The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1918-06-18
BAKER APPROVES
LONG SENTENCES
Would Drive Conscientious Oh
jsctOrS From Country.
HAVE GERMAN RELATIVES
Men Who Refused to Don Soldiers
Uniforms Must Serve Sentences Up
to Twenty Years.

Washington, June 1S.-Sentences of
eighteen months to twenty years, I'm
posed by court-martial upon so-called
conscientious DIRECTORS, were approved
by Secretary of War Baker.
The men refused military service
at Camp Upton, n. y, and Camp Cor
don, Ga.
Most of the men objected to fight
ing against Germany or Austria be-
cause they had relatives there. In ap-
proving the findings, the first of the
kind to reach the war department.. Mr.
Baker went on record as favoring the
return of such men ito the countries
of their preference" after the war.
Twelve DIRECTORS were sentenced, as
follows:
Hyman Polkes, fifteen years; VII
liam j. Seider, twenty years; Joseph
White, fifteen years; Anton Zsoldak
ten wears Julius Levinthal, eighteen
months; Louis Silverman, ten years
Mayer Suffkind, ten years; Louis ID
Blumenthal, fifteen years: Samuel
Il
years; William Charles Schwab, TWEEN
ty years, and Michael Ciupa, ten years
''In my judgment" said Mr.. Bakers
approval, 1.-The sentences should be ex
ecuted and, after this war is over
some process can be devised by which
these entirely undesirable citizens car
be returned to the countries Of theil
preference, 1t would be highly desir
able from the point of view of the
United States.
81 have not the least doubt as tC
the propriety of the procedure in these
cases, nor am I uncertain as 10 the
correctness of the results reached.
1.-THE soldiers in all these cases were
either naturalized citizens of the Unit
ed States or native citizens of the
United States, born Of parents OF
countries with which the United
States is now at war They were
properly members of the army of the
United States. pursuant TO the selec
tive draft law.
They were summoned before proper
officers of the army and asked wheth
err they would in fact fulfill their mill
tary obligations by fighting against
Germany and Austria in Europe. They
all answered they would.
There was some shutting by some
of the soldiers as to what they mean
by their answers, and some long-wind
ed refinements were undertaken to the
effect that some of item were willing
to fight Germans and AuStrianS gen
orally, but would not fight their owl
relatives, although they offered no ex
PLANTATION Of the process by which the!
were going to discover whether par
ticular Germans and Austrians VIII
they thought they were required tt
shoot at from long range happened tt
be related to them.
"In one record, the soldier claim.
to have an uncle, evidently too old Il
be in the military service of Austria
whom he once saw, and he had hear(
Of ten or twelve other relatives il
Austria, of some of whom he had seeT
photographs, which must have been OF
they aroused in him emotions Of blood
kinship strong enough TO overcome the
obligations of his oath of allegiance
as an. American citizen.
"These men were full citizens Of the
United States, most of them by the
voluntary act of naturalization. They
were full citizens in the sense the!
had equal rights and privileges will
all other citizens. They have als6
equal responsibilities.
Among these duties and response
bilities is to protect the United States
against all its enemies, domestic ant
foreign. No right is extended to 6
naturaliZed citizen to pick ant
choose"