The National tribune., 1908-05-14
LIEUT. PAGE AND MAJ. wrRz.

New York and elsewhere are giving
lengthy editorial reviews of the book,
as If it spoke the last word in the dis
pute in regard to the Southern treat
| ment of the prisoners. In fact, it does
nothing of the kind. Lieut.. Page, of
whom we know nothing, says that he
had an intimate acquaintance" with
Maj. Wirz, and found him an agreeable,
kind-hearted gentleman, whose eyes
were frequently filled with tears at the
miseries he saw around him and was
powerless to alleviate. The whole blame
of these miseries was laid upon Secre-
tary Stanton for his refusal to exchange
prisoners, and Wirz could do no better
for the unhappy men confided to his
charge, because of the inadequacy of
the resources of the South.
Altho the editor of The National Trib-
une was in the first squad of prisoners
that entered Andersonville Feb. "a,
1864, and remained inside of the stock
ade with his comrades until the general
emptying of the prison in September,
and was thoroly acquainted with all Of
the older prisoners, it was not his for
tune to become acquainted with J. Mad
ison Page, 9Th Mich, Cav. Therefore,
there is some ground for the presump-
ton that Mr.. Page did not remain in
side the stockade with his comrades.
AS to this, however, the comrades of
his regiment can give the best testi-
mony, and we should be glad to hear
from them. Also, there are grounds
for the presumption that if Mr.. Page
had an intimate acquaintance" with
Maj. Wirz he gained this by belonging
to that ignoble squad of parasites who
curried favor with the prison keepers,
and were taken outside to be assigned
to light and pleasant duties.
Those of us who remained inside of
the stockade with our comrades had lit
tie opportunity for an intimate ac-
quaintance'' with Wirz. We only saw
him at infrequent intervals, and gener-
ally in the commission of some act of
brutality to a prisoner. If in private
life and in daily and friendly association
with Mr.. Page Maj Wirz showed him
self so rich in Christian virtues, this
was horribly at variance with the ex-
hibitions that he made to us other pris-
oners in shooting down defenseless men
and in stamping to death men enfeebled
acts Mr.. Pages testimony will have lit
tie weight in the face of the nearly 300l
witnesses who testified before the Mill
tary Commission that tried Wirz. Mr..
Page will have to summon a great deal
of corroborative testimony to make his
multitude of sworn witnesses examined
by able lawyers before the Military
Commission.
After all, Maj. Wirz's overflowing
Christian virtues have nothing what
ever to do with the main question.
responsible for the stoppage of the ex-
change is also non-relevant. The main
and sole question is, how did the South
ern people treat the men whom the for
tunes of war threw into their hands.
AS we have often said, we do not
for the horrors of Andersonville, Sails
bury and Florence. Those places were
remote from the great body of the
Southern people, and few in the South
knew anything of what was going on
there. The people of the South had an
abundance of things to attract their
attention other than the treatment of
the prisoners of war. That matter was
left to. Jefferson Davis and the men
whom he appointed to this duty, begin
ming with Gen. John H. Winder What
Winder and his satellites were doing in
southern Georgia, or in the stockade at
Salisbury, or in the wild, unsettled re-
gion around Florence, S. c., was not
brought to the notice of the Southern
people generally. Their thoughts were
concentrated on our advancing armies
fought in the effort to arrest the prog
ress of those armies and the subjuga-
ton of the country.
Under all the recognized laws of war
Gen. Grant and Secretary Stanton had
the most absolute right to stop the ex-
change for any purpose that they
deemed sufficient. It is the most COM
mon thing in the history of war that
one party or the other, for some reason,
declines to exchange prisoners for al
certain period. This cannot give the
slightest justification to the other party
for mistreating its prisoners. This is
the gist of the whole question.
During the War of the Revolution
the prisoners whom Washington took
at Trenton and elsewhere We're kept in
confinement until the close of the war
They were sent back to cantonments in
Pennsylvania and in Virginia, and were
SO well treated that large portion
possibly a majority of them, remained
in the country. A great many promi-
nent Virginia and Pennsylvania fami-
lies are descendants of the Hessians
who were confined at Carlisle, Winches-
ter and elsewhere.
AS a matter of fact, which can be
proved by host of documents, neither
Stanton nor Grant refused to continue
the exchange. They stood ready at all
times to exchange man for man, as can
be seen by Grants orders to Butler and
others. In view of the bad faith of the
Confederates with regard to the pris-
oners captured at Vicksburg and Port