The record-union., 1899-09-20
THE CASE OF PRIVATE HOON.
HIS COURT-MARTIAL AND SEN
TENCE AT MANILA.
The Result OF His Forging Names to
a Petition Asking Gen. Otis
for Commission.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10. A dis
patch has been received at the War
Department regarding Private Law
renee D. Hoon of the Ninth Infantry,
who was the subject of letter from
Governor Bushnell to President McKin-
ley protesting against the sentence of
the court martial at Manila. General
Otis says that the petition presented
by Hoon had the names of several
members of his company forged to it,
and it was for this crime he was con-
victed.
The following is the dispatch of Gen
eral Otis giving particulars about
Hoon:
Manila, September 19.-Adjutant
General, Washington: Private Hoon,
Company K, Fourth Infantry, was SEN
fenced by court martial, sitting at
linus, to dishonorable discharge and
imprisonment for one year The SEN
tence was approved by General Law
ton, and is being served. On April
18th Hoon sent direct to me a paper
purporting to be a petition asking for
commission. The paper was referred
to the commanding officer of the
Fourth Infantry without remark. The
result of the trial on a charge of vio-
lation of the sixty-second article of
war under which specification was laid
was as follows:
4" In that Private Lawrence f. Hoon,
Company K, Fourth United States In
fantry, did write and send to Major
General E. S. Otis, United States Vol
unteers, military Governor of Philip
pine Islands, a paper purporting to be
petition in words and figures as fol-
lows:
Camp La Iona, April 16 1S99.-
General Otis-Honored Sir: We, the
undersigned, do hereby, in behalf of
the company. present to you for pro-
motion, under Presidential appoint
ment, Private Lawrence F. Hoon, Com
pany K, Fourth United States Infan-
try, for integrity and bravery and good
moral character. He is unsurpassed in
the Fourth Regiment. He. has col
lege education and Senatorial ances-
tors, his grandfather, Judge William
Lawrence, is ex-Comptroller of the
United States Treasury. Private Hoon
left his regiment in the trenches and
joined the Twenty second Regiment.
Company F, because they were to the
front. He left without gun or belt.
and stood in the lines until man
fell. He took his outfit and fought with
them to MaloloS. He turned in the out
fit to Sergeant Trooper, Company F,
of the Twenty-second and returned to
his company. He has been to the
front in all the skirnishes of K Com
pany, and has seen three times more
service in the Philippines than any
man in the regiment. Hoping you will
allow him an examination, we thus
submit the petition:
Yours, Sergeant j. Moore, Corporal
Baldwin, Corporal Bannon, Corporal
Chandler, Privates H. Gosh, c. Beal.
We could secure the signatures Of
the entire company, but consider this
sufficient, and thus avoid publicity.
Yours truly, Sergeant Moore, Com
pany K, Fourth Infantry
Knowing that he, the said Lawrence
F. Hoon. Company K, Fourth Infantry,
had feloniously and maliciously written
the names of Sergeant J. Moore, Cor
poral Mark Baldwin, Corporal Bannon,
Corporal Chandler, Privates II. Gosh
and c. Beal to the petition with the in
tent of deceiving the said General OTIS
and thereby trying to secure his (Otis)
aid in obtaining a commission as
Second Lieutenant in the United States
army. This in camp at La Iona
Church. near Manila, on the 18th day
of April, 1899, proceedings of trial for
warded to Washington August 18th.
ssOTIS,'