The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-08-21
PRIVATE MORAM'S STORY
He Was Court Martialed for Strik-
ing Lieutenant Mercer.
HE THINKS 1T UNJUST
Sentenced to Two Years In q Military
Prison. He VIII Make q Great En-
fort 10 Get the Case Reopened
at Washington.

~ &1Osahs thC D1Ntt oOldlC4s WhOf NJ
cording to the Honolulu correspondence In
the Standard Friday morning. was court
martialed and sentenced to Imprisonment
for two years. is quite we'll known In this
city and has a number of friends here. His
friends say he is an sasy-going young fei.
low and well liked. but that he would
not take an insult from any man living
and would resent It with force IL he knew
It would cost him his life the next min
ute.
According to the account given of the
trouble by the Standards correspondent.
Moran was court-martialed because
he was not prompt In obeying the orders
of Lieutenant John r. Mercer to clean up
the camp quarters. A letter was received
in Butte yesterday from Moran which
gives . different explanation Of tho At
fair, and from which It appears that he
struck Mercer. The latter. according to
the Standards correspondent, Is also to
be court-martialed. but for what reason
was not stated. Moran gives no reason
for II. He wrote from the troop ship
Pennsylvania at Honolulu Aug. . as fol-
lows:
II presume you VIII be horribly morti-
htN oh icNCiNih6 HE irOul me- Out tne
fact is I wrote you twice and tore up one:
the other 1 enclose here. Well, / am in IL
good this time. l am charged with strik-
ing my superior officer, First Lieutenant
Mercer of Company O.. He was crazy
drunk here at Honolulu, and abusive.
-Four or five officers were engaged in a
scufiie with me and I was confined. / was
strictly sober and had not tasted a single
drop. I have been told by a friend in au-
thority that they would cinch me to make
an example Of me for the other soldiers.
Lieutenant Jacob NJ. Kennedy of Com
pany X, Anaconda. defended me. He wit
messed the whole affair. He spoke In my
favor, said he knew / was innocent, and
would leave no stone unturned to ave my
case opened up at Washington, but he
knew l stood no show with these officers,
Kessler, brennan, Miller, etc. j am a lit
tie disappointed in not going on to Manila.
but IL the whole regiment had another
chance to show themselves there would
not be 25 volunteers. Nothing but star
walton, cruelty and suffering; officers bull
lying men and striking them down with
swords. etc.
THE very officers trying me knew I was
Innocent. / am going TO try and get
Lieutenant Richards of Butte to have his
father work for a review of the case at
Washington. / have lost no friends In the
regiment for my actions. and they are the
proper judges. Captain Gardner was on
my court. but could do nothing. He knew
I was innocent / taxi II very philosophi-
cally and shall not lose al hours sleep
over 1t. 1t will take a little time to bring
the true facts to light, but they will come
out all right. I have not heard officially
what the sentence will be. but ! have
heard unoficially that II will be two years
in Alcatraz military prison, California.
Lieutenant Mercer is also under arrest
awaiting court-martial. but ] presume he
will be whitewashed. We expect that the
Peru, Pueblo, Rio de Janeiro and Penn
sylvania will leave about tomorrow
wednesday, Unless you hear from me
again drop me a line at Alcatraz military
prison, California"
In view of the above letter, the follow
ing. written by Mr.. Moran from Camp
Merritt, near San Francisco. after the al
legged mutiny of the Montana boys. and
as he had been reduced from corporal TO
the ranks. will be read with interests:
VIII you kindly contradict a statement
made or purporting to be made by Cap
tain Keown of Company c. LIST Montana
volunteers, to the effect that all non-com-
missioned officers OF Company B were
transferred to other companies and re-
duced to the ranks for drunkenness. I will
give you a brief recital of the facts.
THE food served 10 US previous to the
so-called 'mutiny' was something terrible
in quality and quantity. The members of
the company got tired reporting the facts
TO Captain Gardner, as he never reported
our grievance 10 the COlOnel. On tne even
ing before the strike June ~, we had
some fried salt pork for supper. II was
rotten. Hunger compelled us 10 eat some
of il. 7 tasted the thin lean streak, not
half an ounce. and, though ! have always
boosted that I. like a gnst. could digest
anything from a pair OF old gum boots 10
a tomato can, I was taken with violent
cramps and vomiting during the night. I
had my name put down on the sick list the
first thing in the morning Well. at 6:15 we
were marched to breakfast. and when /
Saw and recognized by its own peculiar
smell. mine enemy Of the preceding even
ing. I then marched up to the regimental
surgeon. DR.. Adams, and showed him ex-
actly what was given me. He 1t
and pronounced the salt pork unfit for
human use.
'I returned 70 my tent and lay there
were ordered to form company and march
four or five miles to the Sutro baths.
Halt of us were too sick to do so and
the balance were getting desperate. We
told Captain Gardner We were unable to
march that distance. He, instead of re-
porting the true facts TO the colonel, told
him we refused to obey his orders.
"The colonel came down and asked any
one who wished to disobey orders to step
to the front. They took a list OF the men
who said they could undertake the march
and the following men said they could
go: Sergeant Metcalf. Corporal Brinton.
Privstes Holland. Whitley. Buchanan and
Evans and another private whose name I
have forgotten. After the colonel spoke
to the company ] asked permission TO re-
ply and state our grievance. He granted
{. / stated the whole case: told him We
had repeatedly asked our captain to re-
port the quality of the food we were re-
c~eiving. etc. and that we had no inten-
lions of disobeying orders: that we would
not think of expecting anything but
! n r5ubfpS apd mara willing co sftMeT a0v
privations were we I'm a hostile country
or i'm the field where II would be imprac-
ticable for our government to furnish us
with sufficient food: but that we were
here in the midst of plenty and in the
service of a government who paid nber-
ally for and allowed us ample and whole
some food and we thought II the duty OF
nnr officers IN do their duty both TO The