The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-01-26
COAFEDERATES STAND UP
 FOR MAJOR HENRY WIRz
Bitter Expressions X . Used By the Comm nnander-ln-Chlef of the Grand Army In Referring To Major
 Wirz at AndersonviIIe.

washington, january Zo.-(Spee1al.) )--Tel- egrams from Savannah, giving the in- scriptions which are to be placed upon the monument of Maj. Henry Wirz of the Confederate army at Andersonville, Ga. by the Georgia division. of the Daughters of the Confectionery, are causing storm of savage Tt9est in local G. A. R. cir cles. N .jor Wirz was one of the of ficers stationed at the Andersonville prlssn. The alleged cruelties there were charged to him. One of the proposed in- Bcriptions on the monument erected to him declares that He was tried by illegal courtmartial, under false charges of ex- cessive cruelty to Federal prisoners, sen- fenced and judicially murdered at Wash ington November 10, 1s65.'
 Another inscription says Let the fact that he chose an ignominious death rather than be false witness against President Davis speak for high qualities of honor fortitude and self-sacrfce" The letter of Grant advising against the exchange of prisoners, the letter of Davis in 1883, re- gretting that the southern public has never done justice to Wirz, with state ment showing the excess of Federals in Confederate prisons over Confederates In Federal prisons, and the fact that more southern soldiers died in northern prisons than Federals died in southern prisons also appears on the tablets.
 Tanner Is Bitter.
 Capt James Tanner, commander-in-chief of the c. A. R., said tonight in refer ence to the inscriptions:
 When the accursed soul of Captain iWirz fioated into the corridors of he'll the devil recognized that his only possi- ble competitor was there"
 9.In the first place.. said MT. Tanner sthere Is not an atom of truth in exis- tence, and never has been of the story of Wirz being offered immunity by the Federal government if he would impli cate Jefferson Davis.
 Tt is true that more southern prison ers died in northern prisons than Union prisoners who died In southern prisons. The explanation of this Is extremely sim pie The southern prisoners came north worn and emaciated, half starved. They had reached this condition because of their scant ratons. They came from a mild climate to the rigorous northern climate, and although we gave them shel- ter and plenty to eat, they could not stand the change"
 
 Veterans alliance. said that while he did not care to. discuss the Wirz monument affair, he had no doubt the Grand Army posts and the patriotic women would be heard from in angry protest against the proposed inscriptions on the monument. s.The site of the Andersonville prison pen" he added Ifs now owned by the woman's relief corps to the G. A. R.. and the proposed monument would certainly not be allowed on that reservation, if such an act was contemplated"
 Experience In Prison.
 Col. John McElroy, past senior vice commander-in-c chief of the Grand Army of the Republic and ex-prisoner of war, who was an inmate at various times of seven prisons, including Rich mond and Andersonville, says: "The proposed inscription on the monument of Capt. Henry Wirz Is glaringly false tn every sentence and is strongly con- tradicted by documentary evidence. have personal Knowledge of the great CT portion of the history of Anderson vile, as 1 was in the first squad that entered the prison.
 Tt is false that Wirz was offered his life if he would give testimony against Jefferson Davis. The general policy of the Confederacy and Jefferson Davis to- ward the prisoners was not the ques- tion before the commission, but Wirz's individual acts outside of his duties as & prisoner-keeper and in violation of the laws of war. He was properly punished for personal acts of cruel barbarity, which did not touch upon the general policy of the Confederates toward prisoners.
 This statement alone destroys the whole case of the Daughters or tn e Southern Confederacy."
 Mrs. Isabel Ball, president of the Woman's Relief corps, says:
 Mrs. Balls Threat.
 "The erection of monument to Wirz Is the crowning infamy of an organ ization which does more to keep alive the fires of sectionalism than anything else in the world.- The Woman's Relief corps and the G. A. R. own Ander- sonville and have made a park of 1t. We had a good many signs put up around the grounds telling of incidents that happened there when the prison pen was fullest of suffering soldiers, prisoners of war, and we were in formed by some of the women in the south that these signs were a source of great grief to them. and 1t would promote peace and better feeling be- tween north and south if we would take the signs down. Immediately every offending sign was removed. Not one remains in place today
 q promise for the Woman's Relief corps that if this monument Is erected at the gate of Andersonville prison park, as the ground purchased by the Georgia women would indicate, every placard that we took from the grounds will be put back and there will be others more significant placed there." Gen. J. c. Black, past commander-in- chief of the G. A. R. only commented "Let the dead past bury Its dead.
 w. S.