The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-10

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Capt wynne va pad ~ thu ruuft ~ hs
eouneal IN this the arrusei fcea lntu tho
p~artluulase n tha rae and gives q feeotl ~
he arhigy fnenta alnce he entered tho asrvlce
III aald Tho rpsaon hs fallgi 10 answer the
call 20 quarters On May ~ wsa tha, 10 hAd
besn ordafed to sstsni q court martial On
che Indiana and was In tho act ~ shaving
blmseIf whsn ths measrnger arrlvsd.
4 told the messenger Capt, Wynhs says
In hia statsnsnt, 80 rapport that ! vas not
draased and would 10 unable ~ report
my guard 10 quarters In time, ~ l had 20
attend the Cuurt-martial, honestly he
loved that I wAa doing right. Tha~o fnea-
saRea we're not sent " ith any Intention q
refusing 70 obey.
Il was unaware that Capt, Comfy was
ashore and that Iieutanent- Commander
Bryan was the commanding officer. No
message WA sent to me regarding Capt
Comly's absence.
Il respectfully call the attention Of tho
court TO the testimony Of Lieut.. Newton
that I did not refuse to obey any order
delivered by him, and that | became very
angry and Indignant by reason OF the iact
that he delivered a message To me thAt ho
had orders from MIR. Bryan TO take two
enlisted mon OF my guard n 'drag me on
the quarterback. | will state that l became
90 enraged and Infatuated ut the indlgnity
to which / was about to be- subjected and
TO which l was indeed subjected that lost
my head and self control In a great measure,
but 1 am nevertheless certain that never
SCI: any disrespeCtful message 10. MIR.
Bryan, and anything | might have said was
not intended to reach his ears.
Capt. Comfy stated to me that " MT.
Bryan would withdraw his report he would
not take official action. on the matter, or
words to that effect. Mr.. Bryan. however,
declined to withdraw his report. 1 apollo
gized orally both to Capt. Comfy and Mr..
Bryan and again to Mr.. Bryan In writing.
/ respectfully invite the courts attention
to the fact that l believe that Lieutenant
Commander Bryan was and Is preludlced
against me and, in fact, information has
reached me that leads me TO believe that MIR.
Bryan was prepared to report me on any &C.
casion that l might In the slightest degree
commit myself.
sIhis fact and the message that I was to
~ IL n1al SapIal to infflriafa mo morn than
ever. Under the intense irritability OF my
temperament, due to the causes sworn to by
Surgeon Decker, l respectfully submit that
my Judgment became warped and L can De
Justly. charged with little moro than an
error In jud gment, rather than a deliberate
decision to wilfully refuse to obey the law
ful orders Of my superior.
an conclusion ] respectfully. invite the
courts attention to the fact that have
never been court-martialled before and also
I respectfully submit that the evidence
produced warrants my acquittal. l espe-
cially call your attention to the testimony
Of Surgeon Decker, wherein he states that
punishment awarded would In his opinion
result in the punishment of an innocent man,
and one who was conscious OF doing no
wrong
Lieut.. Pressey, acting as judge-advooate.
argued that the court should ignore the de-
PENDANTS heroic deeds as they were not
before the court 1Or review.
THE accused man" he continued, dis
regarded orders at his peril. He took his
chances and lost. There was no emergency
that would justify him in being absent from
duty. The accused didn't want to go to
quarters that morning and that is the cause
OF the whole trouble. He was asked cour.
teously to go three times and he showed
no i~rritability then; why should he after
ward? Insanity to be a defence must be
absolute. Mere irritability or a lack of self
control is no excuse. There is no testimony
to show that the accused is insane. l con-
eequently believe that he should be pun
ished. The common sense view is that the
accused did not want to obey the order OF
his superior.
IF there had been any bad feeling be-
tween Lieut. Commander Bryan and the
accused it was not shown in the commanders
treatment of the defendant, but rather
the reverse. / regret that an officer OF the
record Of the accused so far forgot himself
that he must be subjected to this unpleasant
ordeal. l believe that the offence he COM
mitted Is such as to demonstrate the unfit
ness of the accused for service in the navy,
and I ask the court to find him guilty and to
recommend his discharge"
Capt. Mclean then adjourned the court
wartial until tomorrow, when the members
mill meet, &C over the corrected record and
render a verdict, which will be forwarded to
Rear-Admiral Evans, commanding the
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