Washington sentinel., 1899-10-28

Mr.. Wildman, United states consul at
Hong Kong, is a letter writer. In one
OF his epistles to his great and good
friend, Gen. Aguinaldo, which the
Americans have Captured in their raids,
he tells him rice and water once a day
are good enough for their Spanish pris-
oners, who should be made to feel the
horrors OF war;" Well, there's nothing
strange about that. Confederate pris
oners were treated that way IN the
North during the war between the
States, and even Northern soldiers in
the Andersonville prison were allowed
to starVe by the u. ). Government,
though it was informed by the Confed-
crate authorities that IT was impossible
for them, owing to the blockade 1t
maintained, to get enough food for their
own soldiers, let alone for their prison.
ers, but that il could send as much as 1t
pleased to Andsrsonville and distribute
it by its own officers, If disposed to do
so. What the Americans did to their
own people, in their own country, they
certainly would not hesitate to do to
Spanish prisoners in the far away Phil
ippines, especially in a war for humanity
and ciVilizationl-AIe;FG Gazette.
We may remind our Alexandria
colleague OF the fact that North
ern generals, at the instigation es-
pecially Of Secretary Stanton, re-
fused to exchange prisoners in
1864. AT first the Southerners had
more prisoners than the Northern.
ers and they sent those prisoners
North as soon as they would be
taken IN exchange for the prison
ers held up there. AS conse-
quence they had on the exchange
rolls surplus in their favor, When
the Northerners got more prison
ers, Stanton refused TO recognize
this Southern surplus. The South
erners complained bitterly ofbeing
thus swindled, and after some time
offered to give up the surplus and
exchange man for man. This was
refused by Stanton because he
did not want to exchange skele-
tons for healthy men," Then the
Northern prisoners in the South
accumulated until at one time dur
ing the summer OF 1864 they
amounted to over $4,000. They
were carried down to Anderson
Vile. The whole country was
impoverished and in consequence
provisions became exceedingly
scarce. Worse stall was that the
Northerners had declared all med
icines contraband Of war, and
Southern doctors had no means to
help the sick prisoners. The South
erners then asked the Northern
Government 10 sell them medi-
cines, for which they would pay in
gold, to relieve the prisoners on
their hands, and in order that those
medicines should be used only for
Northern prisoners, the Southern
ers asked to have Union surgeons
sent down to see that Union pris-
oners alone got the medicines.
That offer was made in July, 1904,
but was refused by the Northern
authorities. They did not care tor
their prisoners. AT last the misery
becoming greater and greater, the
Southerners made in the loving
August the offer to send back
1900 sick Union soldiers without
an equivalent, and should they
have not so many sick they agreed
to fill up the number with healthy
men. They asked the Northerners
to send ships to Savannah, the
nearest port, to transport them
home, as they could not be for.
warded by rail on account Of the
war. This offer was accepted by
the Northerners onlv in December.
During that time, that is. from
August to December, iour-6iths oi
the Union prisoners that died al
Andersonville, lost their lives.
When, in 1865, the war ended,
the Northern authorities, fearful o
that terrible crime against theii
own soldiers, made their papers
charge the Southern people with
having purposely Starved anc
killed the Northern prisoners, anc
in pursuance OF this scheme they
caused the arrest, Ia Dreytus
with great noise, of a wounded anc
paroled prisoner of war, Captain
Wirz, an adopted citizen. They
gave him, under a Military Com
mission presided over by a mem
Der of the commission that huns
poor Mrs.Surratt--Lew Wallace
a mock trial. The first charg,
brought against him was that o
conspiracy between Wirz, Jeffer
son Davis, Seddon, Howell Cobb
r. B. Winder, and number c
others, to kill the Union prisoner:
The trial lasted for three month: