The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1909-03-09
TRIAL OF LIEUTENANT PARK
MAN COMMENCES BEFORE
cOURTMARTlAL.
EVIDENCE IS PRESENTED
Charges Preferred by Post Surgeon
Accuse Contract Doctor Of Defraud
ing Railroad by Smuggling Filipino
Servant Over 1.-two Other Minor
Offenses Are Alleged.

Defrauding the railroads by snug
Cling his Filipino servant from Hope,
Idaho, to American Lake, Washing
| ton, and from the latter place to
Missoula; rendering a false report
relative to the disappearance of a pair
| of gloves belonging to the medical
| department and refusal to turn
| over to his superior officer silver
pitcher and rocking chair claimed as
property of the medical department.
| these constitute the overt acts alleged
| in the two complaints upon which
Lieutenant Wallace f. Parkman, of
| the medical reserve corps at Fort
| Missoula, is being tried before a court
martial at the local post. Captain l..
| c. Duncan, post surgeon and chief
officer Of the medical reserve corps at
| the post, is the complaining witness
and testified at length yesterday in an
effort to establish his charges. The
defense, in it's cross examination, in
dicates that it will endeavor to prove
that the charges against the lieuten-
ant are of no consequence whatever
and were inspired by the animus of
Captain Duncan and his enmity to-
wards the subordinate officer.
| The courtmartial convened prompt
ly at 10 o'clock yesterday morning in
| the gymnasium building. Colonel
Rockwell, of the ordnance department
stationed at Fort Smelling, Minnesota,
presided as president of the court
which is composed of two lieutenant
colonies. two majors, four captains,
and four first lieutenants, in addi-
tion to the presiding officer. Captain
S. j. B. Schindel of the Sixth infan
TRY, acted as judge advocate and con-
Quoted the case for the prosecution
while Captain Laurence Halstead, Of
the Sixth infantry stationed at Fort
| Missoula, made an able counsel for
| the defendant
| Lieutenant Parkman appeared in
court in full uniform and listened to
the reading of the complaints against
him, at the close of which his counsel
entered pleas of not guilty to each
separate specification. The complaints
consisted of two charges. that of dis
lobeying orders and conduct unbecom-
ing an officer. Under the first head
ing the specification was that in No
vember last the lieutenant refused
either to show his title to one silver
plated pitcher and a rocking chair or
turn the same over to Captain Dun
can. The complaint alleged that the
property in question belonged to the
medical department and was held by
the captain without authority. Ev-
idence was presented to show that
| Captain Duncan had made a written
demand upon the accused for an ex-
planation as to his title to the prop
| erty or that he Immediately return
it to the department. A letter from
the lieutenant declining to do either,
was also presented as part of the
| testimony.
| Second Charge.
The second charge embraces three
alleged acts. The first is that the de-
fendant made false report to his
superior officer relative to the loss Of
a pair of rubber gloves which disap-
peared from the medical department
early in the last fall. 1t was alleged
that the accused, after rendering a
certificate as to the loss of the gloves.
altered the certificate by inserting a
word which changed the meaning Of
the document. The remaining two
specifications are that at the time of
lHe army eHCdilpIIeHl dI ALHeIlCdH
lLake, Washington, the lieutenant
smuggled his Filipino servant, Man
uel from Hope Idaho, to American
Lake. thereby defrauding the railroad
company of the servants fare, and
that after the encampment the accus-
ed again smuggled the Filipino from
American Lake to Missoula by hiding
him in an ambulance wagon and
shipping him on a flat car thereby
again defrauding the Northern Pacific
Of his fare, all Of which is alleged to
constitute an offense in disgrace of
the army of the United States.
AS soon as the complaints had been
read to the defendant, Captain Hal
stead raised legal point in an en-
deavor to have the whole matter
thrown out as being without the jur-
isdiction of the courtmartial. His
contention, based on military law, was
that Lieutenant Parkman, not being a
Regularly enlisted officer Of the United
States army, but a member Of another
organization-the medical reserve
corps, was not subject to trial for any
offense by courtmartial composed
of regularly enlisted officers of the
army. He read extracts from the mil
itary codes in support of his contention.
Judge Advocate Captain Schindel ar
gued that the court did have jurisdic-
tion over the lieutenant,' contending
that as he was voluntarily in the serv-
ice of the government as a part of the
medical department, he was amenable
to the rules and regulations of the
regular army, hence subject to trial
by military court composed Of reg
ularly enlisted army officers. The
court, after considering this point in
executive session, decided against the
contention of the defense and ordered
the hearing to proceed. Exceptions
J were taken to this ruling by counsel
for the defense.
At yesterday mornings session OF
} the court only the first two offenses
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