Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-18
ABRIDGING WAR RECORDS
Widespread Discussion Among Grand Army
Men.
Commander Hopkins Of the Depart-
Feeling Among the Soldiers.

There has been widespread discussion in
Grand Army circles for some time over
the effort to abridge the publication Of the
rebellion war records. Col. Thos. H. Hop
kins. commander of the Department OF the
Potomac, when his attention was called
to the matter by Star reporter, remarked
that 1t was generally understood among
ex-Union soldiers that at the last session
of Congress a move to close UP the publ
cation with the completion OF the volumes
giving the history of the campaigns and
battles was barely defeated by the united
efforts Of the Grand Army men, led by
"CorporaT' Tanner, Maj. McElroy and 9TH
ers.
These covert efforts to suppress q part
of this valuable work." continued Com
mander Hopkins, were cloaked under the
specious plea of economy, much stress be-
ing laid upon the fact that the work had
already cost more than $2OoO.OOO. We natu-
rally supposed that the defeat in Congress
then would end the efforts TO stop these
publications, but it seems that its enemies
are still at work. l notice that the House
committee the other day left out of the
legislative appropriation bill an item Of
rent and clerk hire for continuing the war
records work. 1t locks as if this were
simply the old opposition manifesting itself
in new form; as if the real object was to
prevent the publication of the tell-tale
prisoner-of-war records. which the country
has been looking for for over thirty years
Our first suspicious were that the confeder-
ates were behind the economy plea to
stop these publications. the more so as the
records which rebound more particularly
to southern glory and honor, if any of them
do. had already been issued. and there was
nothing in the others to be wished for by
that side. But in this view we seem to
have been mistaken, for l have been in
formed that many leading southern papers
at that time demanded the publication Of
all the records. and to have the whole
truth told, as the south had nothing to
hide. sc. This may be so.
There have been many circumstances
tending to convince G. A. r. men of the
existence of a deliberate design to suppress
these records, either from the inside or out
1t has been asserted that they amounted to
nothing; that they had no historical value
that they ought to be burned up, and so on.
But the most specious argument yet put
forth is that of your correspondent, Mr.
Foster, who thinks that they should not be
published because somebody's feelings may
be hurt, or that they may reflect upon the
good name of Americans. This is pre-
posterous. l know from my own casual
observation that the volumes relating to
battles contain many accounts of military
atrocities on both sides. They are not
good reading for too fastidious people. We
want complete record of the war of the
rebellion. We want the whole truth not a
part of it. There will be less heartburning
than if something be suppressed giving
rise to the inference that one side or the
other was guilty of something too horrible
to publish.
Secretary Lannon'S Action.
Two years ago, for some reason, Secre-
tary Lamont suspended the publication of
the prisoners of war records, ostensibly to
a more convenient season. Whether that
order has been abrogated 1 do not know
1t is known TO us that at the time this or
der of suspension was made, all the
archives relating to this branch were COM
piled ready for publication, and two or
three of the volumes already in type wait
ing Mr.. Lannon'S order fog publication, and
that money enough was appropriated to
pay Tor the work, which was then diverted
to other purposes. Under these circum-
stances this acton of Mr.. Lamont's was
accepted as a preliminary step to The COM
plete discontinuance of their publication
Recently. IL has been stated in The public
press Dy a gentleman haviay close re,a-
items with the War Department that it had
been determined not to print in this COM
pilation the record of the Wirz trial, for
the reason that it had already been print
ed by Congress as an executive document
thirty years ago. This statement appeared
to have the force of a semi-official utter
ance too significant not to create fresh
alarm.
Influences Mt Work.
an THESE circumstances Inc star
Will see why we are afraid that influences
are at work upon the Secretary OF War to
suppress these records, which are, in my
opinion, second to none of the others in his
torical value. Perhaps Mr. Lamont may
have had political reasons for his action
Perhaps the last democratic Congress with
a heavy majority OF ex-confederares, had
reasons of its own for not desiring the COM
pletion of this great work us originally
planned. But it will be strange if a re-
publican Secretary of War and a republican
Congress shall change that plan just on the
eve of its completion. Large numbers of
executive documents originally printed Inv
Congress during the war are again printed
IN the volumes heretofore issued Hence
it is natural that it should strike the ex-
prisoners of war and G. A r. men as a lit
tie peculiar that this objection should be
raised against the publication of the Wirz
trial.
Union veterans began to take steps sew
eral months ago to prevent this suppression
OF part of the records. You may rest as
sured that any interference with the pub
suppression of the prisoners of war papers
will instantly call out an emphatic protest
from all parts of the country. Here IS a
straw indicating what will happen" con-
cluded Commander Hopkins taxing out of
drawer a newspaper slip. II observe that
the national encampment of the Union
Veteran Legion, which met at Columbus
OHIO. in September last, unanimously pass
ed the following preamble and resolution"
and Col. Hopkins read the strong protest
then made against excluding the Wirz trial
from the rebellion records and directing
the commander to appoint. committee to
see the Secretary of War and President in
regard to it,
Whether the national commander has
yet sent on his committee 1 do not know.
ntr