Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1890-01-08
Jefferson Davis's Article.
COMPARISON BETWEEN ANDERsONvILLE
AND NORTHERN WAR PRISONS.

!
COMPARISON BETWEEN ANDERsoNvILLl
AND NORTHERN WAR PRISONS.
One of the last essays from the pen o
Hon. Jefferson Davis was on Henderson
vile and other War Prisons Itw writ
ten last summer for the North America,
RerieU, but, in consequence Of what Mr.
his reply to Lord Wolseley by the editor OF
odical and gave it to BelforPs Magazine, In
the January number of which the first par,
of it appears.
The facts given by Mr.. Davis are divided
into three groups. The first group are de-
signed to show, while no attempt is made
to deny the existence of great and needless
suffsrings, yet that they we're not owing to
any fault of tho Confederate authorities,
and, contrary to the common belief at the
North, neither the suffsrings nor the NOR.
tality among the Federal captured soldiers
in Confederate prisons were 80 great as the
suffsripgs and mortality among Confederate
prisoners in Federal prisons. The article
says:
States are more generally healthy than the
southern. Then, with eq1al means and
care in providing for the prisoners, it fol-
lows that the rate of mortality should have
been as the salubrity of the country. 1t
may bs presumed that all were ION duty
when captured, and the average Of the
wounded among the prisoners about the
same; therefore, that all were in condi-
ton to be benefited By rest and proper
treatment in favorable locality. What
was the result? According to the reports
of the United States War Department. the
relative numbers of prisoners and deaths
were in round numbers:
United States prisoners held by the Con-
federacy. ........ .ZIO,uVO
Confederate prisoners held by the United
states. .CuJ
United States prisoners died in Cjnfed-
crate hands,. ................ 80. Z2,Uo0
Confederate States prisoners died in Uni
ted states hanQs.,. .......... 10,UUu
"From this it appears that the Confeder-
ates: with an excess of so, 900 prisoners, had
1000 fewer deaths. This should not have
them had been equal; but, in every materi-
al respect-in food, in clothing. in shelter,
in medicine, in surgical instruments, and all
which free commerce contributes-the
North had greatly the advantage. Ouly
one element remains to account for the diff
ference--,are for the defence less; aud this.
in the depths of our restitution, never csas-
ed, as the world will appreciate whenever
impartial history shall render the justice
which contemporary pref ldice snd passion
have depied.'
Mr.. Davis briefly reviews the different
and earnest efforts he made to exchange
prisoners, and even to permit the medicines
needed to treat Federal prisoners to be in
troduced solely for their use and in charge
of Federal agents who should distribute
them, and be tells how every offer was re-
isctsd-even the petition of committee of
Audersosvll prisoners who were paroled
to GO to Washington to present their cou-
plants, at the request of the prisoners
themselves.
4 BAPTIST MINISTER AND EDITOR
DEALS HEAVY BLow.-Rev. E. A. Dick
insou, D. D., editor of the Religious Her.
aid, of Richmond. thus pays his respects to
another Baptist paper entitled, by mis-
homer, the Christian Inquirer
Honor done to Jefferson Davis is an in.
suit to our Government, which he endeavor-
ed to destroy. Since tie war he never ut
tered one repentent or loyal word. The
CHRISTIAN Inquirer.
Tuat's the way this New York Baptist
weekly, which names itself Christian,
closes an editorial i which it speaks of the
''infamy" Of the great man over whose
death millions of the American people are
nov mour1ing. If there is any such thing
as "infamy" in the premises it would seem
that the Christian Inquirer is seeking for
monopoly of it.
The editorial of the Examiner, to which
no fair-minded man can take exception,
more truly represents, we hope, the views
and feelings of the good people of thu
North.
By the way, will the Christion Inquirer
be good eoough to produce the name of a
single man, dead or living, who ever utt5,
ed ons srepentent word" for having thrown.
his inf lence in behalf of the Confederates
in that bloody struggle? We followed cur
best Judgment in choosing the nag under
which we fJught, and hence there is no
place left US for repentance, and, in that
matter, there is nothing left to repent of.
As to oar loyalty, We think we have more
of that than the "Christian' editors who
are making the most of tina death of the
great Confederate leader as fit occasion
for insulting all who marched under bis
banner in the war that closed twenty. five
years ago."