Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1910-07-30
WAS ILL SAYS BEALL
Tells COurt-Martial tie Left Post
In Dazed Condition
EVIDENCE CARROBORATED
Officer Accused OF Being Asleep When
lie Should Have Been On Watch
Case Taken Under Advise.
Hlent

HlCII
A plea of not guilty was entered
yesterday by Lieut.. Grafton A.
Beall, u. S. n, of the battleship
Delaware before a naval cour
which convened at the Naval Train
ing Station at Newport, X. /.
Lieutenant Beall had been accused
of leaving his station as officer of
the deck while his ship was at an
chor in Hampton Roads on the
morning of July 5 without having
been regularly relieved and also of
being asleep while his watch con-
tinued
The naval court adjourned on last
Tuesday to allow Lieutenant Beall
to get counsel and yesterday Arthur
B. LaFar, of New York, appeared
to represent him, with Lieut.. w. S.
Anderson, u. S. N, and Capt. Frank
Lander, u. S. M. c., as naval coun-
sci. Lieutenant Beall besides plead
ing not guilty testified that illness
had caused him to leave his post and
go to his quarters before it was time
for him to be regularly relieved.
Testimony in the case has been
completed and the case was taken
under advisement by the members of
the court martial, of which Capt. Roy
C. Smith, U. S. NJ, is president. The
prosecution put three witnesses on
the stand. These were Lieut.. Com
mander Walter r. Gherardi, who was
to have relieved Lieutenant Beall as
nHiRar Of tho Aantr Ia eosI 10 l.
found Lieutenant Beall asleep in his
room and that after arousing him he
had officially relieved him of the
deck.
Commander w. NJ. Crosse, executive
officer of the Delaware, and Midship-
man James B. Glennon, who preceded
Lieutenant Beall as officer of the
deck, also testified as to the makeup
of the watches and the conditions
aboard ship at the time. 1t also ap-
peared from the testimony of these
witnesses that there had been some
question as to who was to be officer of
the deck after Midshipman Glennon,
and it seems that Lieutenant Beall
had offered to take the watch.
Lieutenant Beall was the first wit
ness on his side of the case He told
the court that soon after relieving
Midshipman Glennon he had become
nauseated while lighting a cigarette
and was violently i'll. After this
have no definite remembrance Of what
happened, he testified, "until was
called by Mr.. Gherardi about 10"
After some further testimony he
was asked if he recollected placing
himself in a position voluntarily to
go to sleep, and Lieutenant Beall
again said that he had no clear recol-
lection of what happened after he
had been i'll in one of the ships toi-
let's. The Lieutenant was asked
many questions by the members of
the court before he finished his testi-
mony.
The testimony of Seaman James L.
Sheridan, acting quartermaster of the
Delaware on the morning in ques-
tion, was in all appearances
strengthening point for the defence.
Lieutenant Beall was corroborated
in his testimony. Seaman Sheridan
testified to noticing Lieutenant Beall
appeared i'll to having gone and got
him cup of coffee, to seeing him
leave the quarterback and go for
ward and finally to his room.
About AS" said Seaman Sheri-
dan, Il went and asked him if should
call the masterat-arms and buglers.
He was then sitting in his room, his
head down, his arms folded, his eyes
closed and he was very pale He
answered me in a peculiar sort of
voice
Sheridan left to call the master-at-
arms and buglers, and on returning,
he testified, Lieutenant Beall was in
the same position and answered him
in the same peculiar way.
Lieutenant Commander L. Over
street, ordnance officer on the Della
ware, testified to Lieutenant Beall's
competency as an officer and the de-
fence rested its case after waving
the right to introduce the "fitness