The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-05-13
PHILIPPINE cOusrsmAR1IAL.

A GREAT MANY interesting details
n Of army life and dolngs in the
Philippines are buried in government
reports. Among them none is more in
t4resting than the courtmartial record.
II one is permitted to Judge by the pun
ishments inflicted. the natural infer
ence must be that its degree depended
largely on the frame OF mind in which
the courtmartial found itself If the
members had just had a good dinner,
with wine and other luXUries, the pris-
oner usually escaped with light pen
atty. On the other hand, If the night
before had been a bad one, If the sup
plies were scant and the prospects for
more scanter. woe to the offender.
n these reflections are not justified
by the records. The Herald will never
try to make another guess. Let as -ex-
anime few cases. one H. b Parker
or company NJ. Thirty-fourth infantry,
was so audacious. so lost to all sense
o. right and wrong. as 10 steal five
eggs 10 cents in cash and knife Of
the value of % cents. He was sent to
prison for six months. 4. B. Butler.
private in company A. Twenty-6fth
infantry, ATTEMPTED to assault TWO ma
tive women, and escaped with SEN
tence Of five months in the guard house.
That courtmartial evidently considered
eggs of more Importance than Filipino
women.
Charles Baldwin is a private. or was
a private ia company K of the Forty
ninth infantry. Baldwins condition. as
regards apparel was most deplorable.
He was 10 state the case BADLY, in
sore need Of neither garments; so he
appropriated pair, valued at $3.50,
that belonged to a native tailor. He
vas arrested Immediately for the awful
crime. and. the couItmartial being in
an unusually fretful state of mind. he
was sentenced to term of five years
confinement at hard labor Within
paragraph or two Of the Baldwin case
comes the downfall of Henry Williams.
Williams was fortunate in catching
his judges in good humor. lie was
private in company F, Forty-eighth
infantry, when he stole s135 by a proc
ess of highway robbery. Just six
months in Jail and fine Of $50 were
appartioned to him. shortly afterward
A. Callahan OF company Z. Forty
fifth infantry. made way with two
whole bottles of beer and 5000. Mex"
Apparently the court wasn't 50 much
grieved over the cash as IL was over
the beer. for where Williams. who got
S135. was incarcerated for but six
months, Callahan, who added beer to
his money. was apportioned eighteen
months confinement
Instances such as those cited could
be multiplied almost indefinitely. In
each one Of these cases the defendant
was a private That is TO say, he had
no powerful friends. no political ma
nipulators to help his cause. It was
different with the men who carried
commissions. The record says that in
December, 1899. Lieutenant Bissell
Thomas OF the Thirty-hfth infantry
was guilty Of striking native prison
ers and using threa tening language
towards them and striking one while
lying on the floor in a helpless condi-
tion. bleeding at nose and mouth"
OF this case the reviewing authority
says punishment which was inflicted
10y Lieutenant Thomas was very severe,
and amounted almost TO acute torture,
and his actions cannot be too much de-
plored nor too emohatically de-
nGunced." Yet this same authority APP
proved a verdict by which Lieutenant
Thomas was fined just $500, instead Of
icing dishonorably discharged from the
service of the United States and con-
fined in prison. as an ordinary enlisted
man would undoubtedly have been.
It is not necessary TO cite other ex-
amples. for they are all alike And let
it be borne in mind that these facts
ere taken. not from any political hand
book. but from the printed testimony
before the senate committee on the
Philippines. PIP. 2070 TO zoos.