El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-04-21
FEWRECE|VE
SENTENCEOF
DEATH NOW
.Curtailing OF Drink Adds
To The Efficiency Of
European Soldiers.
WORST OFFENDERS
OFTEN FIGHT BEST
French Army Has Few OF
It's Men In Prison, Are
Needed In Battle.

thirds Of the court martial cases
- at the war front and Immediately
behind the front have developed from
either drunkenness or fear, sometimes
from both, according to Monsieur
Rene de Planhol who has had more
than two years experience as counsel
for the defence IN such cases. Drum
head court martials with summary ex-
ecutiOns OF spies and deserters, have
been far less frequent than might be
Imagined Not only have sentences
70 death been infrequent. but extraor-
oinary as It appears the verdicts Of
Justice AT the front are seldom exc
cuted.
The general IN command Of the sec
tor hiss the power Of suspending all
court martial sentences until the end
IF the war. and he exercises that pre-
rogative nearly always, even in cases
Of second offences. The only penalties
Immediately applied are those Of death
and punishment that involves military
degradation. Even IN these cases the
condemned man usually begs to De
sent back to the battle line and his
request is sometimes accorded after
certain lapse of time.
Few Sent To Prison.
Sentences to prison and hard labor
are few. It is considered absurd u
lodge in prison rugged soldiers whose
nisdeeds would thus have the effect
OF relieving them from fighting while
well Behaved soldiers are risking their
lives. That is why military jurisdic-
ton at the front has become essen
TALLY . jurisdiction OF honor.
The changed condiuons Of warfare
have developed situations to which old
martial laws are not adaptable. 4
much disputed point is; When has an
infraction Of discipline or crime been
committed in the presence Of the en-
emyE an aggrayat1ng circumstance
under military Jurisprudence In trench
warfare the old definitions Of pres
ence Of the enemy have become OUso-
1ete; great latitude is now given for
leniency on this point and l. is exer-
cised in all but the most fragrant
Under the old martial laws the sus-
pension Of sentences for first offences
was not obligatory but was simply
matter OF discretion on the part OF the
general commanding Amendments
passed by parliament in the course Of
the present war make such extensions
Of sentence obligatory for all cases ex-
cepting those OF capital offence
DRUNKENNESS, the most frequent Of
al infractions OF law and discipline, is
punished by Imprisonment from two
months upward
A frequent effective means OF de-
fence invoked by counsel for accused
soldiers is the citation for gallant con-
duct on the battlefield It often hap
pens that soldier refractory to army
discipline is a great fighter and, be-
tween court martials, accumulates hon
ors and decorations that il is difficult
TO ignore
Gets Another Chance.
One Of the most obstinate drinkers
and most insOlent men OF his regiment
when under the influence Of liquor,
went back TO the front by favor OF
suspended sentence and won the signal
honor Of an individual citation in an
engagement in which his regiment was
collectively cited He appeared before
the courtmartial with a new bar on his
war cross ribbon and his judges
couldn't refuse his request for another
chance at the Germans
Nerve Wear Is Frequent.
Cases Of desertion with downright
fear as the cause are not uncommon.
and monsieur de Planhol concludes that
very few soldiers are totally exempt
from fear. Men who have fought
i6ravely in numerous actions, he says,
finally give way TO what he calls
nerve wear" their moral courage is
no longer sufficient to overcome physi-
cal fear and they run away from dan
ger Their number. though. is small
in comparison with those who forget
their duty in the stupefacuon OF eX-
cessiye drinking. Even these. consld-
ering the millions Of men modified.
are So small a percentage as to consti-
tute no reflection on the army as a
whole
Anyone from a private to a colonel
NAV act as q defender Of the courtmar-
tiaied soldier Civilians also are al
lowed TO represent them and some en-
inent French lawyers, such as Maitre
Demange, who was the chief counsel
Tor Capt Dreyfus, Maitre Michael Pei
letter and Maitre Henri Gerand have
acted as counsel for the defence Of sol
diers at the front.