Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / March 24, 1907, edition 1 / Page 19
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Daiit Hembii?s of . Old flndersonyille " James Callaway In The Macon Telegraph. ' Dr. J. M. Curry, In his Civil His tory of the Confederate States, says: "One of the most singular illustra tions ever presented 1 of the power ' of literature to conceal and pervert, to modify and falsify history, to trans fer pdlum from the guilfy to the inno cent li found In the fact hat iha ie proach of disunion has slipped from the shoulders of the North to those of the South." - " On the prison Questlm also we have permitted the North t transfer the odium of craelty to prlioners f ire South, when-the repr-vach rests upun th North. Nor can it slip from her shoulders the odium of her policy. The r facts are slowly coming forth, v f , When Ben Hill delivered his Ander aonville speech In the United States j , Senate In reply to Blaine, it was ' thought he had for all time spiked the , guns that he had shot forth calumnies and misrepresentations against the South concerning treatment of Federal . prisoners. ' But the war wages on us yet The G. O. P, objects to a monument to Capt. Wirz. The return of battle flags was a gen ' erous act, tending towards a "more perfect" union, and it is strange that , the State Superintendent of Public In . structlon Hon. Alfred Bayllss, of Springfield, 111., should Issue a pam phlet In 1906 holding the South up to scorn for Inhumanity to prisoners. . Professor Bayllss uses his pamphlet In his public schools. Hence, we should study the prison history of the South, and when investigated the fact is re vealed that the South's efforts to re lease and relieve the prisoners stand , forth like high monuments, as testi mony to her magnanimity, her bene roslty, her unceasing humanity. Let us look into the prison history of the Confederacy. On July 22, 1862, the cartel was adopted. All prisoners were to be re leased In ten days after capture. The very day after this cartel of exchange was signed MaJ.-Qen. John Pope, on July 23, 1S62, issued orders that al lowed his soldiers to shoot as spies and as enemies of the . United States gov ernment all Virginia farmers who were found tilling the soil or sowing grain or cultivating crops on farms within his rear, and even Inside his . lines. Hundreds were shot in the field before the Confederate government could arrest such conduct and get Pope's orders rescinded. America in later years, became incensed even to making war on Spain because Gen. Weyler issued similar orders in Cuba. Did Weyler take his cue from Gen. Pope, Illustrious example that u pleased Weyler that he ordered his own walk along the same path? By persistent effort of our commls nloner, the cartel lasted one year. The Confederacy, seeing the emaciated condition of such prisoners as had returned, was intense in her desire for exchange, and the Confederacy was unprepared for the action of Stanton, order No. 209, breaking the cartel. By this order Federal prisoners were not to be exchanged or even pa roled. If paroled they were forced back Into the Federal army. This or der. No. 209, caught the Confederacy unprepared to meet the prison prob lem. The cemetery at Andersonvllle was founded on this order. It was line passing sentence upon Federal prison ers, for the North knew that the Con federacy was without medicines and doctors and not equipped to care for ) prisoners. Hence, Mr. Davis and Col. Ould. the commissioner of exchange, put forth every effort to get rescinded order No. 209, and Col. Ould was giv en the largest authority In dealing with MaJ. Mulford, United States agent of exchange. Everything was done to emphasize the fact that we were scant of food, of doctors, of med ed to hold captives. A deaf ear was turned to It all. It Is Interesting history to follow the Confederate authorities In their effort to abate prison suffering. Col. Ould, from the day tho cartel was dis regarded, pleaded for medicines and physicians, offering to pay the Feder als In cotton fdr them, as the Federal captives needed these. No replies were made to Commissioner Ould. In 1864 prisoners Increased fear fully at Andersonvllle, and to care for them- became serious. No medicines for sick, no proper food. To relieve the prisoners and acquaint the Lin coln cabinet with prison conditions and the need of exchange and medi cines and physicians, a delegation of prisoners were sent to Wash ington at urgent request of Capt. Wira. These Federal soldiers and prisoners went on that mission of mercy and came back and reported "failure." They told the prisoners their owl government had abandoned them, and exchange or medicines they would not get from Stanton. This created des pondency among the prisoners. It js to he hoped the fate of those who went on that mission tyas such as should befall heroes and brave men. A mon ument should be erected to them, thus Illustrating the efforts of the Confederacy on tho side Of humanity. These heroes met the same answer as Alexander H. Stephens, who was sent on a mission of mercy In behalf of the prisoners, authorized by Mr. Davis to plead for exchange, and fall ing in that to secure medicines and needful supplies for such as were kept In confinement. But Mr. Stephens was not allowed to see Lincoln as he hoped. Mrj Stephens always declared his mission in behalf of the prisoners had not been a failure had he been al lowed to see Mr. Lincoln. 8 tan tori stopped him at the "outer guard," .to use Mr. Davis' language. Admiral S. P. Lee,.U. 8. N., commanding the blockade squadron at Newport News, communicated with the Washington government,' stating the object of Mr. Stephens' mission. To quote Presi dent Davis' own words. "Your mission Is simply on of humanity, and has no political aspect" A most pathetic picture that the vice president of the Confederacy, himself feeble, but t' humanity's sake on a rugged tour s 7sshlngton to appeal to Lincoln's Cabinet to save life! knell of thousands of Confederate prisoners. As these emaciates returned home photographs were taken and re produced in all the Northern papers, magazines, periodicals, and a great howl went up. The pulpit, the press, the. i people, the churches demanded retaliation: and so responsive to It was Stanton and the . Lincoln cabinet, that our men died like sheep In all Northern prisons. The-. awful ' death rate of Confederate-prisoners was the Seeing these emaciated prisoners on their return, the North cried out for vengeance,' and' vengeance was theirs. Deep was the revenge they tookl From the day, of our humanity gjft. the 're taliation measures" produced a shock ing death rate, !,?"' " The death, rate at camp uougiaes, Illinois, was 16.8; at : Alton, 111., 20 .JJUer of parliament, sent over v fchlp Camp Battle, 111., J?c ."landf load of tiankets to the thinly clad story" ha M.-, Oh, th.it "f '-1 t'.'t of 13,000 sic..! After that .:.. it was aa If sentence of death were punned upon all our prisoners. Reference has boen made to march ing the well prisoners to Florida and the refusal of the gunboats to accept them.' . v.- :' . . -.:..: But there was a second march to Florida. In tho winter of 186S orders came from Gen. Howell Cobb to take the Andersonvllle prisoners to JacK- sonvllle, them in possession of the Federals, Capt John Rutherford, the . lamented Macon' lawyer, had charge. , The prisoners were marched in sight of Jacksonville and the order given: "Go to your j own, whether they receive you or net " and our soldiers, withdrew,' and thus closed Andersonvllle, except Lieut Easterlln, of Company B, Third . Georgia Re serves, was placed in charge of the sick and feeble at Andersonvllle, and was there when the surrender came. The "fatal gift" and Stanton's con duct, during the "retaliatory period," from the arrival of the 18,000 errfa clated until the close of the war, was the cause of the refusal of a relief fund. Mr. I, A. Beresford Hope, Mom 111.. 77.4: Elmlra. N. Y., 28.5. At John son's Island It was awful. A prisoner would hunt all day for a rat, and would feign sickness to get a dose of castor oil, and during the day would let a drop of oil fall on a piece of bread to prevent starvation. What a fatal gift to us wag that. 18,000 who were released to go home! We sought relief for Federal prisoners; Tellef was refused ours. The Ingratitude of the North for that gift of sick men. Death-producing retaliatory measures put upon our men because the 18,000 emaciated did not look strong, well men. That fatal glftl John I. Van Allen, of Watklns, Schuyler county, N. Y., acting for the people of Baltimore, visited Elmlra prison for the purpose of distributing blankets, clothing, medicines, etc. He found our prisoners nearly nalted. The commander stated that he could not allow any relief as the War Depart ment rendered htm helpless. The War Department was telegraphed to for the poor privilege of alleviating the condition of the prisoner!, Mr. Van a Hon in his letter to the aood samarl- tlans of Baltimore, says: "The brutal Stanton was inexorable, and refused all entreaties." a Tinit Staten medical officer, on duty at Elmlra, writing to the New York World, tells a saa story oi con ditions,' and among other things said: "Smallnox cases were crowded in such a manner that it was an Impossibility for the surgeon to treat his patients individually. They actually lay so ad jacent that the simple movement of one of them would cause his neigh bor to cry In agony of pain." Con cluding his letter, the medical officer says: "And hundreds of sick who could in no wise obtain medical aid, died 'unkneled, uncofflned and un known.' " Yet the death rate at El mlra was small compared to Rock Isl and. III. Rock Island has a history within it self. No space now for it. Jefferson Davis, Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee are connected with Its history. Being far removed, isolated and very secure, it was chosen as a military prison In the fall of 1863 for Confed erate prisoners. The climate inhospi table, cold winds, mertlle blasts. Here our men froze to deatah. The death rate was 77.4, and three times as great as at Andersonvllle. But It Is almost forgotten In the South that e also offered a gift of "well" prisoners. It was understood that vessels on the coast of Florida would take the Andersonvllle prison ers. They were, accordingly, marched by short stages to the coast. The cap tains and commanders refused to ac cept the gift, saying they had no or ders to take them. And we had to march those poor fellows back to An dersonvllle, and they died like sheep along the way back, too despondent to live. Here Stanton refused the weil" yet when they received the "sick" they "retaliated" because they were the sick and not well. Spurned Alexander H. Stevens' mission, reject ed" the mission of the Federal prison ers who pleaded for relief, refused the "well" In Florida and forced them back to prison, yet grew ferocious and persecuted vilely our prisoners on ac count of the emaciated appearance of the 13,000 sick sent as a gift for hu manity's sake! Truth I a stranger than Action. The "gift" was their own men; n'ot a Trojan horse bearing Greeks. When Mr. Stephens had failed In hsi humane mission for exchange and for purchase of medicines and secure doc tors and hospital supplies for the Fed eral captives, and Robert Ould had failed In all his efforts, then Gen. Lee "himself undertook to do some thing with the military commanders in the field. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler was In charge of the prison depart ment and he referred the matter to Gen. Grant approvingly, and Gam. Grant thus replied: "City Point, Aug. 13, 1864 To Gen. Butler: On, the subject of ex change I differ from Gen. Hitchcock. It Is hard on our men held In South ern prisons not to exchange them, but every man of theirs released be comes an active soldier against us, di rectly or Indirectly. If we begin a sus tem of exchange to liberate all pri soners we will have to fight until the whole South Is exterminated. If we hold those caught they amount to no more than dead men. To exchange prisoners would . Insure Sherman's defeat and compromise our safety." What an unconscious tribute Gen. Grant pays to those old veterans lin gering in Northern prisons! Grant magna mtmous at Appomattox, shows the iron heart here. Mr. Stanton's official report made on July 19, 1899, shows that Federal prisoners died, 22,246, while Confeder ate prisoners died 26,576. The surgeon-general of the United States re ported the Federal prisoners held by us wera 2,70,000; the Confederate held North, 220,000. This tells the pa thetic story of tha "fatal gift" of 13.000 sick, sent home to get well! No sick were given In return. But tney died, bound hand and foot in "retail- Confederate sufferers. Stanton sent them back, " ! "Percy Grey, the English historian, speaking of prison treatment on both sides, says: "But, after all, the Fed eral prisoners did not die so fast as the Confederate prisoners, and the North was without excuse for Indict ing cruelty and hardships. If the sick Federals perished for want of medi cines and hospital supplies, it was the fault of their own government" Grey further says: "The. Confeder ate reports suffice to show that the Confederate government anxiously desired to alleviate the miseries they lacked the power to cure, waiving every point disputed by the North." At Andersonvllle the food issued to Confederates was, largely, unbolted corn meal, cow peas, sour cane syrup, a little flour and such beef as could be purchased. But there was no discrim ination as to rations. The prisoner! got what was Issued to Confaderaras. The death rate at Andersonvllle was 25 per cent, and our men were like wise stricken with diarrhoea, the cause of the greatest number of deaths. Capt. Wlrz, to whom a monument will be erected, had deep sympathy for the prisoners, and sometimes had hot words with Gen. Winder and his son for the meagre provision for the prisoners' comfort. They always re plied that they were doing the best they could. But to the writer it was always queer that parole was not permitted to their own prisoners, and queerer still that medicines were refused, along with surgeons and hospital sup plies, so persistently pleaded for by MaJ. Ould and the Confederate authorities. In the summer of 1864, by order ot the Confederate government, Robert Ould offered to pay for medicines and hospital supplies, also salaries of Fed eral surgeons, to be paid, for In cotton delivered or directed by the Federal government All in vain. No exchange, no parole, no medicines, no Federal Surgeons. , But our seal did not cease here. In the summer of 1864 oar government offered to deliver all the sick, wound- Id, emaciated, 18.000 In all, at Saven ah, without exchange, without equlv ent for,humanlty's sake. Six months lapsing, then In ' November, 1864, Federal ships came and bore off to Northern homes 18.000 soldiers, and brought us not a single "old reb" - . not one. The death rate was At Its highest from May to November. 1864, and Mr. Ould Insisted on no delay in accepting "the gift1 But what a fatal gift It proved to befit wM the deatu Andersonvllle and Capt. Wirz are In the public eye at this time, because the Georgia Division U. D. C. have undertaken to erect a monument to Capt. Wlrz, against which the Grand Army of the Republic has taken ac tion and appealed to Gen. S. D. Lee, to prevent It. "Not even a Christian burial of the remains of Capt. Wirz has been al lowed by Stanton they still lie side by side with those of another and ac knowledged victim of the military commlsKion. the unfortunate Mrs. Sur ratt, In the party of the former Jail of this city." So wrote Louis Shade, at torney for Mrs. Wirz, In 1867. Capt. Wirz was a physician by pro fession, and was born in Zurich, Switzerland, In 1822. He emigrated to America in 1849. He served as a private In the battles of Manassas and Bull Run, where he was severely wounded In the arm. He was appoint ed Inspecting officer of the Southern prisons. He was sent to Europe by President Davis, bearing secret dis patches to Mason and Slldell, In Jan uary, 1864, he was assigned to duty at Andersonvllle. Alexander H Stephens says In his war history that "The men at the head of affairs at Washington are re sponsible for all the prison sufferings In the South." . . . "All the suf ferings and loss of life during the en tire war growing out of the Im prisonments on both sides are Justly chargeable to but one side, and that Is the ' Federal side. Had Mr. Davis' repeated offers been accepted, no pri soner on either side would have been confined In prison." Mr. Stephens further says: 'To avert the Indignation which the open avowal of the policy not to exchange prisoners would have excited through out the North and throughout the civ ilized world, the false cry of cruelty towards prisoners was raised against the Confederates. This was but a pre text to cover up their own violation of the usages of war in this respect among civilised nations." Again Mr. Stephens declares In his "War Between the States." "The ef forts which have been so Industrious ly made to fix the odium of cruelty and barbarity upon Mr. Davis and other high officials under the Confed erate government in the matter ol prisoners, In the face of all the facts, constitute one of the boldest and bald est attempted outrages upon the truth of history which has ever been essay ed." Jefferson Davis, writing from Beau voir December 10. 1888, said: "In the matter of prisoners throughout the war, the Confederacy did less than It would, but the best It rould: and In return received the worst which could be meted out to it" The English government appropri ated 120,000.000 to rebuild the Boer homes destroyed by Its armies, but no" homes were ever rebuilt In the South, Gen. Lee died "a prisoner on parole." The North should pension all Confederate widows whose husbands died victims to Stanton's policy of non-exchange, for the North refused exchange and allowed no aid, no re lief. The odium of thla prison business is not ours; the reproach belongs to the North. Rank An,l XV.,-, Mar Forco Kim To Run, Ii'adTM Say. , Washington Pout Despite the positive announcement ot the President on the night of the eleotlon in 1904 that he would not be be a candidate for another term, there is a growing conviction in the highest Administration circles that a situation easily may develop which will even tuate in his renomlnatlon by the Re publicans National Convention next year. ., "VC' Members of the Cabinet are beginn ing to entertain this opinion and so are men lower down In the official scale. But it Is not restricted entirely to this class, for publlo men who would prefer to see some one else nominated share it, and are even disposed to pre dict with a show of confidence, that the President wilt be the choice of the Convention, ' At general proposition, the sug gestion that Roosevelt would be nomi nated to succeed himself was scoffed at by leading members of the Adminis tration a few months ago, but to-day It not onfy la received with oompla-. cence, but by some it is regarded as almost inevitable. Time alone, of course, may vindicate their Judge ment.'' It Is regarded as a foregone con clusion by Republican leaders that Col. William J. Bryan will be the Democ ratic nominee next year. That In it self is considered one of the best rea sons for the President's renomlnatlon, for, in the opinion of these men, it would be vitally essential to Republi can success. But they contend there are other potent reasons therefor. They point to the fact that a year hence, when delegates to the Nation al Convention are being chosen, the President will be in the midst of an other struggle with Congress, and certain legislative and economical re forms which he advocates will still be unaccomplished. For example, in his message next winter he will renew his recommen dation for a graduated inheritance and Income tax. He will also repeat his suggestion for Federal regulation of corporations engaged In inter-State traffic of all kinds. He will also Insist upon the neccesslty of futher legisla tion respecting the railroads. It Is not to be expected that all these re forms will be effected at the next ses sion of Congress. Much of the work will be unfinished when the Convention meets, and, it is anticipated that In tha event the Presi dent s hold on the public esteem is not weakened by that time, there wllrbe an Irresistible pressure for his renoml natlon. Although the President has declared he would not be a candidate again. It is not to be supposed he' would refuse to accept the action of the Covention as decisive and refuse to Interpret it as a release from his promise on the night of the last elec tion. A public man a Senator, in fact who expects to have his State Indorse the candidacy of one of tho men prom inently mentioned. "Although we expect to secure Ins tructions for our favorite son, I really have no expectation that anybody else than Roosevelt will be nominated. Personally I am not what you would call a Roosevelt man. Moreover, I bellve that the equivalent of two full terms Is enough for any President. Neveltheless, it is Impossible for me to close my eyes to a situation which should be obvious to (very one who can see things as they are. Of course, the President will keep on Insisting that he Is not a candidate and will not be, but that will not effect of his re peated disclaimers probably will be tq Intensify the demand for his renomlnatlon. MAKES COWBOYS' BOOTS. Why the Plainsmen Want illgh and Sharp Pointed Heels. Kansas City Star. In lathe, Kan., there Is a factory which makes W pnlrB of "cowbov Uiots" e4ch week. ESi-h pair of Ohese boots Is made to order. The company ha a cat alogue which It sends to the cattlo ranches throughout the Southwest. It tells the cowboys how to take meHsure ments of their own feet. Thse are sent to tho factory and the coots nmle an. sent out. A "cowboy boot" Is In a distinct rlnss J",8'"- Th8 le must be decorated im;y lines ana curves gcwerl Into the leather, and above everything els tha hAl mtiat h at . .... . . high, must curve Inward from the back vi.n uvuuiii oi mo imQ must e very small. A rnwhov tnk ..nar.li. I -1 -J . things, his hnt and his boots He often ymjm ju mr ins nni, ana ine nest or the cowoy boots tost from $8 to U5. The ordinary shoemaker cannot make boots to suit a true cowboy: he cannot get the heels right. And so the cowboy sends nway for them, and pays a big price and express charges beside. The factory In Olathe employs 30 men. All of the work Is done by haixl, and some of the shoemakers were brought from ftermnnv unit TTnfflan ... n . . to work In that factory. townoys say they have high and sharp pointed heels to their boots not because of vanity and pride but as a matter of convenience. The high heels prevent the heels from passing through the stirrups and they are also a brace when an tn ground roping an animal. As the steer I'Ulls to get away the cowboy sinks his harp heels Into the sod and this pre vents him from slipping. Cat Jumped Into Big Wheel. , Toledo Blade. A cat which has adopted the nlnnt or the Sandusky Foundry and Machine Company as her home undertook to ump through the flywheel on the engine. The est got caught In the spokes, was whlled around tflO or 50O times and then through ths window. With eight lives still to her credit, he hoisted . her tall and started on swift run to' And another home. Tho Plucky Observer Force. Danville Register. The pluck of the editorial and me chanical force of Th Charlotte Ob server Is worthy of record. Yester day morning while the paper was get ting out a fire broke out In the bind ery In the same building, but the nervy fellows went ahead after a tem porary stop and brought out the pa per In good time. PURE WHISKEY , The most prominent physicians in 'Atlanta prescribe and recommend Rose's Whiskey because they know the Rose(distillery and the Rose methods of doing business, and feel confident that this secures tie purest and best whiskey ob tainable. ' .' '"''V':'Vv:':;'V fr:rt;i For the benefit of our friends and customers, we ship to any address on Adams' or Southern Express lines, four full quarts of Rose's Old Rye or Rose's . Old Corn, express prepaid, for $3.40; or shipment may be assorted aa you like, ' ' We absolutely guarantee these goods, and if you are not entirely satisfied your money will be refunded. Our distillery is the finest open fire copper plant in the world and we hare in United States GoTernment warehouses more "Primitive Method" whiskey than all other distillers and dealers combined. Every drop of our whiskey is guaranteed under the National Pure Food Law, and we state plainly on the ' label the proof of the whiskey. Send us a trial order your goods will be expressed by next train. S3d money by express or postal money order, or registered mail R.M.Rose Co. RANDOLPH ROSE, President, 20 Auburn Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia. "ASK THE REVENUE OFFICER." "THE BRIGHT SPOT" Cndoawed by Natore With Superiority if ration fetgriphkally MR RL OT T E k Essentially Destined to be i GREAT COMMERCIAL CENTER Already recognized as an indespensible point of supply and distribution, surrounded by abundant varied natural resources, and a rich agricultural country; easy of access to points of other localities, containing adequate banking facilities and all other modern equipments necessary to constitute the foundation for the building of a great Commercial Center. With these conditions existing it is reasonable to invite the public to "Watch Charlotte Grow." . For information apply to The Greater Charlotte Club W. I. Corwith, Secretary Charlotte, N. C. J 'X'-'-,
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
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March 24, 1907, edition 1
19
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