The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-02-08

be given in exchange. ut is hard on our
men held in Southern prisons" said GRANr
in an Official communication, mot TO
exchange them; but IL is humane TO
those left in the ranks to fight our
battles. II we commence system
of exchanges which libcrates all prisoners
taken, we will have to fight on until the
whole South is cxtcrminatcd. If we hold
those caught. thcv count for no more than
dead men" 81 did not he said, on an
other occasion, "decm it advisable or just
TO reinforce the enemy; and an immediate
resumption of exchanges would have had
that effect without any corresponding
benefit"
This evidence must be taken ns conclu-
sive. IL proves that it was not the Con-
fedcrate authorities who insisted on keep
| ing our prisoners in distress, want, and
disease, but the commander OF our own
armies. We do not say that his reason for
this course was not valid that is not now
the question; but IL was not JEFFERSON
| DAVIS or any subordinate or associate of
his who should now be condemned for IT..
| We were responsible ourselves for the
continued detention of our captivcs in
| South.
Moreover, there IL no evidence whatever
| that IL was practicable for the Confederate
authorities to feed our prisoners any bet
ter than they were fed, or to give them
better care and attention than they re-
ceivcd. The food was insufficient; the
care and attention were insufficient, no
doubt; and yet the condition of our pris-
oners was not worse than that of the Con-
federatc soldiers in the field. except in so
far rs the condition of those in pri, on must,
| of necessity, be worse than thatof men who
are free and active outside.
| Again. in reference to those cases OF OK -
treme suffering and disease, the photo
| graphs Of whose victims were so extern
sively circulated among us toward the end
Of the war Mr.. DAVIS makes, 1t seems to
us, n good answer. Those very unfortu-
nate men were not taken from prisons
but from Confederate hospitals. where
| they had received the same medical treat
ment rs was given to sick and wounded
| Confederate soldiers. The fact mentioned
| by Mr.. DAVIS that while they had 90 zoo
| more prisoners of ours than we of theirs,
the number of Confedcratcs who died in
| our prisons exceeded by 5000 the whole
number of Union soldiers who died in
Southern prisons, though not entirely con
elusive. since our men were generally bet
ter fed and in better health than theirs
still furnishes a strong support TO the posi-
ton that, upon the whole, our men were
not used with greater severity or subjected
to greater privations than were inevitable
in the nature Of the case. OF this charge
therefore, OF cruelty to prisoners, so often
brought against Mr.. DAVIS, and reiterated
by Mr.. BLAINE IN his speech, we think IA,
must be held altogether acquitted.
There are other things In his letter moi
essential 10 this question, expressions OF
political opinion and intimations of views
upon larger subjects, which it is not neces-
sary that we should discuss. We are
bound, however, TO say that in elevation
| OF spirit, in sincere desire for the tota
restoration of fraternal feeling and unit )
between the once warning parts OF the re-
| public, Mr.. DAVIES letter - infinitely sape
rior and infinitely more creditable to him
both IA n statesman ana man, than any
thing that has recently fallen from sucl
antagonists and critics Of his as Mr.
BLAINE.