13 MAY 1916, Page 12

THE BEHAVIOUR OF AMERICAN AND GERMAN SOLDIERS. [TO THE EDITOR

OF THE " sezerszoa."] send you letter of L. W. Keplinger, which perhaps you can sae as showing the difference in the conduct of the soldiers of the armies in the war between the North and South in America and the brutal and wanton behaviour of the soldiers of the German armies.—Wishing the Spectator speedy and quick success in its fight for the right, I am, Sir, &c., W. Thomsorr. 641 Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas, April 25th.

" Kansas City, Kansas, April 21st, 1916. In. W. TwomsoN.

Mr DEAR SIR,—I have read with intense interest the article headed German Atrocities' in the London Spectator of April 1st. Replying to your inquiry as to similar occurrences during our civil war I will say : I served onsthe Northern side from the beginning to the end of the war, and was more or less in every Southern State except Florida and Texas, and I never heard of a single instance of an outrage upon womanhood by our soldiers. Also, I made inquiry of our friend Colonel Jenkins, who served on the Confederate side from the beginning to the close of the war, and he assures me that although they charged us with about everything else, ho never heard of our being accused of anything like that. I then wrote to the Atlantic Monthly, stating the above facts, and requested information along that line. I received a personal letter In reply, stating that there was a record of but one such case, and that the offender was promptly shot by order of General Grant. I am satis- fied that if such a thing had occurred in our Western Army, Grant would never have had a chance to have the man shot. We made war ea men, and we protected women and children as if they had been our

01171.—Yours truly, L. W. Kreetierit."