Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-01-26

ever tnoy wanted. Inc only answer ne
would give to that, was thfS he himself
had once had the honor Of being in
prison in the North, and on the first
day of his imprisonment the officer ia
charge of the prison had kindly told
him he would put him on An6ersonville
fare, and would not allow him to buy
anything.
He then proceeded to discuss the
cause of the horrors at Andersonville.
He said tsSat the first cause was want
of medicine, but the fault is that they
could not get medicine. They did not
have medicine in the Oonfederacy, and
the Federal government had made
medicine a contraband of war, thing
which no other country on earth had
ever done before. Not even the Duke
of Alva had done such a thing. Even
the Federal officers had received in
structions to examine women passing
through the line, to search their petit
coats even, SO as to prevent their carry
ing medicine to the Confederacy. Who,
he asked, was responsible for that?
There was also another misfortune,
and that was want of clothing. Cloth
ing Of course had been made contra
band OF war. He declared that what
ever horrors had existed at Anderson
vile, not one of them could be attribut-
ed to single order of the Confederate
Government, and that every one of them
grew out OF the necessity of the occa-
sion, which necessity was fastened on
the Oonfederacy by the conduct of the
other side. He challenged Mr.. Blaine
to meet him face to face and fact to
fact, in the discussion Of the question,
declaring that the time was past when
the country would accept the i'm
pudence of assertion for the force of ar
6ument, or recklessness of statement
for the truth of history. He (HilD
did not wan. to unfold the chapter on
the other side. He was an American
who honored his country, and it was
not pleasant for linn to bring forward
proof that any portion of his country
had been guilty of willful crime, or will
full il-treatment of poor manacled pris-
oners. Many of these horrors were
inseparable from q state of war, and he
wanted the people to recoIlect that, so
that hereafter they should not be hur-
ried into another war. Still as set off
to the gentleman (Blaine's) statement
about Andersonville, he would read
some extracts from letter written by
Confederate surgeon who was pris-
oner of war at Elmira. He read por-
tons of that letter, in which it was
stated that the mortality Of Elmira was
no less than at Andersonville.
Mr.. Plat asked him who was the
author of the letter.
Mr.. Hill replied that he did not know.
/ Mr.. Plat declared, as living within
thirty-six miles of Elmira, that the
statements were unqualifedly false.
Mr.. Hill replied that he didn't say
the statements were true, but only that
they were as good as the statements
quoted on the other side. He merely
used them as set-off, but after all,
what was test as to the degree of mis-
cry suffered in the Northern ard South
ern prisons. The test was the result OF
the report of Mr.. Stanton, Secretary of
War. The Republican side of the
House will believe him.
he exhibited the fact of the Federal
prisoners in the hands of the Confeder-
ate authorities during the war, 22,576
| had died, and that of the Confederate
prisoners in Federal hands, &c, 1876 had
died. Surgeon General Barnes, Che
supposed the Republicans would De-
heve him. also had given the number OF
Confederate prisoners in Federal hands
during the war as 22O, OC0, and of Fed
eral prisoners in Confederate hands at
27O, 600. Therefore, out of 10000
| &olo ko Io l.,
%, SIG had died, while out of 22O, 900
Confederate prisoners in Federal hands
Is, 1876 had died. The ratio was IL per
cent. of Confederate prisoners In Fed
eral hands, and less than 9 per cent. of
Federal prisoners in Confederate hands,
and my friend, addressing Mr.. Blaire
with great emphasis) who is the murder
ar2 X X i
We know how our prisoners suffered
in federal hands, if we chose to tell.
| Thousands of our poor fellows came
home from Elmira, Fort Delaware and
other places, with their fingers frozen
off, with their toes frozen off, and with
their teeth falling out. But the real
question is at last, who was responsible
for that state of things, and that is real
~ the only important question.
He went on to discuss the history of
the exchange of prisoners, stating that
all propositions from the Confederates
for the exchange, and for the ameliora-
ton of the condition of prisoners, were
rejected by the Federal government.
Here Mr.. Blaine arose and inquired
if Mr.. Hill had been member OF the
Confed crate Senate, to which an affirm
alive reply was given.]
Blaine then proceeded to quote a
resolution offered in the Confederate
Congress by Senator Hill, of Georgia,
to the following effect: That every per-
son pretending to be soldier or an
officer of the United States, who shall
+. c"otured on the soil of the Confed-
eraJe States after the LIST of January,
1863, shall be presumed to have entered
the territory Of the Confederate States
with intent to incite insurrection and
to abet murder, and that unless satisfac-
tory proof be adduced to the contrary
before the military court before which
his trial shall be had. he shall suffer