Evening star., 1903-09-26
WHEN SENTRIES KILL

few weeks ago a sentry on guard at
| the Allegheny arsenal shot and killed
| thief whom he caught stealing copper be-
| longing to the government. The lieutenant
| in command of the arsenal refused, at first.
| to surrender the sentry to the civil au-
| thorities. on the ground that the soldier
had only done his military duty according
| to orders. and great rumpus was made
over the affair. The matter was finally
carried to General Chaffee, who decided
that the sentry who had done the shooting
would be given up to the civil authorities
after having stood a military court-mar-
tial. The general in making this decision,
| quoted an article of war which provides
| that soldiers of the regular army commit
ting capital crimes in time OF peace must
be handed over to the civil jurisdiction in
which the crime is committed
General Chaffee's decision was strictly
according to regulations. of course, but the
| thing hasn't always worked that way in
practice in the American army. There was
q big row over a similar case that nap
pened at the Presidio of San Francisco IN
1893. This case involved the shooting and
killing of military prisoner by the sentry
guarding him. The sentry who did the KILL
| ing had been the prisoners bunkie. The
| prisoner was serving three months SEN
tence at the Preside for some infraction of
discipline One morning the sentry who
had been the prisoners bunkie TOOK the
prisoner from the guard house to work at a
remote corner of the big Preside garrison.
Then tho prisoner presumed upon the
| friendship of his former bunkie- He told
| the sentry that he was going to bolt FOR IL
The sentry told the prisoner that he WASH
| going to do anything of the sort-that he,
the sentry, didn't intend to do any three
| year term on the Alcatraz rock for allow
| ing anything Of that sort to happen The
prisoner persisted, and advised the sentry
| to jump with him. Then he started to edge
| toward hole in the fence. The sentry
| clapped a ball into his Springfield and
| warned the prisoner to return ihe prls-
| oner kept on toward the hole in the fence,
and. after one more warning, the sentry
put ball in the back Of the prisoner
| head. killing him instantly. Then he went
| to the guard house and gave himself up;
telling his story He had been instructed
to shoot, and to shoot to kill, any prisoner
attempting to escape, and he had Deen
forced to it. The sentry repeated MS story
before the commanding officer of the Presl-
did, Col. William Montrose Graham-aHec-
tionately termed Billy Graham by the
enlisted men-who. as General Graham, was
in command of the troops stationed over
the way in Virginia during the Spanish war
preparations.
"You did your duty according to orders,
said Colonel Graham to the soldier
The afternoon papers OF san francisco
printed O highly magnif1ed account or the
killing of the prisoner, in which the sentry
was pictured as having been a vindlctive
enemy of the prisoner, and or having taken
advantage of an opportunity to kill the man
under the shelter of military orders. Inc
civil authorities sent their representatives
out to the Presidio to arrest the soioler,
who was under arrest, pending military
investigation. Colonel Graham told tne
representatives of the civil law that they
couldn't have the soldier: They thunoerea
and threatened to hurl the whole force OF
the United States government at the COM
mandng officers head.
1.-The sentry did his military duty accord.
ing to his instructions. and he'll be deait
y,ifh
fnal."- said Colonel Graham to the San
Francisco chief of police -
You'll give that murderer up, or we IL
take him from you by force, SAID the
angry top cop Of San Francisco.
TN Nve you two minutes to make the
gate" said Colonel Graham, urbanely, 70
the chief of police eff you're still on the
Presidio grounds after the expiration of the
two minutes, into the guardhouse you go
for making a nuisance of yourself and dis
turbing the peace OF United states reser-
Vatton.
gate in something under the two minutes
San Francisco took the civil authorities
end of the matter, and the San Francisco
papers upheld the civil authorities Shrek
ingly, in huge headlines. There was even
talk in the sand-iot town OF organizing
huge force of civilians to storm the Preside
and take the murderer from the military
authorities Colonel Graham was told of
this: ,,,,o while ~,
breathing" was his comment. He wired
the facts of the case to General Ruger, in
command of the department of the coast.
and General Ruger sustained his view or
the case in every detail. The excitement
died away when 1t seemed as If there could
be no averting an actual clash Of violence
between the civil and military authorities.
A couple Of weeks after the killing of the
foolish prisoner the soldier who had done
the killing was promoted to the rank of
| sergeant.
In little two-company doughboy post
down in New Mexico the civil law was beat
out by the military law under more primi-
| tive, but equally justifiable circumstances,
about dozen years ago. The settlement
adjoining the post over the hot, white sand
trail was almost wholly Mexican, with
half breed greaser noted throughout the
southwest at the time as a bad man, acting
as alcalde, boss, cop and general bully of
the layout.
A sergeant of one Of the companies had
attracted the marked preference OF a sloe-
| eyed Mexican girl of the little dobe settle
| ment He was on his way to visit her one
night when half a dozen greasers set upon
| him with knives. The sergeant had been
| expecting something of that sort. He got
| his back to 'dobe. after having been pret-
| ty badly slashed, ripped out his brace of
guns. and minute later there We're three
| dead and two wounded Mexicans littering
the trail. The remaining Mexican was hit
| ting the high places. bound for the vertical
cactus of the desert. The sergeant hiked
back to the post and told his story to the
captain in command
| he concluded. Juan was the heap-bad Mex
| lean top cop Of the settlement adjoining
| the poss.
go to the hospital and have 'em fix you
| up. my man. said the captain, with click
| Of the teeth. Juan don't get you"
Juan arrived at the post on his cayuse
| hour later. He diSmOunted at the cap
tain's quarters.
"I want Sergeant Gilligan" said Juan in
| his patois-and Juan had enough guns and
knives on him in plain view to start a
young arsenal.
Cant have him." said the captain I've
got Gilligan. I'm going to court-martial
him for not killing that other Mexican that
got away.
The evil eyes in the head Of Juan the
Wicked flashed balefully. But Juan was
smooth. for all his badness.
THE sergeant will have a fair trial." he
said to the captain.
Il know he will-here." said the captain
'If 1 gave him to you. and you had him
| unarmed, you'd put knife between his
shoulders before you got him halfway to
that 'dobe jug of yours-or you'd get some
body else to do 1t. / need Gilligan. Best