Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1897-06-01
the New Orleans evening papers con-


Importance is to be held at the bar
racks, the session to commence at ten
a. m. Oh the I'd of January, for the trial
of Brevet Capt. J. P. Close, of the
-teenth infantry, on charges serious
ly rejecting upon his character as an
officer and a gentleman. The detail for
the court comprises officers of several
other regiments, as it is conceded that
there is a widespread prejudice against
the accused among his comrades in the
tenth. Even the light battery has
been drawn upon in this instance, an
unusual circumstance, as officers of that
arm generally claim exemption from
such service in view of the peculiar and
engrossing nature of their battery du-
ties. Brevet Brig. Gen. Pike, of the-th
cavalry, is detailed as president, and
First Lieut.. S. X. Waring, of the til
artillery, as judge advocate of the court.
The latter officer will be remembered
as the hero of remarkable adven-
ture in connection with the recent
cause celebre, the Lascelles affair.""
'Well, may be kissed to DEATH" ex-
claimed Capt. Lively, of the Foot, as he
burst into the messroom that evening.
"Just listen to this, will you! Old
Close to be tried by court-martial-with
New Clothes for Judge advocated"
'New Clothes" be it understood, was
name under which Mr.. Warning was be-
ginning to be known, thanks to his I'M
willingness to appear second time in
any garment of the fashion of the day.
by CAD, if were the old man I'd OBJ
ject to the J. A. on the ground of nat
ural antipathy!" said Mr.. Burton; and
among the men present, some of whom
had been the colonel's advisers in draw
ing up the charges, there were half IA
score who seemed to think that poor
Close could hope for no fair play now.
1t was then that Maj. Kinsey, red-faced
and impetuous, burst in with the re-
Duke that became a classic in the an
nails of the old barracks:
"Fair play be damned, and you fel-
lows, too! What fair play has the man
had at your hands? It's my belief that
he never would get it but for the fact
that Waring is detailed.''
The sensation Kinsey's outbreak Gre
ated was mild compared with that
caused by Closes appearance before
grave and digniied court in the week
that followed. On the principle of ~
clean sweep" it had been determined
to arraign him on charges covering the
allegations as to his official misconduct
in failing or refusing to support the
federal authorities during the late dis
turbances. might as well get rid of
him for good and ALL" said old Brax.
And so the array of charges was long
and portentous. So was the bill for
transportation and per diem of civilian
witnesses the government afterwards
had to pay. So was Braxton's face
when, the evidence for the prosecution
exhausted without proving much of
anything, the testimony for the defense
began to be unfolded. It transpired
that Mr.. Warning had gone up to head
quarters on the evening of the 1st> of
January and formally asked the gen.
eral commanding to be relieved from
duty as judge advocate and allowed to
defend the accused. The general was
astonished, and asked why. Then War
ing laid before him piece by piece the
evidence he had collected as a result
Of his investigation, and the chief
ripped out something old Brax and his
adjutant might have been startled to
hear, but, after thinking it all over,
told Warning to go ahead, try the case,
Exhaust the evidence" and never mind
the consequences. He sent his aid-dc-
camp down to say to Close that any
officer whose assistance he desired
should be assigned amicus curiae. Close
replied that he 'reclzoned he could git
along without any amycuss curious,
whatever that washed talked it over
with Mr.. Warning and Mr.. Pierce;" and
the trial went on.
Parmelee was the,first witness. to fiat
ten out and go to pieces, and the only
one who had anything but "hearsay'
to offer On the score of official neglects.
The widows were the next. They be-
gan truculently and triumphantly
enough, but the cross-examination re-
duced them to contradictions and tears
1t became evident that most of Stones
company fund went north with one of
them, that the alleged diamonds were
paste and that both Stone and Tighe
had been gambling and drinking for
months previous to their fatal seizures.
It was established that, so far from
having defrauded the widows of their
money. the old fellow had sent them
each $500 over and above the proceeds
of the meager sales, besides accounting
for, as, sold at fair valuation, items he
never disposed of until Lambert bought
them.
Then when it came to testimony as to
war and other service, Close sat there.
blind, bandaged, SCARED, and little
Pierce, who had volunteered as "amy-
cuss" anyhow, unrolled one letter after
another and laid them on the table, and
they went{the rounds of the court until
old Pike clicked them off by saying
they couldn't well attach the accused's
scars and wounds to the records, any
more than these letters: he was ready
to, vote, unless the gentleman himself
desired to say some thing had, some
statement to offer. How was that, Mr..
T1,r1rr ~ 4