Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-07-28
THE THUMR-srRING VIcTIM.
Great Indignation Expressed at TIN
Brutal Punishment Inflicted Upon Him

Great Indignation Expressed at the
Brutal Punishment Inflicted Upon Him.
WAsHINGToN, July 26.-'rhe severity of
the punishment inflicted by the officers of
the Pennsylvania militia upon Private
lams, who proposed three cheers for the
assassin of Mr. Frick, was much com
meuted upon in Washington. and il is the
general opinion that the officers went q
good deal too lar. There is no disposition
to excuse the soldier, but the officers are
most severely blamed for acting, so far as
the press reports show without even the
form of a court-martial, and the opinion
was freely expressed about the war de-
pnrtmcnt that ii officers in the regular
service were to act MS had General Snow
den and Colonies Hawkins and Streator
had done their commissions would be
seriously in danger.
AS for the iniliction of torture, as was
done in tricing the prisoner up by the
thumbs, Colonel Lcibcr, the acting Judge
acknowledgement of the army, said there
was no such punishment provided for in
the army regulations, nor had any such
punishment been inflicted since the war
Its a relic of the old CATO -nine.tals
days" said he, He also declared it was
against the regulations to dismiss man
from the service without trial by court
| martial.
| The punishmcnts administered in the
l
ordinarily severe, and yet there is not IN
| officer in that service, from the senior
| admiral down, who would dare to order II
man TO be triccd up by the thumbs, and
that without tine form Of n trial. II will be
remembered that but Il few years ago Conn
mander McCaia of the Enterprise, was
| severely punished by sentence of court
martial for arbitrary treatment of his men
no more severe than that accorded by the
| Pennsylvania militia officers to their
anarchistic private.
NEW YORK MILITtAMEN DEHouNCR 1T.
NEW YORK, July 2j.--The punishment
inflicted on Private lams Of the Tenth
Regiment of the Pennsylvania National
| Guard, stationed at Homestead Saturday
afternoon, for proposing three cheers for
the man who shot Chairman Frck formed
the principle subject in National Guard
circles i'll this city yesterday. The con
census of opinion seems To be that the
punishment was unprecedented and bar.
barous and Colonel Streator was loudly
denounced for not giving the man the
benefit Of court martial.
lirgadier-genera Emmons Clark, the
former commander of the Seventh Regi
ment, said: Colonel Strgator's action hu!
no precedent in this state. The militur,
code of New York would not admit of sucf
extreme punishment We cannot, o
course, judge of the conditions at Home
stead, but 1t seems to me that the punish
ment was carried to the extreme. As Their
was no martial law proclaimed at Home
stead, do not see how lams could hay
been punished without military trial. /
Private lams has any friends they will no
hesitate long in bringing civil action
against Colonel Streator."
A number of other members of othe
, regiments made remarks, and many in
iluential citizens expressed the hope tina
Colonel Streator would not go UNPUBLISHED
Charles G. Burgoyne, the law printer
who is known to nearly every lawyer an
law firm in New York, to-day sent the fol
lowing dispatch to Lieutenant-colont
,, Streator who is in command of the Tent
regiment. which is stationed at Homestea
during the trouble at the Carnegie works
Lteutsnant- Colonel Sreator, Honest I'D, Pa
Law-abldlng men who believe that every ms