The Butler weekly times and the Bates County record. (Butler, Mo.) 1918-1950, 1919-05-01
WILL TRY KAISER
Wilhelm Accused of Supreme OF
"A tense Against International
. Morality.

+ Morality.
ashingtun, April 2S.-Count
I Wilhelm Hohenzollern, ex-King Of
Prussia and ex+Emperor of Ger
many, is to be tried by the Allies for
"a supreme offense against interna-
tional morality and the sanctity OF
treaties"
| An official announcement by the
State Department today stated that
new articles proposed for insertion
in the peace treaty to be considered
at the plenary session of the peace
conference will arraign Count Ho-
hnzollern and his underlings for
their crimes, and that the Allied and
associated powers will request"
| Holland to surrender the former en-
peror for trial. J..
1t is specifically mentioned that
Count Hohcnzollern is not to be
tried as a criminal. 1t is proposed in
the treaty that he be tried before, a
special tribunal consisting of five
judges, one appointed by each Of
the five great powers: The United
States, Great Britain, France, Italy
and Japan.
The-other Germans accused Of
violation of the laws and customs OF
war are to be brought before milf
tary tribunals and, If found guilty,
sentenced to the punishment laid
down by military law"
Specific provision for punishment
of individual enemy officers and Of
ficials who order or permit viola
tons of the established rules 81 war
is found in Rules of Land War
fare" the official handbook on this
subject. Under the head of Punish
ment OF Individuals" the following
passage ocurs:
Commanders ordering commits
sion of such acts, or under whose au-
thority they are committed may be
punished by the belligerent into
whose hands they fall" a.
Offenses listed against the mill
tary forces OF the Central Bowers. it
was said, may be grouped under
three general heads: Crimes against
opposing armies; crimes against OPP
ponents in marine industry; crimes
against non-combatants and civil
ians.
Under the first group would come
the employing OF ''projectiles which
have for their object the diffusion of
asphyxiating or deleterious gases"
prohibited in The Hague convention
of 1899; use of mushroom bullets
and other weapons tending to cause
unnecessary suffering, prohibited in
The Hague convention of 1907; de-
struction of Red Cross and hospital
personnel and material; pollution ct
water supply sources and misuse of
flags Of truce.
Crimes committed by the enemy's
naval forces which would render in
dividual officers culpable would in
clude the sinking without warning
of merchant craft. destruction linden
any conditions OF hospital shifts,
bombardment of undefended ports
and sinking of lifeboats and RATS
with survivors. .,'
Offenses against civilian popula-
tons of occupied districts. prohibit
ed strictly in the American manual
include: Imprisonment of enemy
subjects en- masse, expulsion OF civil
ians from occupied territory, use OF
prisoner labor on operations direct
ly connected with the war, intern
ment under conditions of hardship.
compulsory enlistment. debasement
of currency. wanton destruction OF
property. abrogation of civil gov
eminent.
While the punishment to be in
flicted for such violations is not set
forth in Rules of Land Warfare
reference is made to the severe pen
alties to be imposed in cases where
American officers or enlisted men
are guilty OF any OF the crimes men
toned. 1t is thought probable that.
in cases where a military tribunal
representing the United States was
sitting, the procedure laid down to
govern army court martials would be
followed and the penalties in every
case would be the same as provided
when the defendant is member OF
the military establishment OF this
country.
The German government will ne
called upon to furnish all documents
and information of every kind con-
sidered necessary to insure the Al
lies full knowledge of. the incrinli-
mating acts and the identity and re-
sponsibility of the offenders.
Surrender OF all persons accused.
"either by name or by the rank. Of
flee or employment which they held
under the German authorities" will
be demanded OF the German govern
ment for by the military tribun-
al of the country against whose cit
liens the criminal acts were perpe-
trated.
Thus the peace conference COM
on responsibility for the
war has solved its most weighty
problem.