Evening star., 1919-04-13

War Department that in some manner
a clear view of the
New Turn in procedure for mill
Courts Martial. had hssn Withheld
from Secretary Of War Baker.
No one can seriously question the de-
sire and intention of the Secretary to
provide a means for all soldiers. but
particularly for enlisted men OF the
Army, to have a fair and impartial ad-
of military justice. Those
who have followed the course of the
Secretary will realize that, if there
should be a miscarriage of justice
anywhere, it should fall rather upon
the position of the officer gives him
an advantage which the other does
not have. in securing an extended
hearing of any alleged breach of
Army regulations.
The attitude of the Secretary in
ordering Col. Ansell, who has been
earnestly protesting against the
method of procedure in effect during
the war. to prepare a bill setting
forth his ideas that make for mill
tary justice, may be taken as evil
dence of his bona fide intention to-
make a thorough and personal inves-
tigation of the entire subject and to
give to all sides opportunity for a
full hearing in order that. even at
this late day. a full and sweeping re-
form of the old system may be made,
if such a course be in the interest
of justice to the men who made up
the great democratic army of the re-
public.
Upon the Secretary, according to
Col. Ansell, rests the responsibility
en- from retention of the present sys-
tenn after attention had been called
to its evils; and in the large sense
this Is true. But in a more limited
way, in view of the tremendous pres
sure of Army supply and Army organ
ization which he had to bear, that re-
sponsibility attaches to the officers
who advised him that the old sys-
tenn did insure justice rather than. to
the Secretary. The Secretary, now
that he has personally studied the
subject, says that with many of Col.
Anse1l's suggestions he finds himself
in hearty concurrence, If in fact exist
ing statute law is defective in the
particulars suggested by the pro-
posed changes" i. e.. the changes
by Col. AnselL.
In this turn of affairs. the advisers
of the Secretary who have been in
sisting that the old system is. all
right and leads to a fair and Impair
tial trial of military offenders, may
find themselves in rather difhcnit
position. If on investigation it shall
be found that the Secretary had not
bear. the direct criticism not only for
their mistaken advice, but for the
means taken to make it appear to
be sound when it was not sound.
It now appears that a letter to the
number of some seventy Thousand,
signed by Col. John H. W.igmore, was
sent, accompanying a wholly one
sided story of the so-called contro-
versy between officials of the judge
advocate generals Office, all under
government frank and all printed at
the government printing office
Senator Chamberlain calls the atten-
tion Of the Attorney General to this
eral statutes. Whether or not it is
such a breach is a question for the
Department of Justice. But that the
War Department sanctions practice
by which some officers who have
taken part in a controversy may
agencies to sow broadcast private
propaganda and at the same time at
tempt to repress publicity for the
officers who take an opposite view is
a serious question that interests the
whole public as well as every man in
the Army. There are four million men
in the Army who were brought within
and it was a poor lonesome person in
the United States who had not rela-
tive, or a friend in that Army: and
they are the ones who want to know
whether the procedure was fair; and
if it was unfair, who are RESPONSE
BILE for its continuance on the statute
books during the war
X
When the war came there. were
enough surgeons and sanitarians in
90 the Army
Physicians Return to care
to Their Professions. tor -.
number of troops then in the Regular
Army, having in mind the camps.
stations, forts and military reserva-
tions.
. Those medical officers have done
the work entaiIed upon them by the
great war in a way that has received
the highest praise. Without recourse,
however. to the medical men in
civilian practice their numbers were
lost in the great armies of the
republic. Without waiting for a call
to- duty, the members of the great
under the influence of
those men who are rightly called the
leaders, began to pour into the Army.
whose incomes were al
most princely accepted the pay and
rank of majors and colonelS in the
Medical Corps: and started for Eu
rope, where they have been managing
hospitals in such a manner as to win
praise from civilians and soldiers.
Onicers in the medical reserve re-
sponded without delay to the calls
that were issued frcn the office of
Surgeon General Gorgas.
Many Of the older men and the
in the medical colleges
were not accepted for Army service:
they. were assigned to home duty. But
with the growth of the Army from
a couple of hundred thousand to four
millions of men. the civilians were
called out until 10000 had responded
and. qualified for duty. About half
of this total were assigned to duty
on. the other side. leaving about
fifteen thousand serving in camps or
otherwise in this country.
All communities have felt and suf-
tered from the drain OF the medical
men into the Army: and had the war
continued much longer the drain
would have been generally realized.
With the signing of the armistice and
the rehabilitation Of the 1000, 200
troops from the forces under training
in the United States. many Of the
physicians. were discharged and per-
mifted to return to their practice.
The general rule was that the older |
men should have preference IN dis