The National tribune., 1882-09-28
BLAINE AT TOPEKA.
An Interesting Speech the Sufferings OF UNION
Men at AndersOnviie.


At the meeting of the Association of ez-
Prisoners of War, held at Topeka, has''
in connection with the soldiers Reunloll'
Mr.. Blaine spoku with more than MS
usual impressiveness. He began by say
ing he thought the man in the late war
whose sacrifice was the greatest was the one
who was taken prisoner and forced to serve
term in rebel prison pen. The history OF all
wars is that the keenest anguish was suHereu
by those who were unfortunate enough to 1"ii
into the hands of the enemy. Our tore1athefs
of the Revolution were treated, when prisoners
of war, with a cruelty which seems strange at
this day. The English prison ship in New
York Bay was an English Andersonville.
Boston Corbett. 1t wasn't seventeen acres
in extent though.
Mr.. Blaine. No; nor was it so bad in any
way as Andersonville. The English floating
prison was afterward burned by representatives
of our Government and here l wish to say
word in favor of the rebel authorities when
was that they made haste to wipe out all evil
dences of AndersOnville, and [ am informed
that but slight traces of the infamous place re-
main. 1t is to their credit that they strove TO
erase all traces of this place but the fact stands
that they cannot wipe out the memory OF IL.
Every prisoner in rebel pen should have
personal memoir written down and placed IN
the State Historical Society; for 1 suppose you
have one in Kansas for safe-keeping. This
should be that men will know that these MEM
ories are not to be forgotten. The soldier IN
war is always great sufferer, even If not cap
tured by the enemy. OF all the sad fates which
befall man in it, is that which subjects him
to die in an enemy's prison before he learns
the result of the contest he is waging. To me,
a survivor of AndersOnville is miracle. We
have a record of that Infamous pen, and IN
great part we are indebted to Gen. Shanks, OF
Indiana, who was instrumental in having the
Congressional Inquiry Committee appointed,
which gave the world at least partial history
of it, The English language does not record
parallel to the history of the sutferings of our
men there. What made Andersonville appear
so bad in the eyes of the world is that the
North always treated its prisoners humanely.
The civilization of the nineteenth century had
| obtained with our Government. No man VINO
was in the rebel army and was incarcerated IN
| a Northern prison can say that his rations
| were ever shortened; that he was ever NAL
! treated or had clothing denied him. We did
right in not retaliating on their prisoners, but
should have wreazed vengeance upon the au-
thors of the sufferings of our boys. There was
no justification for this rebel cruelty. Our first
great strength was physical, in putting down
the rebellion; our second, moral in the fol
giveness of those who had fought against this
| preservation of the Union. Those who fought
the battles for the preservation of the country
have now the pleasure of witnessing better
feeling prevailing between the North and South
than has been known since the beginning of
the slavery agitation in 1920. We all know
now that the war has done its perfect work.
| We can forgive if we cannot forget.