The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1872-09-07

nually revamps the tawdy shreds and
thread-bare patches OF old cslumuies.
with the royal purple hues of his ever.
fresh and ever-aowing maliRnity. de-
olares that Mr.. Greeley must be defeated
because he went bail for Jefferson Davis.
Tor the reason that Jefferson Davis had
done things that placed him 'soutside
the pale OF humanity" Said Mr.. Nor.
ton:
when the men Of Indiana and of
othcr States, who had been captured
upon the field Of battle, were languish-
ing and dying in rebel prisons-in Cas-
TIE Thunder, Belle Isle, in the CITY of
richmond, in view of the window of the
JeHerscn Davis mansion, almost within
stones throw-dying from starvation,
perlshing from disease, and nakedness,
and neglect; suffering tortnres and inhu.
manlties that have not been excelled !:
that have not been equaled in civil life; !;
Davis, with full knowledge of this,
having 1t In his power 10 remedy it,
turned from them with Indifference, and
suffered the men OF Indiana and other
states to die like rotten sheep. And
they did die, and their bones lie buried
at Richmond, at Andersonyille. and
other prison-pens in the South. X
it.; he could not help knowing it: and
yet. knowing it. and with tho ability to
prevent this suffering and this death. he
permitted it to go ON, and ia inst as
much responsible for the the murder of
those men as if he had taken the knife
into his own hands and plunged it into
their bosoms. And vet this ia
the man, this the moral monster. whose
like cannot be found in the pages of mo-
dern history, that Mr.. Greeley rushed
from New York to Richmond to have the
privilege OF going upon his bondl'
Now, without waiting for any one to
rise and explain if this lie sample of
the way the Administration orators pro.
pose to clasp hands across the bloody
chasm, or If such speeches as this are q
fair Interpretation Of what they under
stand by letting us have peace, we do
propose to examine briefly the specific
charges made in this infamous appeal to
burnt-out passions. The Senator lays it
down ~ that Greeley went out OF his
way to 60 bail for "moral monster;"
~ that Jefferson Davis is o smoral
monster" because he is responsible for
the sufterings endured by our prisoners
in the South.
We are willing to accept the msjor
premises of this double proposition,
that he is "moral monster who was
responsible for this state of things.
There were too persons responsible foi
these awful and prolonged sufferings,
hnt Mother of these two was Jefferson
Davis. One of them is man who is
dead and has gone to his account, and
whose name is called Edwin Nj. Stanton.
The other is Ulysses s. Grant, President
OF the United States, and aspirant for
second term. This is history, in spite of
DR.. Lieber's gnrblipg hands. This is
history, in spite of B. F. Buffers dearly
purchased silence. This is history, and
it will one day be written and recorded
and universally known for such. in spite
OF doctored Confederate records, and of
all the forays made upon the War De.
partment archives by Leet and Badeau.
The exchange of prisoners ceased the
hour that Grant became General-in-
Chief. His avowed motive was that he
could better afford to fill his army with
green recruits, and let his captured men
lie rotting. than, by an exchange, reple-
nlsh the Confederate ranks with trained
veterans. It was good policy, perhaps,
but 1t was policy that murdered our un-
happy prisoners. The rebels offered any
sort of terms of exchange They said
they bad no bread nor meat for their
own troops, much less for their captives.
They agreed to exchange the negroes.
They submitted to deal with Butler.
They consented to waive their claims on
account OF paroled men. They begged
for an exchange. They demanded it for
mercy's sake and humanity's. They
cast formality and punctilio to the winds,
and only said: "Your men are dying on
our hande; for Gods sake and for pity's
sake, help us to relieve theml" But mol
Stanton feared that the coils of the ana.
conda would be relaxed if the hand of
mercy were permitted to touch one of
his soaly folds, and the implacable Grant
sat and smoked, determined that Lees
army should not be reinforced, though
the shrieks Of Andersonville and Sails
bury mounted to Heaven.
1t was good policy, and it was policy
that won in the end. But it was cruel,
hard policy, and perhaps deserves to be
considered the work of q "moral mons.
ter" It was work that nearly drove
kinder-hearted men mad. It made Lin
coin weep, and deepened the melancholy
lines in that sorrow-furrowed face. It
racked Horace Greeley's heart till he
cried aloud ."This must be stopped. The
nation 10 10 .,