The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-04-12
Prominent Attorney Placed in Jail, But Released on S5OO0 Bond Later in
 Afternoon
CHARGED DISLOYAL
 WORDS USED BEFORE
 TWODRAFT-AGE BOYS
Warrant Charges Him With Saying, sWilson Should Be Hung and I Would Like
 to See Him Hang

William A. Denson, one of the best known attorneys m Birmingham, was arrested and kplaced in jail yesterday after noon by department of justice agents on charges of disloyalty. Late in the afternoon Commissioner F. B. Watts fixed his bond at soooo. It was signed by John Denson, brother of the man arrested, and James k. Roberts, and he was released from the county jail.
 The specific charge against Mir. Den- son is that in the presence or two boys of draft age he made the ioi- lowing remark:
 0Wflson is the cause and the whole ~nu.e of the United States being mixed up in the European war. Wilson should be hung and should like 10 see him hang"
 When Denson was arrested he, was searched and a .S2-cahbre automa'ic nistol was found upon him ana all additional charge of carrying con cesled weapons was placed against him.
 The arrest was made by Special Agent Jones of the department or Jus tice and Deputies Fred Staley ana Roy Cashion of the United States mar shal's office, Denson was accosted by inc officers as he was entering the Title Guarantee building They pre- sented a commitment warrant, which had been issued by Commissioner k. B. Watts.
 COMMISSIONER NOT IN The officers accompanied the attor- ] ney to his office in the Title Guar l, antee building, where he read over inc warrant carefully. He then sug- aested that they go to the commis- sioners office. where he could make bond. As a matter of courtesy this was done. but the commissioner was not in. Denson began to lose his tenn per. He said:
 q am the most loyal man in town. I Later he began to use more severe language, saying: Amy man who says am disloyal is would l like to see the - who says that I am not loyal"
 l It is charged that the remarks made about the President were made in well known boarding house in Bir- mingham in the presence of several witnesses, among them being two boys Of the draft age, one of whom has since gone into the army and the oth- CT is now awaiting call.
 SECTION OF ACT Section 8 of the espionage act Of June Is. 1917. under which Denson IS held, reads as follows:
 "When the United States is at war any person who shall wilfully cause or attempt to cause insubordination, disloyalty. mutiny of refusal of duty in the military or naval forces of the United States Shall be punished by fine of not more than. $10,00o or inn prisonment for not more than 20 years or both.''
 Now that MT. Denson has been for mally arrested the local agents of the department of justice do not hesitate
 to say that he has been under surveii- lance for several months. Indeed, 1t was stated yesterday that several l weeks ago formal warning was sent to Mr. Denson by Birmingham repre- sentatives of the department of jus tice.
 It will be recalled that Denson was counsel for Arnold J. Uhl, the young man who recently was tried and con- victed on a charge of defacing his questionnaire. At his trial Uhl testi- fed that he had taken the action he took upon the advice of MT. Dem son. The jury gave him sentence or
 only 50 days and he is now out on
 bond pending an appeal of the case. DENSON MAKES STATEMENT | Mr. Denson presented the following signed statement to The Age-Herald l last night:
 Tt is due the fair-mindcd of the should be made in reference to my
 arrest on a federal warrant Thurs day afternoon. April II, 1918:
 sThe language which the warrant charged I used was uttered by me un- der the following circumstances: I While I was taking a meal at cer- | tain table in the city at which were
 Mfr David B. Grace and number of other gentlemen whom I do not re- call. MT. Grace made the remark to me that he had read in the paper I of a man being arrested for treason
 for speaking in derogatory manner of the President. replied that 1t was i not treason to make derogatory re- i mark about the President or anybody else: that treason could not be com l r,itted by word of mouth alone. Oth- fers present at the table with whom il was not acquainted joined in the ! argument with MT. Grace and me.
 .The discussion finally reached the rcint where I stated to those present
 that any remark could be made about the President by any citizen of the
 I United States and he would not be ar
 1 rnsted for treason. said. further, that
 the people who had been arrested for
 l such remarks were not citizens of the
 i United States and were therefore not
 b, otected by the constitution of the 4 United States, which protected every
 ,, citizen in the right to criticize the
 1 official conduct of public official.
 Some of those present disagreed
 with me as to the scope Of freedom
 of such criticism and said that would
 be handled by the federal authorities
 ] if I attempted it. I replied that l
 could even say and had a right to
 l say 1t, if should want to. in criticism
 Of President wilson's conduct that he
 was the cause and the whole cause of
 the United States being mixed in the