The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-22
RAND BARES FLAWS
In COURTS MARTIAL
Long, Grey Beard of An
tiquity Named as One Defect
Of Present System.
NO REGARD SHOWN LAW
".Sacrosanct Power of Com
mand" Another Power
Against Justice.

The "sacrosanct power Of command
and the long gray beard OF antiquity
are the two troubles with the presen,
system OF courts-martial in the army, ac-
cording to Col William Rand, who he.
fore he became Colonel in the Judge
Advocate-General's department learned
all about criminal law, both as prosecu.
tor and defendants counsel In a Ions
line of celebrated trials in this city.
He discussed the court-martial sys.
tenn last night at a smoker at the Bar
Association. and an indication of what
he was about to say was on the pro-
gramme, where the name william Rand
appeared In large type, and in smaller
type the statement that he had been q
Colonel and a Judge Advocate.
According TO Mr.. Rand almost every
thing is wrong with the system. This
although he began his talk with a state
ment to the eftect-perhaps speaking
for the once as Colonel-that the
system was all right but that its ad-
ministration was frequently entrusted to
incapable hands, and that the human
equation" must be allowed for. Then
In the next sentence but one he said
that there was too much court-martial
in our army anyway and that the Brit
ish, for instance. got along with a quar-
ter as much.
Many Severe Sentences.
'The great trouble with our system,
he declared. sis that II Is arranged so
that division commanders have the last
word to say. and a number of division
commanders. especially in war. have a
penchant for severe sentences You
can't blame them for that exactly
They have to have discipline and know
that the only way to get the notion oil
discipline into the heads OF civilian sol
diers Is to drive 1t In. and severe sen.
fences represent one of the methods.
How can you expect to get goot
law and the distribution of nice justic,
before a tribunal which Is composed Of
fifteen ofiicers selected generally at ran
dom. and none Of them with any knowl
edge Of law and where the accused 4.
representatives, I have seen happen Of
ten--by a second lieutenant or prefer
ably a chaplain. The accused doesn'
know his rights. his counsel knows M
law. or II II chances that he was a law
yer before he was a soldier as often a.
not he is overborne by the court ant
Justice melted out as the court sees At
on hand IT seems to me that the
principal eveils of our system are: in
adequate counsel as I have said, that q
man may be tried for as many offences
at once as the court cares to entertain
that there Is no demurrer permitted SC
that often charges which do not sci
forth any breach OF tho articles Of wal
have to be tried with all the solemnity
OF grave crimes, and the fact that the
method Of record keeping is so cumber-
some that endless time and energy are
wasted. Then too the accused after he
has been tried frequently does not know
the courts decision for months He has
to walt until the Division Commander
approves the sentence and even then he
can not be represented while the man
high up is considering the case on the
record. which Ia often an affair to III
any practical lawyer with amazement."
Luck Rules Courts-MartiaI.
Mr.. Rand told OF one trial in which
two soldiers were accused of an assault.
The first thing done was to put them on
the witness stand. the second to have
their own counsel cross examine them.
This In the face OF the Constitutional
provision that no man need testify
against himself He told OF another
case In which a soldier who had been
drunk had to face fifteen charges grow
ing out OF his spree and of two other
cases in which the defendants had 10
face respectively forty-threa and wee,