The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-07-23
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ERATE ROSTERS roo RESTRICTIN q.
Hon. Thomas III. Owen Returns from Conference of Commissioners in Atlanta to Prepare Con-
 federate Rosters.

Hon. Thomas M. owen has returned from Atlanta where he went to attend | an important conference of the Commis- sioners designated to compile the rosters of the Confederate soldiers from the va | rious Southern States for preservation in the War Department.
 The primary object of the conference was to secure a modification of the regu- lations prescribed by the War Depart | ment governing the compilation of the | records. These regulations were regarded by the Commissioners as too restrictive. | It was thought that their rigidity would l to a considerable extent interfere with the | success of the work of the Southern Com missiOners.
 | The meeting was attended by ex-Gov- ernor Allen Candler of Georgia, Gen. Lem Jostrensh of Louisiana. Dr B. k. l Dixon of North Carolina, Hon. M. P. Tribble of South Carolina, Hon. Dunbar Rowland of Mississippi, and Hon. Thom- | as M. Owen of Alabama. Ex-Governor Candler was selected as presiding officer by the conference, and 1 Mir. Owen was named as Secretary. MT. owen was directed to prepare a memorial views of the Commissioners as to the preparation of the rosters At a later | meeting Mir. Owen presented the memorial which he had drawn.
 It was unanimously adopted. It Is as | follows:
 To the Hon. Elihu Root. Secretary of War:
 Sir-Your memoralists. duly and regular | ly appointed to act for their respective States in the compilation of the rosters l of the Union and Confederate armies, au- thorized by Act of Congress, February | 25, 193, respectively represent that imme- diately following their appointment they entered upon the duties required of them, and have diligently labored to render to the War Department all possible assist ance.
 They had not proceeded far, however, in an effort to perform their part of the work before they realized. under the con- struction of the statute governing the compilation, as interpreted by Gen. F. c. Ainsworth, the officer of your Depart ment having the work immediately in charge, that so far as the Confederate | troops were concerned anything like even an approximately complete or perfect ros- ter could not be made.
 The history of Confederate records is doubtless familiar to you. During the progress of hostilities. and since the close of tho War, the of1.: records Os the Confederate States Government as well as the records of the several Southern States, were subjected to depredations,
 
 these records were captured during the war. and fortunately some of them so | taken are preserved in your Department, but in other cases the most valuable re- cords were burned. In other cases these records were concealed, and before being brought from their hiding places had suf- fered in many ways. The result is that no Southern State has a complete body of l the records of it's soldiers. and in no case are these records complete even where supplemented by the records on file in the War Department. Such being the condi- ton of the Southern States with refer ence to their records. it is absolutely inn ! possible under the rules laid down by | General Ainsworth, above mentioned. to compile the rosters of Confederate sol diers with accuracy and fullness. Inevit- ably, therefore, grave injustice will be done the South. and the memory of many a gallant and meritorious soldier.
 It is conceded that the best records only l should be used in the proposed compiia-
 ton, but it. is urged in this connection that the best should have reference to such as are obtainable. In the event that no roster is found to be in existence n any given case it is insisted that a sub stitute should be allowed. In permitting this course, under appropriate restrictions no new principle would be invoked, only the well established and universal doc. Urine that where a record or document has been lost 1t may be substituted in the proper way, oT that the best obtainablS