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Show Prisoners of War. Our papers arc full nowadays of bat-tics bat-tics in Mexico, and of Villa and Car-Tanza Car-Tanza shooting their unarmed prisoners. prison-ers. It all reminds me vividly of our civil war lays, by contrast, and what wc did with our prisoners then. Tho first rebel prisoners I saw were ,-just this side of Williamsburg, Va., in 18G2. As 1 was riding up tho road there one bright May morniug I met a column of Confederates marching down, several hundreds of them, guarded by union soldiers. The road, was lined1 with our soldiers, both Bides, standing at ease, watching the rebels as thoy filed bv, and as they came opposite to where T sat on horseback one of our men so far forgot himself as to shout out: "Hello. .Johnnies you damned rcl-els! rcl-els! You ought all to , be shot or hanged!" Instantly quick as a flash a young officer stepped out of our ranks, and, smiting him on the mouth, with a hard blow, shouted out, "JTush, you damned coward! l")on't you know those fellows aro now unarmed prisoners prison-ers of war? And how daro you insuJl them, or be disrespectful to them!" And thereupon our unfortunate soldier dim It back into the ranks, while all ur and. down the pike our soldiers Clapped and applauded tho chivalrous ofiicer. The next we knew much about prisoners pris-oners of wnr was at Appomattox, Va., April 9, 18(55. Of course, we had seen many meanwhile, but General Lee stir-rendered stir-rendered that day and reported his men out of rations and hungry. "Flow ninnvj men have you?" inquired Grant "Oh," Lee replied, "I don't know exactly. ex-actly. Thoro ha? been a good don' of finhting and straggling rccenth-. an, T have had no 'morein reports' lor wo or three dai?. But I supnosn abni.t . iSo.OiKi." Instnnth Grant (allH lo hi.' rhlcf of staff: "General "Rawlins, send I ;30,()00 rations for three days into Gen- oral Leo's lines. His men 'must uot go hungry while they aro our guests hero! ' And that is how our union generals treated their "prlsouora of war'1 during our great civil war. And yet now, in this twentieth century, cen-tury, theso misorablo Mexicans shoot their unarmed prisoners down liko dogs, as tho cruel and savage Greckn did three thousand years ago. in tho days of Philip and' Alexander, ami we have no ojlkinl American voice raised against those wholesale and repeated massacres and murders! Only last evening's pa pors report that thev shol "of0 prisoners" pris-oners" after the taking of Torrpon. What would Gcorgo Washington and Ulysses S. Grant do if thoy wore here, ami cannot President Wilson do something some-thing lo stop these unspeakable outrages out-rages and wholesale atrocities? Why can ho not at least issue a proclamation proclama-tion against. I hem. and warn all Mexican Mexi-can officials that tho United States and the civilized world will hold them personally per-sonally responsible for them sooner or later? This might not be "watchful waiting," but it would, be in. the interests in-terests of civilization and Christianity, nnd is it not high time President Wilson Wil-son waked up to this horrible business and our responsibility for the same? Communication to 2m. V. Tribune. |