The San Francisco call., 1896-08-17
COL, SHAFT TER
IN COMMAND
General Forsyth Has Gone
East on Two Months
Leave.
DUTY FOR INSPECTORS.
Ordnance Officers Changing the
Twelve. Inch Rifle
Platforms.
LONE GUN AT LIME POINT.
No Troops There, But Wstchman
Guards the Big
Gun.
LONE GUN At LIME POINT

Colonel William E. Shafuer. First In fam
trv, U. S. Ais now in command Of the
Department of California, and will serve
in that capacity until General Forsyth
returns.
First Lieutenant J. franklin Bell, Sew
enth Cavalry. aid, staff of General Forsyth,
has gone with Captain W. e. Dougherty
First Infantry, to the Hoopa Valley In
dian Agency. On his return from the
north he will proceed to the camps of
troops B, c, l and K, Fourth Cavalry, at
the Yosemite, Sequoia and General Grant
National Parks, for the purpose of inspect
ing cavalry horses.
Major Edward Field, second Artillery,
has been directed to make an inspection
of horses pertaining to light batteries D
and F, Fifth Artillery, at the Presidio.
First Lleutenants Edward T. Brown,
w. H. Coffin, George w. Gatchell and
Second Lieutenant William P. Pence,
Fifth Artillery, leave for the artillery
school at Fort Monroe on September 1.
The officers leaving here are Lieutenants
Jordan, Mclaughlin, Ridgeway, Skerrett
and Carbaugh of the Fifth Artillery.
Lieutenant Payne of the Fourth Artillery
also comes to this station.
In the assignments of officers for a tour
of light battery duty, First Lieutenants
Newcomb and Ridgeway go to Battery F,
and First Lieutenants Straub and Treat go
to Battery D.
The summer practice of heavy artillery
at the Presidio has not been completed.
Some delay was caused in procuring pow
der of the particular grade and quality de-
sired, and now the ordnance officers are
making some changes in the carriages and
platforms OF the 12-inch bxeechloading
rifles OF the bluff above Fort Point. A
12-inch rifle is in position at Lime Point.
No troops are stationed there, but watch
| man keeps an eye on the gun.
| The department quartermaster has re-
ce;ved permission to purchase thirty-fve
horses for light battery use.
| The fiield-staff band and seven COM
panies of the First Infantry, u. S. A,
| left the Presidio Thursday for practice
march to Santa Cruz. The first camp was
| made two miles beyond Ingleside. The
command should reach Santa Cruz next
| Thursday.
| First Lieutenant Frank Greene, Signal
| Corps, Acting Inspector OF Small Arms
Practice, has been directed to proceed to
| the Yosemite, Sequoia and General Grant
National Parks, TO carry out special in
structions of the department commander
with reference to the target practice of
troops there stationed.
First Lieutenant Thomas r. Adams,
quartermaster Fifth Artillery, has been
granted leave of absence for twenty days
Leave of absence for twenty days was
granted to First Lieutenant George w.
Gatchell, Fifth Artillery.
Leavs of absence for fifteen days has
been granted to Captain George H. G.
Gale, Fourth Cavalry.
Private Perry E. Hill, Company A, First
Infantry, was tried by court.martial at
Angel Island, and upon a plea of guilty
found guilty of conduct to the prejudice
of good order and military discipline and
disobedience of orders in violation of the
| Twenty-first Article OF War and was SEN
fenced ito forfeit to the United States $40
OF his pay"
General Forsyth in reviewing the find
ings of the court-martial had this to say
in Special Orders No. S9:
Nothing appearing of record to explain why
SO light sentence had been imposed for con-
the presence of enlisted men and of the officer
giving said orders, the proceedings were re-
turned and the court invited to reconsider its
sentence. The court then placed upon record
its belief that the accused had not q Thorough
understanding OF the consequences of his plea, I"
its doubt whether or not he heard and under
stood the order" he disobeyed, and considered
that the charge should properly have been laid
under the sixty-second Article of War;
ut..- 5I,o 4 49, t<cf
Whether or not the accused understood "the
consequences of his plean is not known be-
cause the court failed to question him on that
point. Whether the act of disobedience was
willful, and hence a plain violation of the
twenty-frst Article OF War, or the result of q
failure to hear and understand the order, and
in that case no offense whatever cannot now
be known, for it appears the court
INDUCED cnly in theories concerning the
significance of the prisoners plea and the
degree of his guilt instead of following its plain
path OF duty, as marked out by precedents and
the uniform procedure of courts martial, to
call for witnesses and by the weight of their
Ftest stimony solve the doubts that beset it.
1t may be stated as guiding rule that the
plea of an enlisted man should never be ac-
cepted by courtmartial as final when such
an acceptance raises grave doubt as to mis-
carriage of justice. In all such cases available
evidence should be obtained ana considered
The court having failed in this respect and
raj ed doubt as to the justice of its own find-
ing upon the second charge and its specihca-
tion, the finding thereon is disapproved.
Furloughs have been granted to Allen P.
Shannon, Company G, First Infantry ;
Lance Corporal William Meyer, Troop 1,
Fourth Cavalry; Michael Ruschel, Troop
1, Fourth Cavalry; Edward Becker, Com
pany G, First Infantry; Musician John
Aston, Battery I, Fifth Artillery; acting
Hospital Steward John G. Adele, Hospital
Corps; Christopher Holbrook, Company
@, First Infantry; Corporal Byron G.
Parsons, Battery G, Fifth Artillery; James
Prosek, Company G. First Infantry;
Arthur s. Bullman, Battery G, Fifth Ar
tillery; Henry Witt, Company G. First
Infantry; Sergeant StanisIaus M. Neisser,
Troop 1. Fourth Cavalry; Harry D. Nell
son, Battery Z, Fifth Artillery; Musician