The times., 1899-10-09
CARTER SENDS HIS CHECK
The Former Captain Pays the Fine
Imposed by the Court.
Time for the Submission of Briefs in
the Habeas Corpus Case Extended
ment-The Routine of Military Pun
ishment-Many Changes of Guards

NEW YORK, Oct. S.-Former Capt ober-
lin NJ. Carter, recently sentenced by court
martial to be dismissed from the Army,
TO be imprisoned for five years at the mill
tary prison at Fort Leavenworth, and to
pay fine of $1,000, paid the fine on Sat-
urday Carter sent his check for the amount
to United States District Attorney Bur-
Owing TO the fact that Abram j. Rose,
counsel for Carter, has been called to Sa-
vannah, in the harbor OF which city the
work that got Carter into -troubleawas done,
Judge Lacombe has extended Che time for
submission of briefs by the Government and
Mr.. Rose, in the habeas corpus proceedings.
until next Saturday. Lieut.. Col. John W.
Clous, deputy judge advocate general,
handed his brief to General Burnett on
Saturday, and the latter will file Colonel
Clous BRIEF with his own, some time dur
ing the week.
The temporary imprisonment of former
Capt. Oberlin NJ Carter in Castle Will
liams has again directed attention to
the old fortress which for nearly a hum
dred years has looked down upon the har-
Dor. Time has darkened its red sandstone
walls, but the ravages of wind and weather
have had no appreciable effect upon its
solidity and strength. Nearly three cen
turies have passed since the white man
first set foot on Governors Island and in
that time many men high in civil and mill
itary station have pressed its turf. Colo
NAL Governors have smoked their pipes,
slipped their Madeira, and meditated In
the shade of the nut trees: soldiers have
planned battles or rested from their labors
on its lawns. Here Prescott trained his
feeble armament upon the proud forces of
King George, and here the careworn regu-
lars have found refreshing breezes after
the long sieges in hot Cuban climates.
In Colonial times Governors Island was
known as Nut Island, or Nutten Island.
Its name was changed by an act passed in
1874. 1t was just ten years later that the
State appropriated ESQ, 900 to put the har-
Dor in defensive position against an an
ticipated attack of the French.
In 1906 a carefully considered plan for
the defence OF the harbor was executed
under the supervision of Jonathan VIII
liams. whose name was given to the de-
tached work, which still stands on the
northwest point of the island.
Castle Williams is built on a solid bed of
rock. Its walls are 40 feet high, and it
covers three-Gfths of circle 200 feet in
diameter. 1t is casemented with bomb
proof arches for two tiers of guns The
material used in its construction is Newark
red sandstone which was taken from the
same quarry that supplied the material for
! the construction of Fort Lafayette and
Castle Garden. The walls are eight feet
thick on the lower and seven feet on the
| upper tiers. 1t was provided with two stone
magazines for powder.
Castle Williams has been put to many
uses, but it no longer serves to defend
this port. In the Civil War it became a
dungeon for Confederate prisoners, and a,
one time more than a thousand Confederate
| prisoners were confined there From the
gloom OF one of it's dusky chambers John
Y. Beall, a Confederate officer, convicted OF
piracy on the lakes went forth to his exc
cution. Since that time the old castle has
served exclusively as a military prison.
The majority of the men confined there
| are deserters or soldiers who. have been
/ guilty of some infraction of military law
and discipline. Sentinels found sleeping
at their posts, or others forgetful or neg
| lectful of the demands implied by the
] wearing of uniform, there find a reminder
Of their duties to the service There are
more than hundred prisoners in Castle
! Williams now.
/ The deserters are serving out sentence.
/ varying from three months, the. minimum
i punishment for the offence, to two and {
half years, the maximum. A deserter from
| the United States Army cannot De sent Il
! any but a military prison, but if he ha.
| committed felony while .deserting M
| may be sent to regular Federal prison
The life OF a military prisoner differs little
from that of men in other prisons, witt
l the exception that the soldier Is better fed
His rations are the same asTthe rest o
the Army, and he gets three solid meal!
every day.
The deserter from one of the militar.
posts in the East is tried when captured
| by general court-martial. The punish
| ment fixed by law varies according TO th
| length of time the soldier has been in ser
vice A soldier who has been in the ser
vice only thirty days, and who is cap
tured or gives himself up within thirt,
| days after his desertion, cannot be con
| fined more than three months. If he stay
away not more than ninety days, he cal
be punished with six months imprison
ment, and If he is at liberty longer thai
ninety days he can be confined eighteei
| months and is then dishonorably dis
! charged from the Army.
soldier who has been six months o
more in the service can be punished b.
| two and half years confinement, and
dishonorable discharge follows the end o
that sentence. Military prisoners get al
abatement of five days off for each montl
of their sentence for good behavior. Tn
sentence of the military prisoner is con
finement with hard labor. The prisoner
at Castle Williams are called upon to TAX
care of the grounds on Governors Island
They cart coal and wood, repair roads. an
at times have been sent to Bedlos's Is.an
for similar services. Lieutenant Xii
bourne, of the Eighth Infantry, has charg
OF the prisoners The cells used are in tn
first tier of easements, and stove in eac
provides plenty of heat in cold weather
Here the men sleep at night on straw tick
placed upon iron bedsteads. They receiv
the regular Army allowance of potatoe;
rice, coffee, sugar, and bread, but. unlik
the other soldiers, are not permitted I
sell the surplus to get the means to bu
butter and other deiicacies which tn
Government does not provide,
The prisoners are led out of their cells 8
a. m, and after the mess cali for break
fast they work until noon. They have a
hour for dinner, and then continue wit
their tasks until dusk in winter and
p. m. in summer. Supper follows, and the
the prisoners are Immediately marched bac
to their cells. They have no furlough!
but special permission may be obtained b
friends and relatives to visit them.
In the castle half a dozen guards ar
constantly on the alert There are twelv
changes of guard every twenty four hours