Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1876-01-22

of the Confederate government on
the subject OF the treatment OF pris-
oners, il, which il is provided that
the rations for prisoners of war Shall
be the same i'm quintity and quality
as those furnished TO enlisted men III
the Army of the Confederacy. That
law, he said, was passed by the Con-
federate congress, was approved by
Mr.. Davis, and was, so far as Mi.
Davis agency was concerned, cXccu-
ted. The gentleman from Maine had
gone so far as TO say that Mr.. Davis
had sent ten. Wlnder to Anderson
vile for the purpose of organizing a
den of horrors. The answer TO that
was an order locating the prison,
which Mr.. Hill proceeded to read,
and which provided that it should be
in healthy locality, with plenty of
pure water, a running stream, and If
possible shade trees, and i'll the i'm
mediate neighborhood of grist AMI
saw mills. That, be said, did not
look like organizing den OF horrors.
Mr.. Blaine had said that no Conied-
crate prisoner in the hands of the
federal authorities had suffered, but
that they had always been allowed to
buy Whatever they wanted. The
only ansr'er he would pivo to that
was that he himself"had once the
honor of being a prisoner iii the
north. and Oh the first day of his i'm
prisonInent tie officer in charge OF
the prison had kindly told him that
he would rut him on Andersonv!lle
fare, and would not allow him to buy
anything. He (Mr. HilD only got
released from that Imprisonment al
ter ten days, before Gen. Dix, of New
York. He quoted the testimony OF
a Union soldier OH the W:rz trial,
to the effect that there never had
been any difficulty III getting vege-
! tables ut Andersonville. lie said
that the first cause was
81 THE WANT OF MEDICINE.
But whose fault was it that they
did not get medicine? They did not
have medicine i'll the Confedcrucy
and the federal government had made
medicine cOntraband of war-a thing
which no other country on.earth had
ever done before. Not even had the
Duke of 'Alva done such thing
Even federal officers resolved inStruc-
tions 10 examine women passing
through the. lines, to search thcil
petticoats, SO as to prevent them
bringing medicine to the Con
federacy. Who (he asked) was re.
sponsible for that? There was also
another misfortune, and that was the
want of clothing. Clotaing,o1 course.
had been made cOntraband of war
that whatever horrors had existed al
IAudersonvilie, not one of them coulc
be attributed to single order of the
Confederate government, and tina:
every one of Them grew out of the
necessity of the occasion, which he
cessity was fastened ON the Conted
4 crates by the conduct of the Othel
side. lie challenged Mr.. Blaine tt
meet him face to face and fact to fac
in the discussion of the question, de
claring that the time was past whei
the country could accept the
INPUDENCE OF ASSERTION
for force of argument, or the reck
lcssness of statement for truth o
history. He (Mr. HilD dld not wan
TO untold the chapter on the othc
side. He was all American VIII,
honored his country and his who'll
country, and it was not pleasant TO
him to bring forward proof that an,
portion of his country had been gull
ty'of willful crlme.or willful miStreat
ment of poor manacled prisoners
Most of those horrors were iuscpar
able frcm L state of war, and h,
wanted the people to recollect that
so that hereafter they should not b.
! hurried into another war. Stlll, as
set of to the gentlemau's (Mr
|Blaine's) statement about Anderson
vile, he would read some extract
from a letter written by Confeder
ate surgeon, who was prisoner Il
Elmira. He read portions of tia
letter, in which it was stated that til
mortality of Elmira was no less thal
at Audersonville.
Mr.. Platt, of New York, asked bin
who was the author of the letter.
Mr., Hill replied that he did no
know. .~t .
! Mr.. Platt declared, as living With
thirty-siA miles Of Eimira. that til
statements We're anqualitiedly false
i Mr.. Hill replied that he did not sa
the statements were true, but onl
that they were as Xood as the state
mcnts quoted on the other side. III
merely used them as set-otf. But
after all, what was the test as to tn
degree of misery suffered in north
ern and southern prisons. The ;ea
was , s..
J, THE RESULT.
The report OF Mr.. Stanton, secre
tary of war-the republican side q
the house will believe him-eXhi bite
the :act that Of the federal prisoners i
} the hands of the Confederate author
tiles during the war %, $50 had died
} and that OF the Confederate prisoner
i'll federal hands 26,436 had dice
Surgeon General Barnes-hc suppos
ed the republicans would believe hil
also-had given the number of Con
! federate prisoners III federal hand
} during the war as 220. 900, and of tn
federal prisoners III Confederat
27O,O 900 prisoners in Confederate hand
only 22, ,596 had died, while out OF tn
22O, 900 Confederate prisoners i'll fee
, cral hands 26, 1856 had died. The rati
was twelve per cent. of the COntet
crate prisoners i'll federal hands VIII
died, and less than nine per cent. .
the federal prisoners i'll Con:ederat
hands. Aud now, my friend, (at
, dressing Mr.. Blaine with great en
, phasis). who is the murderer?
would have believed General Barnt
i'll preference to any politician owe
there. The gentleman (Mr. Plat
says he lives thirty-siX miles ava
, from Elmira. Perhaps he could hay
, smelied the smallpox that far. fl
, certainly could not nave seen it, an
+ venture to say that if the small po
was at the PRISON camp no one coui
have got him nearer tnan thirty--i
miles. He is a wonderful witnes
uaughter.) Bat cit is not equal
the mutilatcd evidence which q
gentleman from Maine introduce
yesterday. We know how
f OUR PRISONERS SUFFERED
e in federal hands if VIC choose to ie
I Thousands of our poor fellows can
, home from Eilnira, Fort Deltwa
!, and other places with their tinYc
r frozen off, with their toes frozen {
s and with their teeth fallen out. III
t the great question is at last, WAC W:
e responsible for that state OF .hinm-
: and that is really the only imporIal
e question. Mr.. Hill went on TO eli
|. cuss the history of the exchange
. prisoners, dwelling on the fact til
y the "cartel.n which was establish,
i in 1862, was interrupted i'll 1868, al
= that the federal authorities rcfus,
| n l,n