The Somerset herald and farmers' and mechanics' register. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 183?-1852, 1846-05-19

nroteetiou of onr laws as much as the !
members of this House. They were con- I
v;cted of no crime, they had been arrested
for no offence; they werefiable to no pun
;shment. without trial and conviction un-
der our laws. Their lives were as sacred /
as those of the members of this House,
and the shooting of them was as fagitlous
a murder as it would have been for the
same men to have entered this hall and Ia
ken the lives OF any two members of this
BODY. The rules and articles of war, the
laws Of the army, hold the lives of our
men in service as sacred as they do the
lives of our citizens or our Legislators.
Mr.. Jones, of Tennessee, called Mr..
Giddings 10 order, and urged that, as the
House had ordered the report to be prin-
ted. il was not IN order to argue Ill favor
Of printing.
'fhe Speaker said the gentleman from
Ohio ought not TO coehne himself to the
proprety of printing.
Mr.. Giddings resumed, and said that
his remarks were intended TO apply strict
" to the propriety of giving the country
the true character of the outrage which
had b ZEN committed upon the laws and
rights of Americans, and. to show the light
in which such transaction was formerly
regarded by the army and by Congrss, he
would respectfully ask the attention
Of the House to the case Of Col. VIII
liam King, who commanded the army in
Florida in the 1918. The history of that
case he would read from public docu-
ments which may be found i'll the Ameri-
can State Papers, entitled military Af-
fairs,' volume second.
In answer 10 aTesUlution, tie President
sent to this House a message, III the fol-
lowing words:
Washington, january 8, 1920.
To THE House OF REPRESENTATIVE.
In compliance with a resolution of the
House Of Representatives of the l4th
December, 1919, requesting me ''to cause
to be laid before it any informationI may
possess respecting certain executions
which have been inflicted i'll the army of
the United States since the year 1914,
contrary to the laws and regulations pro-
vided by the government OF the same" /
transmit a report from the Secretary Of
War containing a detailed account in re-
lation to the object Of the said resolu-
ton.
JAMES MONROE.
Accompanying this message was the
following letter of Secretory of War:
L., 1904
Sir: | have caused the resords of this
Department to be examined for all the in-
formation it possesses prospecting GER
tain executions or other punlshmeRts
which may have been inflicted in the ar
my since the year 1915, contrary TO the
laws and regulations provided for the gov
ernment of the same,'' December IA,
1919; and now have the henor to state
that, as soon as it was reported 10 this
Department that ''Col. King, of the 4th
infantry, while commanding at Pensaco-
la, had given orders TO shoot down the
deserters If found within the limits OF
Florida" | directed the enclosed order
(marked A to be sent to him. His an
swer to this order was received during
nv absence las. summer. The Colonel
reported that such order had been given
him, and that it was given in conformity
with the established usage of service,
when other means of checking desertion,
which become so frequent as to threaten
the total reduction of the force under his
command, had failed.
7 Lo,.o ,I,o ba,,o- No 1or,- rDyao4fs7l-
", your obedient servant,
]. c. CALHOUN,
To the PRESIDENT of the United States
The order marked A is in the follow /
towing words:
ADJUTANT & INSPECTION GENERALS S Or +
FIcE. March 30, 1919,
Sir; II has been reported to the War
Department, from a source entitled to
credit, that, since YOU have had the COM
mand in Florida and at Pensacola, 'or-
ders have been given to the military to
shoot down deserters if found within the
limits of Florida, and that such orders
from Col. King, Military Com
have accordingly been exne-
cutcd.'
The Secretary of War directs that YOU
forthwith make particular and detailed
report, stating the orders, by whom given,
by whom executed, GA whom executed,
and the time when executed, with such
further facts as you may deem important
on this subject.
have the honor to be, sir your obe-
dent servant,
D. PARKER.
Adjutant and Quartermaster General.
Col. WILLIAM KING, 4th Infantry.
Tensaw Post Office, Alabama.
Mr.. Gliding resumed. When these
facts reached the knowledge of the Secre-
iary of War, an order for his arrest was