The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-11-07
MILITARY LEGAL CODE.
Very Decidedly Cumbersome Meth
DDS of Dispensing Justice in
the Army.
A Large Amount of Circumlocu-
ton in Trying Drunken
Private.
Onerous Burden of the Unlucky Martinez
Detailed as Judge AdvOcate-Pun.
ished Before Trial.

OnerOus Burden of the Unlucky MARITIME
Detailed as Judge Advocate-Pun-
ished Before Trial.
did it ever occur to you, my friend
what cumbersome piece of machinery tn,
military legal code is? The civil code hat
been continually simplified, but the militar,
never
So said an eminent practitioner to New
York Times reporter recently. He contin-
ued:
II have just finished the defense in
court-martial case, and actually, if time
were consumed in the same ratio in civil
cases as on this, justice would always make
pretty short nights of it. Take this, for in
stance, Suppose man is drunk on thu
streets of New York-stretch your imagina-
ton That far, if you can-the police run him
In with little ceremony, and the next morn
ing. with dozen others, he stands before
the judge and hears him say: John Doe,
you are charged with being drunk; what say
you?' Guilty, your honor Five dollars.
'"That's all there is to it. Isn't it delight
fully short and simple? And are not all
parties satisfied! Now let John enlist, and
us soon as he gets blue bloose ON he is a
changed man; he has grown in importance,
and 1t is almost worth his while to get good
and booty Just for the fun of making the
members OF his court martial work. Some
sub-lieutenant is detailed as Judge advocate
of the tribunal, which is composed of three
other officers. They are not 80 much to be
excused as the young sprig with the empty
field on his shoulder straps-the before
mentioned judge advocate. At every new
case he has to scur,y around the post and
personally inform the members of the court
that case is ready for trial, and when will
tl:ev meet? Tomorrow morning at 10
O'Clock generally.
when Tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock
comes one member turns up; the others
have forgotten the duty and gone to town,
so the court must adjourn until they return.
John Doe is remanded to the Ruardhouse,
and several hours later, when the court has
assembled. he is sent for and word comes
back that he is working under :charge of
the guard at the furthest limit of the reser-
walton. Mark you, this work and this So
journ in the guardhouse are all punishment
for the oHense for which he has not yet
been tried.
AN hour elapses and John Doe is pro-
duoed. and, standing before the court,
pleads not guilty TO the charge of drunken
ness. He may admit that he had been
drinking, but he was not drunk oh. no! He
could do his duty. No soldier could admit
that be is too drunk to do his duty unless
he is lying paralyzed in the gutter.
''Ihe oath is then administered by the
Judge advocate to the members of the court
and the taking of testimony begins. Each
Witness swears he knows the prisoner and
tells who he is, and then proceeds with an
account of the whisky John had guzzled.
Every question and every reply must be re-
corded by the judge advocate exactly as it
is uttered. Every side play must also be
spread upon the minutes. Half dozen
witnesses are produced by the prosecution
and as many more by the defense. The
tp1 nl - In,c l:.A
in case of proved guilt pronounces the
sentence. The judge advocate carries home
his pile Of notes, for he must spend the
evening and part of the night in tran
scribing the mass of testimony in long
drawn-out legal form.
1.-THE next day he submits the proceedings
OF the court to the post adjutant, who
checks his work. The slightest error is suf-
ficient to cause it all to be returned, with
the caustic command: Correct as indi-
the proceedings, and approves or disap-
proves them. Ii the trial results in an ac-
quital, not uncomDonly the Judge adyo-
cate gets rap for being derelict in his duty,
but why l can't in justice say. for he is
bound to conduct with equal fairness both
suit OF the post commanders deliberations
is published at parade, and the world is in
formed that John Doe is fined IS for being
drunk. That's the substance of it, but the
way the adintant reads it from the orders is
something like this
Fort Blank, such and such date, 1880.
Special orders No. SO and SO.
before a garrison court-martial con.
vcned at this post by orders from these
headquarters. of which Capt. So and SO is
John Doe, Eleventh cavalry. Charge: Con.
duct to the prejudice Of good order ard mil
itary discipline. Specifications: In that he.
Private John Doe, Eleventh cavalry, was SO
much under the influence of Intoxicating
liquor as to be unable properly to perform
Blank. on or about such and such date.
To which the accused pleaded as follows:
10 the specification, not guilty; to the
charge. not guilty.
! The court having ,meturely considered
the evidence adduced, finds him, Private
John Doe, Eleventh cavalry: OF the speci-
fication. guilty; of the charge. guilty. And
tho court does therefore sentence him, Pri-
vote John Doe, to forfeit to the United
States rs of his pay
has been confined at the guard house and
kept confined at work about the post
Doesn't it all seem absurdp That's the
way it is done in the army. II il only one
instance, but it shows the tendency of the
whole institution-to pile on the agony, to
1t Is because the army has SO little to do.
;, In time OF war. with an army of more
than 1,0O0,60O men, red tape was not so
great a scourge as it ia now in peace, with a
force of less than 25,OOO Do you know
that the army regulations fill a book Ms
thick as the dictionary? They do. Tie
rules are strung together. hinge UPON one
another, and are built up until man can
hardly stir without authority The army
has practically nothing to do. and it sets
about doing it in way that will kill the
most time. Army officers are educated men
and they cannot sit down. twiddle their
thumbs, draw their pay and remain con-
tented. They have to do something: the
gray matter of the brain demands eyer
disc: they are restricted in their sphere
and their talents are applied unworthiIy in
building up the regulations for the army
II is as bad as utilizing an elephant as mo-
tive powcr for toy wagon.
But what will they do? There's the rub.
/ have known officers who put in their time
at various pursuits-photography music.
printing. literature-in sheer desperation.
But they are ALWAYS amateurs, and SO can't
rise very high. You know competition is
necessary to incite most men to any effort:
but in the army, whore there is no competi.
ton, where man gets just SO much pay,
where his promotion comes in the regular
course of events and not by any personal
merit, all incentive 10 dead. Besides, most
of our officers spend their lives in semi
exile on the frontier, drop behind their
friends in other walks of life, and lose in
terest in the live topics of the day. They
get into a rut and can't make the effort
necASSArv IN oct ont