The San Francisco call., 1895-12-18
TRIED AT CHATTANOOGA.
A Court.Martial Found the Gen.
eral Guilty on Three
Charges.
VERDICT AFTERwARD MODIFIED
Father Ferguson Addresses a Metro.
politan Hall Meeting on
Modern Patriots"

w. W Foote and Major Sherman have
not held a consultation as yet TO decide on
the selection of third person to finally
pass on the points of contention in the
public controversy between the Rev.
Father Yorke and the Rev. Donald NJ.
Ross.
Mr. Foote was at his Office for short
time yesterday. He came over from his
Oakland home to attend to some pressing
private business. His health is not the
best. He declined to be interviewed on the
subject of the controversy.
Il have not seen Major Sherman, the
gentleman selected by Rev. Mr.. Ross TO
represent him in the settlement of the
questi on at issue" said the eminent law
yer Yesterday. ''In fact | do not know
Major Sherman. When we meet however,
and nave a consultation, may be able to
decide on what steps shall be taken in the
matter. As yet DO not know that l shall
act at all.
Now do not wish to enter into the
spirit of this controversy at all. / do not
wish to criticize anybody else and do not
relish being criticized myself, except when
it is in a spirit of justice. My duty, as l
understand it, is to act as judge in g mat
Catholic teaching between Father Yorke
and Rev. Mr.. Ross. Both sides VIII SUBJ
NIT their proofs and then the judges will
decide the question and that will be the
end to it. | certainly have no interest in
the matter one Wy or the other, except to
weigh and consider the evidence as sub
mitted by botn sides and render Just and
honest verdict accordingly"
The supporters of Rev. Donald NJ Ross
are going along with the preparations for
the big mass-meeting at the Mechanics
Pavilion the second week in February.
Father Yorke submits the following re-
ply tc General Morgan's letter published
in THE CALL yesterday:
To the Editor OF the San Francisco CatL-DEAR
SIR: The Hon. Rev. General T. j. Morgan, DID,,
has been moved to correct certain severe te-
Elections made by me on his military charac-
Ter. He complains that the matters OF which
spoke were purely PERSONAL and ''had no
possible relation to the public questions" which
were discussed at Metropolitan Temple.
Allow me 10 state, Mr.. Editor, that if the
matters on which spoke were purely personal
i should willingly apologize TO the Rev. t. J.
Morgan, ID. l do not believe that discus
sion of the purely personal character of any
man is seemly in public controversy. ana
Imagine that the Introduction Of an opponents
private affairs would but hurt my own cause.
In dealing with the Hon. T. J. Morgan | ap-
pcaed only TO the public records of public
court and TO the public acts of public official.
and lectured for the 4. ?. A He stood sponsor
for society which is organized to prescribe
his own companions in arms and TO refuse
even the lowest office in our public schools to
the daughters of Sherman, Sheridan or Grant.
His former position and his military title lent
certain air OF respectability long wanting TO
the Metropolitan Temple meetings, and in his
lecture he gave on his own testimony mis- per-
sonal experience in a war which he claimed
Roman Catholics made on him.
Confronted with this phenomenon it became
first the value of the military title claimed by
General Morgan, ID, and, secondly, the value
of his word when offered as a proof of facts.
My investigation did not go outside the public
records of this country, and the results of my
investigations appear to have panied the Rev.
Hon. General 7. J. Morgan, even on the other
edge OF the continent.
l. The value of the military title claimed by
this patriotic gentleman / deduced from the
fact that he had been arraigned before gen.
eral court-martial convened at Chattanooga,
Tenn, on March %, 1865, on three charges
the violation of the fifteenth article of war;
conduct unbecoming an officer and gentle
man, and conduct prejudicial to good order
and military discipline. From the records of
this court l stated that the specifications ac-
cnsed him OF signing false muster rolls, of run
ming round the country with petitions for his
OWT promotion, OF suppressing petitions for the
promotion of his subordinates, of attempting
bribery, OF opening letters addressed to others
and OF cOnn1Y1ng at the unlawful disposal of
the property of the United States, to wit, one
Government mule. / stated that on each
charge and on each specification the verdict
of the court was guilty" and stated that the
sentence ran: 'And the court does therefore
sentence him the said Colonel T. ]. Morgan
Fourteenth United States Colored Infantry, to
be dismissed from the service of the United
States"
In opposition to all this, General Morgan
comes now with the plea that these proceedings
'did not at the time they occurred affect my
standing an officer and a Christian gentle
man in the least degree on the part of those
who were familiar with all the circumstances
4
and set aside by General James B. Steedman.
/ was restored to duty, and retained my con-
nection with the army until my resignation,
when l was honorably discharged"
In answer to this plea, beg to state that /
know nothing of General Morgan's standing
among his friends, but l do know that his
statement Of General Steedman's action, while
not an assertion OF falsehood, suggests the
thing that is not. The ordinary reader would
be led to believe that the higher court had
eXonerated General Morgan and that the
retention of his standing was due to such
exoneration. Such is not the case l copy
from General Steedman's order: "In the fore
going case of T. j. Morgan, Fourteenth United
States Infantry, the court having found the
accused guilty of the first characterization of
the 18th Article of War-had not the
authority to change the sentence as prescribed
in that article for such offense, and its failure
TO conform to the requirements of the above
article in sentencing the accused is an error
fatal TO the proceedings and findings of the
court so far as relates TO the first CHARGE"
For this technical reason General Steedman
was compelled TO set aside these proceedings
When we remember that the error OF the court
was on the side of leniency-prescribing a
lesser sentence than that laid down in the law
we can understand that there is but cold
comfort for the Rev. Hon. General T. j. Nor
gan, I. d., in the fact that he escaped on legal
quibble.
3 The value of General Morgan's word /
learned from the proceedings of another court
martial. This was also held at Chattanooga,
and the date is March IA, 1865. Lientenant-
Colonel II. {. Corbin of the Fourteenth United
States Colored Infantry was on trial for cow
ardice and other capital crimes The specifica-
uons were based on reports made by Colonel
Morgan, which reports may be studied by the
curious in any of our public Libraries, in the
'War OF the Rebeiion-Offcal Records of the
Union and Confederate Armies" vol. xiv. part
/. series 90. page 537