The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-12-04
HE OVERRIDE
 THE STATUTES DeSvernenie Tells of Gen.
 eral Wood. TESTIMONY IS DAMAGING Governor General Summari..y
 Deposed Judges. Ray stannara Baker in Part Con roborates and in Part Contra
 diets the Evidence Given
 by Major Runcis. a
TESTIMONY IS DAMAGING

Washington, Dec. a--The Senate Conn mittee on military affairs to-day resum' ed It's hearing in connection with charges filed against General Leonard Wood. fn opposition to his confirmation to be ma jor general.
 The first witness was Melville D. Stone, general manager of the Associated Press Mr. Stone was questioned concerning the report that General Wood had sought to retain B. G. Beliairs as the represen- tatiye of the Associated Press at Ha- vana He submitted letter written by Major Dunne to Colonel c. s. Diehl. assistant general manager of the Asso- ciated Press, which requested in behalf of General Wood, the retention of Bel lairs, saying it was important to have a man representing the Associated Press at Havana. who was in the confidence of the military government. Mir. Stone said the matter was then under charge of Colonel Diehl. BellaIrs was retained but his previous record was not known to the officers of the Associated Press. When 1t became known Bellairs was dis charged.
 MT, Stone was also asked as to what knowledge General Wood had of Bel lairs record, but upon this point he could give the committee little information. It was decided that Colonel Diehl should be summoned.
 Ray stannard Baker, the man whom Major Runcie said was at the dinner with General Wood and himself when the proposed magazine article criticisins General Brooke was discussed, was the next witness called.
 MT. Baker confirmed some portions of the testimony of Major Runcie and con- tradicted or qualified other excerpts. He said that he had talked with General Wood regarding an article which was subsequently published over his own signature. When asked whether he had spoken with the President relative tc the Wood case. he replied in the mega tive, and also practically made the same reply to a question as to whether he had conferred with war department ofn' cials. ..,.zs Contradicts Major Runcie. l Concerning the article which was pub l lished over the signature of Major Run cie, MT. Baker said that it had been given him by Runcie, but that, so far as he knew. General Wood had had . nc knowledge of 1t previous to its publi- cation. He said he had taken dinner with General Wood and Major Runcie several times at Santiago, but that the publication of an article attacking Gen. eral Brooke had never been the subject of conversation. MT. Baker had an engagement with President Roosevelt for luncheon at the White House at 1:S0 and on that account asked the members of the com mittee to hasten the questions as much as possible.
 Mir. Baker was questioned closely by Senator Scott of the committee and by Senators Hanna and Teller who were present. They quoted Major Runcie's letter to Baker suggesting that the time was opportune for the publication of the Runcie article in General Woods inter- est and asked him if the letter dld not show that there had been conferences on the subject and a perfect understand ing. MT. Baker admitted that appear Rnces would lead to that inference. but insisted there had not been any under standing. Mir. Baker admitted that he. Wood and Runcie had discussed General Brookes administration of Cuban af- fairs but said that the discussion had been impersonal and that Brooke's name had not been mentioned. He also said General Wood had introduced him to Run cie. when he first went to Cuba.
 Dr. Desvernenie Heard.
 At the afternoon session the only wit ness heard was Dr. Pablo Desvernenie, who was a secretary of finance under the administration of General Brooke as Governor General and later attorney for Major Rathbone. Dr. Desvernerfe's tes- timony related entirely to the instruc- tions given to the court by General Wood. He charged that General Wood had changed laws of Cuba in order to ad- init expert evidence in the postal cases.
 The modification of the principles of Cuban criminal proceedings which was said to have been particularly detri- mental to the interests of Major Rath- bone, pr. Desvernenie declared, was made in an order issued by General Wood, April 30, 19OO The effect of the order, said the witness was to revert to laws in force under the regime of colonial Spain. thirty years before.
 According to the testimony of Dr. Des- vernenie, the orders made by General Wood were issued to the judge of in- structions, whom Wood could remove at pleasure. The witness declared that the order was in violation of penal statutes and the rights of parties interested in the postal cases. As an illustration of the powers of General Wood under the military government, the witness said that General Wood in one case removed a judge of first instance in one of the high courts and also three of the asso- ciate judges of one section of the court. As a cause of removal 1t was said the judges had not complied with the law as modified by General Wood.
 Sop to Deposed Judges.
 The removal. said the Witness, was made over the protest of the bar asso- ciation. a corporation having specific of ficial powers. The association declared the removals unwarranted and to appease it's anger, General Wood appointed the deposed judges to positions on the board of trustees of the bar associat tion.
 Dr. Desvernenie declared under the law Aw. .k kLA AtE1,A came governor general. ex-parte evi- dence was not admissible in trials, but declared that General Wood had made the amendment which abrogated stat utes and enacted a new law and said this opened the door to ex-parte evil dence.
 Another charge made by pr. Desver- nenie was that some of the judges who tried the postal cases were not named by General Brooke in the order creat- ing the courts but that they owed their appointments to General Wood; that