The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-02-09

priScs all Items OF tho military history OF eacn
officer and soldier that can be found Ct cnrL
but. OF course It will be impossible to deter
mine how many OF those items shall be In
cuded In the published roster until after Con-
gress shall have determined the scope of tho
publication.
HAVE HAD MANY REQUESTS.
The Department hns received numerous re-
quests from various States for CHI eek lists or
descriptive lists OF the rolls and other papers
that pertain to organizations from those States
and that are on n!c In the Department. But
have been constrained 10 deny those requests.
because compliance with them would involve
and clerical labor thus delaying the much
more important work Of compiling the reco d.,
and because 1t Is evident that such lists nrn
not necessary as an aid or a guide to the
representatives Of the States in heir efforts
TO gather UP original muster rolls and other
records to be forwarded to the Department.
for copying. It should DO brine in mind that
In order to make the Confederate par; OF tho
roster ns nearly complete as possible 1t Is OF
the nrst Importance that every original Con-
federatc muster roll or other similar PAPER.
that can be found anywhere shall be forwarded
TO the Department for copying. This sh ould be
done regardless of what records may be In tn.
possession of the Department bacaus, It is
very seldom that any two rolls of the same
organization and OF the same date are found.
and even In the rare Instances In which two
such rolls are found 1t Is almost invar ally
the case that one OF them contains mpor an
Information that Is missing from the 9th r.
g, j.
that every. record that can be found shall be
gathered up, and I am sure you WI arr 9
with me that It would be useless was G OF
valuable time and labor to prepare check SITS.
or descriptive lists, such as those In question.
IN FULL SYMPATHY.
The desire Of the representatives OF the
States that furnished troops to the c nf,derate
armies that the Confederate part OF the roster
shan be made as nearly com )leta MS poss BILE
Is natural one, and Is enc in which am
In full sympathy with them. I do not think
however. that 1t would be either wise or safe.
even If the law premt'tai It, to d part IF m
the rule that have felt constr in, to c.
tablish to the effect that only contemporaries
oHlclal records or the war period shat. be &c.
copied as basis for the rot r I; WIS the
manifest intention OF G ngress that this roster
like the official records Of the Un!cn and Con
iederate armies shall DO compilation Ct offl-
ca data. ana that Its accuracy shall NJ, be
subject TO question by reason of It's lnclud ny
data gathered up since tho clos OF the war
or complied from unofficial sources or from
the fallibe and uncertain memories OF a Ion, !.
past period.
WILL NOT MODIFY.
AS view tho law. It was the intent Of
Congress 10 publish. and thus to make accessl.
bic to the various States AM t. al u rrons
concerned. all the historical data that ar G IN :
tanned IN tho original rolls AMI 9th II s,mila
ohlclhi records OF the war period tia' are in
possession OF the War Department or that can
De found elsewhere. The inf rmntI thu,
placed at the disposal Of the Salts will am
able them, II they so desire, t. com Tile their
own rosters IN their own way, us,ns as n
source Of additional infortna tim treir pcr 81 m
lists or any other data that may seem to then,
TO be sufficiently reliable 10 be incor o ated In
the roster, This being the case, I think you
VIII agree with me that Il Is neither nec's arr.
nor advisable that the general government in
compiling the recently authorized roster, shai,
depart from the rule Of poo edura thai unvr ~
GU u ~ compiling ana publishing tho on cal