Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1876-02-02

IL wv hau W Duy our own soap Tor was
10 ing gourpersons and clothing we boug
to meat and eggs and biscuit. The
10 seemed to be abundance OF those thing
Y, they were in the market CONSTANT
" That Sergeant used to come down vii
Ic a wagon load Of potatoes at tim
% bringing twenty or twenty-five bnshe
20 at load sometimes"
l. Now, sir, Mr. Davis himself aluds
70 to that privilege which was allowed {
" the Federal soldiers. Tho Confcderat
$. authorities not only allowed them |
d purchase supplies as they pleased on
> side, in addition to the rations allowe
them by law--the same rations allowe
TO Confederate soldiers--but be saw,
y "By an indulgence perhaps unprcc,
I dcnted, we have even allowed tho pri
I oners IN our hands 10 be supplied b
J. their friends at home with comfort
0 not enjoyed by the men who capture
| thcm in battle"
I The Confederate government CAV
Federal prisoners the same rations tina
Confederate soldiers in the field re
T ceivcd Federal prisoners had permis
sion to buy whatever else they pleased
) and the Confederatcs gave their friend
) at home permission TO furnish them tn
means to do so. And yet, Mr.. Speaker
J it is true that, in spite of all these ad
! vantages enjoyed by these prisoners
there were horrors, and great horrors
at Andosonville. What were the causes
of those horrors? /? The first was wan
OF medicine. That is given as caus,
by DIR. Jones in his testimony that /.
given by this very Father Hamilton
from whom the gentleman from Maine
read. In the very same testimony
which the gentleman read, Father
Hamilton says:
III conversed with Dr. White with
regard TO the condition of the men,
and he told me it was not in his power
to do anything for them; that he had
no medicine, and could not get any, and
tbathe was doing everything in hispow-
er to help them" 8ht'
Now, how was IL that medicines and
other essential supplies could not be
obtaincd9 Unfortunately they were
not in the Confederacy. The Federal
government made medicine contra band
Of war. And ] am not aware that any
other nation on the earth ever did such
n thing beforc--not even the Duke Of
Alva, sir The Confederate govern
ment uDabh TO introduce medicines
according to its right under the laws
Of nations, undertook to run the block.
ade, and whenever possible the Fedora,
navy captured its ships and took the
medicines. Then, when no other re.
source was left, when ii was suspected
that the women of the Norh--the
earth's angels, God bless them--would
carry quinino and other medicines of
that sort, so much needed by the Fed
eral prisoners in the South, Federal of.
ficers were charged to capture the wo-
men and examine their petticoats, 10
keep them from carrying medicines
to Confederate soldiers and Federal
prisoners, and they were imprisoned.
Surely, sir the Confederate govern.
mcnt and the Southern people are not
to be blamed for poverty in medi-
cines, food and raiment enforced by the
stringent war measures of the Federal
government-a poverty which had its
intended effect OF immeasurable distress
to the Confederate armies, although ii
incidentally inflicted unavoidable dis
tress upon the Federal prisoners in
the South.
The Federal government made cloth
ing contraband Of war II sent down
its armies and they burned up the fac
tories Of the South whereverthey could
find them, for the express purpose of |
the Confederates from fur
nishing clothes TO their soldiers, and |
the Federal prisoners of course shared
this deprivation of comfortable cloth
ing. Ii was the warpolicy of the Fed
eral government to makesupplies scarce
Dr. Jones in his testimony and Father
Hamilton in his testimony, which /
will not stop TO read to the House, ox-
planned why clothing was so scarce to
Federal prisoners.
Now then, sir, whatever horrors cx-
sted at Andersonville, not one of them
'ouid be attributed to single act of
eglslatlon OF the Confederate govern
nent or to single order Of the Con
crate government, but every horror
u Andersonville grew out Of the ne
'essities oil the occasion, which neces-
ities were cast upon the Confederaoy
y the war policy of the other side.
ne gentleman from Maine said that
10 Confederate prisoner was ever NAL
reated IN the North. And when my
rend answered from his seat, "a thou
ana witnesses TO the contrary in Geor-