The herald., 1895-06-03
John Shirley Wards Reply to Orator Pl

THE Herald under this heading prints oom-
munications. but does not assume response
bility for the sentiments expressed.
John Shirley Wards Reply to Orator Pitmar
Editor Herald I've were with them
again in the prisons OF hatred and fam
inc, that ought to have been to them
places of rest and waiting, waiting fol
the exchange that they might be once
mere with their com rades. rallylng again
around the dear old flag. But demons
from hell are there to starve and torture.
and as their wan and palid faces look UP
into our eyes, we know that they are
suffering the tortures of the damned.
Slowly yet surely, dying inch by inch,
day by day. keeping up the struggle un,
til the light fades out OF their eyes and
they are dead. -
The above is literal extract FROM the
memorial oration delivered in this city
yesterday by Orator Pitman. who claims
to be follower of the lowly Nazarene,
and whose mission in life chat OF min
ister) is TO sixe spread the truth through
out .he wolld. Such speech might
have been tolerated in 1865, when the
grass was not yet grown over the graves
of those who had given their lives TO
serve the union, and such speech IN
most cases would have been made by
man who had never trod the fiery edge
of battle. There was, perhaps, some ex-
ouse thirty years ago for this clustering
phillipic against the south, for then the
archives or the south had not yet oeen
thrown open to the gaze OF the world,
and orators did not then know the facts
pertaining TO the treatment of prisoners
by the south. These facts are among the
official records in the war department at
Washington, and they have been Cleaned
over and over again to iind something
which would affix STAN on southern
honor. During the second year OF the
war general exchange OF prisoners was
agreed upon by the commanding gen
erals. man for mai and officer for otilcer
OF equal rank After thousands of pris-
oners had been exchanged this cartel was
suspended. but we have no space to dis
cuss the reasons why. In the meantime
the northern armies were gradually coil
lug around the south, reducing her terri
tory day by day, and thus reducing her
supplies in the same way. Federal prls-
onels WIRE coming in by thousands, and
they must be put in miserable stockades
and fed on the same ratlons the Conied-
crate soldier received. The south was
clamorous and persistent for fair ex-
chnge, but it was denied by the United
States government. Seeing the great ana
necessary suffering of the northern prls-
oners. the Confederate government MADE
a proposition 10 allow the other 10 send
medicines provisions and hospital stores
TO their own prisoners. ms request was
denied. The Richmond authorities pro-
posed to permit federal surgeons to go
to the southern prisons. carrying ard
administering their own medicines, and
not asking a similar right for the con-
federates. This was not accepted, though
they well knew that the greatest mortall-
ty ana suffering their prisoners were
under going was for want OF medicine.
After all hope of exchange was aban-
doned, Judge Aud, the confederate com
missioner, offered early in August. lSb4.
to deliver to the federal authorities all
their sick and wounded, al the mouth OF
the Savannah river, without asking Tor
an equivalent of southern prisoners. This
offer was made early in August and
though the deadly malaral season was
lust ahead. the United states govern
ment did not send a single vessel to re-
ceive these dying prisoners ulll in Decem-
Der. thus allowing scarcity OF food ana
medicine and the burning sun OF the dog
days TO have full sway over the brave out
unfortunate union soldiers. IS soon as
a federal vessel reached the mouth OF the
Savannah river l3. 900 federal sick. woun-
ded and some able bodied soldiers were
turned over to the authorities. while 5000
OF confederate soldiers were handed over
to the Richmond authorities.
The supplies for hospitals in the south
authorities offered TO buy hospital sup
plies from the north for their own prison
soldier, payable IN gold or cotton. promis
ing OIL the nonor of the south that none
of them should be used for southern SOL
oiers, yet this was declined.
While there are hundreds OF instances
of personal cruelty on both sides, and the
tale OF woe from Andersonville could be
met by similar one from johnson s
island, these instances do not prove the
malignity OF either government. Results
and facts are the uest and only final
arguments on this question. Facts are
eternal and will stand when the idle ora
torical vaporings of the sensationahsts
have been lost i'll oblivion.
What are the facts?
Mr.. Stanton. secretary of war, in his
report, July 10. 1896. made this state
ment: Conlederates in northern prisons,
22O. 600 union soldiers in southern prisons,
go, 001; excess of union prisoners, $4,000; +;
deaths III northern prisons. 26, 436
/ deaths in southern prisons, %, 756.
This report of Secretary Stanton was
clrrobc rated the next June by the report OF
| surgeon General Barnes and when re-
! duced down to pure mathematics means
that u per cent Of all confederate prison
| els died in prison, while less than nine
| per cent of union soldiers died in south
ern prisons. If these facts are true, and
| thy are all a matter OF record. does not
| this show the falslty of the south's NAL
treatment OF prisoners in her hands?
Why did thousands OF union soldiers
| die in prison?
! The south was all the time anxious to
exchange man for man. They always
! thought it cheaper to fight the enemy
| than to feed him. They preferred to ex-
change prisoners on the field when they
! were taken, thus avoiding the many
| hours of prison life and the expense oi
maintenance.
The question then comes up, why
| all prisoners were not Immediately eX'
changed. The answer is found in Cen
eral Grants dispatch to General Butler
August Is. 1864: at is hard on our mel
| held in southern prisons not to exchange
them, but it is humanity to those lett II
the ranks to fight our battles. At thi,
particular time, to release all rebel pris
| oners north would insure Sherman S de
feat and would compromise our safety
| here . The reverend orator, Mr.
Pitman, when speaking of southern
prisons says: But demons from hel
were there to starYe and torture" II tn,
demons from hell were there to starve anC
torture, and they could Kill and destrol
less than nine per Cent OF all the uniol
prisoners, what kind OF a demon pre-
sided over the federal prisons, whose rec
ord is that twelve per cent of the prison
ers went down into the prison graves?
Two pctures-While Orator Pitman wa
speaking OF the demons from hell
starving and torturing union prisoners
there were thousands of people in Chicag
.I-.I ~