta-
bic baFrasks | saw western hams by the
cart-Ioad unloaded into their store-rooms,
and passed through their quarters Just at
dinner hour. The tables Certainly were not
spread with daInask table cloths, nor set out
with porcelain or cut glass, nor did taste
the food but jHdging from looks and smell,
Il was as wholesome and sayory - / ever
wish 70 see on my own table, and in quan-
tity and quality il was equal to that Of the
Union regiments that guarded the depot.
similar state OF things, was informed
by an intimate friend Of mine, an officer
high ia the public service, Exists at John
sons Island, in Lake Erie have also
heard from Trustworthy sources similar ae-
counts of the treatment Of the prisoners At
Fort Delaware Mr. Davis made il q CON-
plant in one Of his messages, that Southern
prisoners were confined at pace so far
north as Fort johnson He did not appear to
remember that Milien and AndersonYiIle, in
summer, might be as trying 90 q Northern
constitution as Fort Johnston to Southern
constitution in winter, and II is acurious fact,
officially aseertaiusd, that the proportion Of
persons frozen TO death Is greater at the
South than the North, in consequence Of
eur moro eifectual precautions 10 resist the
cold / mention these facts the rather now
-.
cur prisoners at the South an attempt is
making 10 pcrsssde the sympathizing class
es 10 EaroPe that Southern prisoners ars
made to suffer at the North. Now, sir,
believe that the best way in which VIC can
retaIiate upon the South for the cruel treat
ment of our prisoners is for rs 10 eontinne
to treat their prisoners with entire humani-
Is and all reasonable kindness, and not only
so, bat 10 seiEe every opportunity Ike the
present to 20 beyond this Indeed, il Is no
more than our duty to treat she prisoners
we'll The law OF nations requires it. The
Government that refuses or negieets Il does
not deserve the name of civilized Even
inability is no Justification. If you are
yourself 81 exhausted that you cannot sup
pIy your prisoners with Sufficient quanti-
ty Of wholesome Food, you are bound, with
or without exchange. 10 set him free. You
have no more right 10 starve him than 10
ta,isaa him. II viii, however, be borne in
mind that while the hard fare of our pris-
oners is defended by the Southern leaders
ON the ground that il il as COED as that of
i their own soldiers, at the same time they
maintain that their harvests are abundant
/ and their armies well fed. There is no
merit in treating prisoner with common
humanity ID is simply infamous and wicked
! 10 treat him otherwise. While We take no
/ credit 10 ourselves thai We do not Htarye
/ our prisoners. lot us show that We are glad
Of 8 chance 10 minister TO the wants OF our
fellow citizens Of the South when we are
! - -. ..a...f "a Ef.,atss.n 40 10 81