The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1865-02-10

eet requires Il Gyon u tAoy carried out /
the arrapgemene II good faith, oar pra
oners ars nearly oil ar in ths interior.-
With Tho otnost sndeavem. By tslegnph- |
ing 70 and fro, and stimulating negligent
sgests, IL requires from twesty-fve to |
f,sty days 70 sand : ittle package from
Riohmo1d 10 Salisbury by express. The
winter would b long past before blan-l
kst or pound Of food could rsach the
prisoners, and at the present rate Of NOR
talisy and enlistment 10 the rebel army,
how many would be left
But whore is the remedy We seek? II
believe there are two, and only two ade-
quate ones. The FIRST is an immediate
general exchaDge-not an exchange at
the usual rate Of official business, which
will leave half orr prisoners to die before
it reaches them-but one which shall re-
turn to as all the Salisbury sufferers
within two weeks, and every prisoner in
the South within month
The other is an immediate special re-
taliasion. not upon the rebel private sol
diers /; they belong to the middle and
poorer classes of the South, who we're
| never specially hostile to US; who are
falling off, more and more rapidly from
the support of the war; whoare our only
sure aud trustworthy peace makers. Re-
taliation upon them would be unavailing
as we'll as undeserved. The Richmond
authorities care nothing for them, except
as they represent muskets, and often treat
them almost as barbarously as they do our
| prisoners.
The rebel officers are our effective ma
teriai. Hurt them, and Richmond shrieks.
Almost to man, they belong to that class
which brought on the war, which controls
the war, and which, in spite OF all the
white winged messengers between Bangor
and Oregon, will continue the war, just
as long as they can keep any considerable
army in the field. Submission, for them,
means exterminalipn-no: as men, bat as
the controlling political and social power
OF the South.
They will fight now just as earnestly as
ever--not with their old confident expec-
tstion of early and complete success, but
with begged, desperate, Micaw ber-llks
hope that. as in the past, so in the flu
ture. at the hour Of their extreme nsed,
something will turn up in their iavor.--
Let our Government, for example, be able
to say to JEFF. Davis
We have selected from yolr officers
In our hands the equivalent, as estab-
llshed by the cartel, for our privates whom
you hold in Salisbury. We give them,
as nearly as possible. the same food, The
same clothing, the same shelter and the
same fuel. We shall continue to do this
until yeu furnish Us satisfactory evidence
that you are giving to our soldiers, as far
As your resources will permit. the treat
ment due to prisoners of war"
Will this remedy the evil? There are
two presidents which may Throw some
light Ion it.. When the rebel s bad Sc
leeted Sawyer and Flynn for e ecution,
our Government did not protest or threat
en-, but quietly ordered the ommandant
at Fortress Monroe, the moment be
should learn that they had carried out the
menace, To. execute Lee and ANinder.-
Un that summer morning at dayli ght
when we learned oil this action, one up
roarions and Spontaneous shout Of deligh,
went up from the inmates Of Libby pris-
on. We were satisfied that they would
never harm hair of the heads OF Sawyer
and Flynn, and they never did.
| One day last Summer the Richmond
authorities received letter running in
this wise
Learning that you have placed certain
negro soldiers of the United States at
work on your notifications under fire,
hereby iuform you"-what That |
protest against sl" No. "Thal / pro-
pose 10 appoint commissioners to adjust
itW No. THAT we will retaltate un-
less you stop it?" No. But i" / hereby
inform you that / hare placed 40 equal
namber Of your officers a, work on my
Notifications under FIRE, and shh bill keep
them there till you extend to the negro
soldiers the treatment due to prisoners of
war. And have the honor to be. sir.
very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Benjamin +. Batler, Maj. Gen. com
mandipg Before that days s IN went
down in Richmond the negroes were put
back in Libby prison, with the other
prisoners of war, aud they never were
placed in the Notifications again.
| would not speak dognaticaily upon
this subject. 1 know that there are en-
oarrassments attending it, and that no
mans ipse diris can afford certain solu.
ton of the problem But there is no time
for delay. Our Salisbury prisoners are
dying at the rate Of ID per cent month.
They enlist in the rebel army-driren
there. BY hunger and cold--at an equal
rate. Aside from all considerations of
humanity, ~ portion of our military
power, they are being extinguished at the
rate OF IS per cent. . month--an aruu
ment which even Mr.. Stanton must an
preciate.
We enforce from the soldier his duty
to the Government. When he fails in Il
we shoot him. Are there those who for
get that the Government owes CORE
spending duty. and one equally binding,
TO the soldier-the duty of protection
II this question is postponed and dal-
lied with. it will be stain upon the ma
tons honor, and needless and nexcusa-
h