The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-10-09
PRISONS NORTH AND SOUTH.
An Unfair Parallel Between the
British and the Confederate
Prisons

All Onta1f Parallel between th
British and the Confederat
Prisons
The New York World intimate
that the alleged cruel treatment of th
old men and boys in the Boer prison
camps in Bermuda will revive recol
lections OF Andersonvllle. That is ,
most unfair parallel. The British
government has abundant means a
lis command to provide good food il
ample quantities for the Beers who
have been captured and sent to mill
tary prisons. There can be no iustlfi
cation for the failure of the British
government to supply The captives
With wholesome rations three times q
day. If supplies cannot be obtained
in Bermuda they can be bought in the
| United States or sent from England.
1t is not matter OF ability to provide
food, for Great Britain is one of the
richest nations in the world and has
gold enough TO feed great many more
Beers than have surrendered or have
been captured.
AS regards the Confederate States
government, the conditions were en-.
tire]y different. In the last years of
the civil war it was almost impossible
for the Confederate governm ent to
supply its own troops with the plainest
kind of food. Women and children
were compelled to live on half rations.
a little cornmeal and small piece of
badly cured bacon made meal which
in the last days of the Confederacy was
a I'm hn nc a L.
South were blockaded, and no supplies
could be obtained from without. For
a year before tho coliap'e of the Con-
federacy the Southern States were
literally on the verge of starvation.
Under such conditions, when it was
impossible for the Confederate govern.
ment to provide food for its own SOL
diers in sufficient quantities, it could
not, of course, supply the thousands of
Northern soldiers who had been cap
Luled with the abundant and appetiz,
ing rations which the Washington
government had no difficulty in provid-
ing. Because of its inability TO feed
he captlves when its own people we've
starving, the Confederate government
proposed an exchange of prisoners.
Upon the advice of General Grant and
others commanders the United States
refused to make an ex-
'hange. Every Confederate prisoner
'elcased from Northern prison."
wrote General Grant in effect, will re-
mist In the Confederate armies, and
We will have TO fight them again."
ta.Ler than take this risk President
lincoln concluded that it would be |
letter to leave the Northern prisoners q
n the South despite the Insuiliciency {
II supplies. 1t would have been easy 4
nough TO bring them to the North I
1herc there was no lack of food. If i
he United States government had i
cen as solicitous about the welfare of '
hese cap'lves then as it was later, 8
1hcp the war was over, il might have r
aved the lives of some of these un- +
d
Notwithstanding the poverty of the q
outh and the scarcity of food In the /
,st years Of the war, il is signiii- y
ant fact that the number of Con-
edcrate soldiers who died in Northern i
risons was greater than that of North q
rn soldiers who died in Southern a
rlsons. There was no lack of C
rovisions in the NorLh-no dearth of 1
omfortable clothing, no reason why L
risoners should not have been healthy.
he conditions at Andersonville may I
ave been far different from what they t
hould have been. But the same can +
G said, with less excuse, for Northern
rlsons. The mortality statistics prove
lis beyond question. New York $
I'm. +