The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-07-09

,Nst's WIFI tllClll.
-. nnd oic eminent surgeon said, with-
out wishing to BIO quoted in this debate.
ll 0ht tho question was not only What was
inc condition OF the prlioneis when. thcy
cahlc 10 b,is, but what II was WHEN they
, Murc sent fbnck.A Our mon were laken IN
uii ncalth nnd strengths they came back
wasted and worn--znicre slscletona The
Topei prisoners, In large numbers. were.
"he en taken. cnnctatcd and rcducod:
i nnd General Grant SAYS TINT ut tic
tinle such superhumun efforts were made
FOR exchange. there wero 80 900 mon that
would have reinforced the Confederate
armies 'l,I the next day. prisoners in our
linnds who wcro In good health and ready
Tor fight. This condition shc,ls n great
denl of liEht OH what the gentleman said.
or course. this cuts up BY tho roots
MS whole contention and rofutcs his
whole argument If the Confcdcrntes
could take no bottor care Of thcir own
soldiers. so that they were stnrvcd,
cmactatcd and diseased when captured,
how could they be expected 10 take bot
ter care Of the prisoners they captured?
And what can tho friends OF General
Grant say II 1t DO admitted that Iii tho
campaign from the Rapidan to Peters,
burg In 1854 less than onc-fourth or HIS
numbers OF these cnacintcd. diseased
skeletons, not only withstood his splen-
dldly equipped, halo, hearty troops. but
whipped them IN every battle and rem
dered hors du combat larger number
Of his men than they could muster?
President Davis, in n letter to tho Hon
James Lyons. Of Richmond, soon after
Mr.. Blninc'savlrucnt attack on him, uses
these figures as follows:
To tho bold allegations of III treat.
mcnt OF prisoners by our side. and the
humane treatment ard adequate sup.
Plies by our opponents. 1t Is only neces-
sary to offer two facts. First, it mp.
pears from tho reports of Che United
States War Department that though we
had sixty thousand more Federal pri-
soneTs than they had of Confcdcrates
SIX thousand more of Confederate died
In Northern prisons than died Of Fed
erals In Southern prisons. Second, tho
want and suffering OF men In Northern
prisons caused inc to ask for permission
to send out cotton and buy supplies for
them. Tho request was finally granted
but only on condition that the cotton
should be sent to New York and tho
supplies bought there. General Bcale,
now OF ST. Louis, was authorized to pur-
chase and distribute the needful sup
plies
In his War between the States CNol.
II. pp 507-51o) Hon. A. II, Stephens.
Nice-Prcsldent Of the Confederacy, says:
1T now appears that larger number
OF Confcdcratcs died In Northern than
OF Fedcrais In Southern prisons or stock
AIDES. Tho report OF Mr. Stanton. as
Secretary OF War. on the 10th OF July.
1866. exhibits tho fact that of the Fed
erll prisoners In Confederate hands dur
lng the war, only 2e,57G died. while OF
the Confederate prisoners In Federal
hands, 26436 died. This report does not
set forth the exact number OF prisoners
held by each side. respectively. These
facts were given more In detail In a
subsequent report by. SUPERINTENDENT
Barnes, OF the United States army. His
report nave not seen but according to
q statement edltorialIy, In the National
Intelligenccr--yery high authority--it ap-
pears from the surgeon generals renort
that the whole number OF Federal p,i-
sonere captured by tho Confcderatfs and
held In Southern prisons. from first to
last during the war, was, In round nuns
hcrs 100000, while the whole number of
tConfedelntcs captured and held In prl-
sons by tho Fedcrals was IN like round
numbers. only 220.O 600. From these two
reports It appears that with 10000 more
prisoners In Southern stockades, or other
nodes OF confinement. the deaths were
nearly3si ,00033less According to these
figures the percentum OF Federal deaths
In Southern prisons was under nine,
while the @.percentum OF Confederate
deaths in Northern prisons w;is.. over
twelve. eseEmnytality siatistcs, are Of
nc small weightiln determining on which
side was the most neglect. cruelty and
inhlimanity'
In the discussion of the prison uues-
ton In the March and April Gs76) num-
bers of the Southern Historical Society
papers, these 8flgures were used. and
they were veryfwidcly publishediin the
papers, North and South.
Some years after a minister from Penn
SSXlX;nnia =. was as, So much stirred up by their
he hal always believed and taught. that
he had them republished in the principal
the sake of the United States government
be refutcd. We4wrote at once To this
gentleman and begged him TO send us any
replies that he might get, and he. promised
to - &c g SO. but t, no reply ever came
such report. and i2 these figures OF rela-
tive mortality were Incorrect. why was
i not shown ut the time? Why did not
the authenticity Of the report attributed
to him? Why did not some diligent
searcher In the War Records" office,
Or IN the Surgeons Generals office. deny
1t Is simply morally certain that there
was such report in existence at the
stime-.that Hon. b. II. Ijill, Mr.. Davis and
MT. Stephens did not manufacture these
5 iag,l. that II no such report can
now be found in the departments in Wash
Ing i ton, it has been, destroyed or stolen
by some 20, oyer-zealous partisan who was
unwilling for the Confederates to have
the benefit of the lesson they so clearly
teach. and show to the world that after
all or the abuse that has been hcaped
Upon fds 1t them over three per cent. more Com
than Of IITsderals In Southern prisons.
Most dillgcnt search has been made for
inns report, and while the search has not
been successful In finding. the report itself,
YET the proof that such a report was
made Is simply overwhelming.
we give lrst the following editorial in
inc National Intelligence of June 3D. 1869,
page z, volume /. the correctness of our
copy cop being certified to In a sworn,aflida-
yit by Mr.. G. II. Ritcle, made in the
Library, of Congress. Remember that this
edltorlal appeared during the lifetime of
slirgeon-Gencral Barnes, and his con-
lemporarie5 in the oice-that it was very
country and that as no denial of its atl-
me was made at the time, 1t IS
nave been spurious. VIC copy the editorial