Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-06-11
A Discredited Court.
From the Cincinnati Gazette.

From the Cincinnati Gazette
Washington is becoming a most remarkable
court-martial center. Yesterday the sentence
in the Armes case was made known. OF course
he was dismissed. The President very prop
erly saw fit, on account of many extenuating
circumstances, to materially modify the sem
tence. and Capt Armes will be confined to the
limits of the District of Columbia and some
adjacent territory for the period of five years.
and will not wear his uniform within that time
As the case was first presented to the country,
Capt. Armes was left without sympathy. He
was believed to have been guilty Of striking
Gov. Beaver. who. with the aid of crutches.
goes about on one leg. 1t seems that Armes,
under great excitement. made pass for the
governors nose, and missed it, This WIS ex-
ceedinglv undignfed and altogether inexcusa-
bic, and except for the reasons which actuated
the President, but which caused no response
from the court, merited dismissal.
Aside from these reasons. the President
doubtless had in mind the astonishing want of
uniformity in the sentences of the three courts
which have been submitted for his revision.
In the first. an officer of engineers, detailed
for the special duty of superintending the
costly and most important project of extend
ing the water supply of Washington, wholly
neglected his duty through a series of years
and to such an extent that. the time APP
preached for opening the works. they were
found to be utterly useless, and now have been
abandoned. The loss to the government ran
up into the millions The inconvenience to the
national capital can not be measured The
| frauds i'll the work. when discovered, were
found to be of the gravest character. While
they were in progress this officer was spending
much time about the clubs, and at tissue-paper
fox hunts and fashionable receptions The
court which tried him sentenced him to pay
the government 800 month for nine months
1t did not suspend him from duty, and he still
stands az detailed for the special work of ex-
tending the water supply OF Washington. He
still hourishes about the clubs and i'll ultra
| fashionable society, and is regarded as quite
| select enough to wear the army uniform
Next President Harrison was confronted
with II sentence of two years suspension from
rank and duty, with greatly reduced pay. of a
naval officer who, Ill good faith, left his ship
on the Alaska coast to report her condition, IN
order that she might be saved
| And now, with the extenuatng circumstances
| which surround the Armes case. he finds "a
! sentence of dismissal from the army. Evidently
| General Harrison, as a lawyer, clearly secs the
need of notifying army officers that there must
| be something approaching uniformity in the
! action OF their courts; or, to express the mat
| ter in modern phrase, that during his admin
istration the punishment must tit the crime
/ So long as a military court composed OF Off
GERS of distinguished standing declares that al
lowing great government work to be ruined
| is not an appreciable neglect of duty ON the
| part OF an engineer in charge, army officers
must not be surprised if the people conceive q
tremendous prejudice against these arbitrary