The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1899-08-25

army, with fine and Imprisonment.
The personnel of the court-martial
is an important factor Of the proceedings
in view of the strenuous and sensation
al efforts that have been made to cast
discredit upon is findings and to delay
execution of sentence. The body was
composd of sixteen army officers, with
General r. s. Otis, now commanding
in the Philippines, as the presiding Off
Ger. Every branch of the military SER
vice was represented in the court and a
number of experienced officers, having
special and technical knowledge of the
subject matter under consideration,
were assigned to the duty. In reply
to structures from Carter's counsel in
which challenging the fitness Of the
court, Colonel Barr said, and truthfully,
that itwould not be possible to secure in
our courts jury of like special fitness
to determine such an issue; that, as a
body, the Carter court-martial repre-
sented "the very highest intelligence
and conscience of the army"
Captain Carter had been directing the
harbor improvements at Savannah and
adjacant harbors from twelve to four
teen years when he was relieved from
duty in 1896 by reason of his appoint
lhCllI W SGINlCtS OIl lIG NlCdTdBud Ca
nal commission. His successor, having
discovered what he believed to be SER
ious Irregularities in the prosecution of
the harbor work, the failure of ma
terials to answer specifications, work
effectively done. ETC., reported to Gen.
Wilson, chief of engineers. Carter pro-
tested his innocence and averred that
the allegations rested upon misunder-
standing and lack of information At
this instance three competent officers
were selected to make investigation and
report to the chief of engineers.
In due season the report was submit
ted to General Wilson, VINO recommend
ed that charges should be brought
against Carter, with the further re-
commendation that the papers should
be entrusted to Col. George B. Davis,
professor of law at West Point, for the
formulation of charges, inasmuch as
the judge advocate general, to whom the
duty would have been assigned in regu-
lar course, was not in good health.
Judge Advocate General Lieber, an
noyed by the DETECTION OF the case
from the usual routine, notified the
secretary of war that the charges and
specifications could have been prepared
in his office, Notwithstanding his ILL
ness.
Colonel Davis, a subordinate of the
judge advocate general took charge of
the papers in pursuance of General
Wilson's suggestion. Colonel Davis
recommendation was that charges
should be drawn against Carter for alb
sence without leave and for conduct
unbecoming an officer, but that no
charge Of conspiracy or fraudulent acts
with respect to the Savannah opera
tions should represented inasmuch as
such charges would be too difficult to
prove, and the prosecution of them
would scandalize the engineer corps Of
the army. Assistant Secretary Meixle-
john, to whom the matter was next re-
ferred, did not approve Colonel Davis
recommendation, and at the assistant
secretary's suggestion the case was sent
to the judge advocate general, from
whom it should not have been diverted.
The result was that formal specifica-
tions and charges covering the allega-
tions against Captain Carter were pre-
pared for investigation by court
tial. At the hearing the accused plead
ed the statute of limitation to the ad-
mission of evidence touching transac-
tions occurring beyond the statutory
limit
Carter was ably defended by very ac-
complished counsel, and an engineer
was furnished by the war department
to give technical assistance in the de-
fense. While there was no official an
nouncement of the court
finding, it is we'll understood that the
accused was convicted by unanimous
finding upon all the charges and sem
fenced to be dismissed from the army,
to pay $4,000 fine and undergo impris-
onment. After the verdict an appeal
was made to the president to send the
record to some able lawyer not con-
nected with the war department for re-
view. This was an unusual proceeding,
as was also the reference Of the case
to the attorney general. By almost
unvarying practice courtsmartial are
kept within the jurisdiction of the war
department. No satisfactory reason
has ever been assigned for the depart
ures from long practice in this case.
The judge advocate general approved
the verdict and recommended execu-
| ton of sentence. The record reached
the president through the secretary Of
war The executive then sent the pa
pers to Senator Edmunds, who, it is
| SIlbJ ICpOlICu lIldL IGoIlillOlly
should have been excluded by the court
martial, but that there was enough in
the testimony, exclusive or the testi-
mony enormously admitted, to warrant
conviction and sentence to dismissal
under a number of the charges. The
president then sent the record to the
attorney general, who now holds it,.
More briefs have been submitted to
the attorney general by Carter's counsel
and Colonel Barr has filed his answers.
The attorney general has signified his
intention to hear oral argument, but
Colonel Barr says he is done with this
unprecedented dalliance.
The intelligence and judgment of the
court-martial is arranged by the sys-
tenn of mastery and inexplicable de-
llaywhich has followed the deliverance
of the tribunal. Captain Gillette, who
discovered the Irregularities at Savan-
nah; General Wilson, who made close
examination of the report of the three
an pfna who made the original ranort