The Washington herald., 1919-03-10
CROWDER DEFENDS
HIS OFFICE IN TRIALS
BY COURTS-MARTIAL
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE

Is designed 10 encourRe, permit and
protect the very widest limit OF in
dividual action consistent with the
minimum necessities of organized gov
eminent. The military code, and es-
pecially our military code. is design
ed to operate on men hurriedly drawn
from the liberal operation of the civil
code, and to concentrate their strength.
their Individual action on one COM
mon purpose-the purpose of victory
The common purpose is the plan
OF action. The plan of action can
not be. as we have heard it In the
Bolsheviki army. the debated sense Of
the army. The plan of action is and
must be the plan of the commander
Therefore. individual liberty Of action
inconsistent with that common pur-
pose, must be restricted. The mill
tary code Is designed to accomplish
that purpose. On this theory the SOL
dier is remitted to the simple and
direct procedure for the enforcement
Of discipline in the army. His court
has its inception in the old courts of
chivalry and honor and the essential
principle remains. His conduct is
taken before his comrades who de-
termine whether it is the conduct of
a soldier or not.
Power Should be In President.
The fault lies not in the lack of
civil judicial system, but in the
lack of a power to reverse, modify
or affirm the action of a military
commander on the findings and sen
tence of court-martial. I think we
have disposed OF the contention that
| the power should lie in the Judge Ad-
vocate General 1t should lie in the
President.
Let me say first Of all, that the
criticism that sentences are severe is
not criticism of. the system of mili-
tary justice. 1t is not a criticism
OF my administration OF that system.
1t Is a criticism of the officers who
imposed, for instance, sentences of
DEATH and 1t is a criticism of the
Congress. l do not mean to say that,
If criticism is due. 1 am immune. I
am not. 1 agree with the statute.
and shall defend 1t, but l am not re-
sponsible for it.
why should the ofrenses of a SOL
dier OF sleeping on post of the guard.
desertion, disobedience of orders be
punishable by deatha Because cities
and fortffications and armies have
been lost through the drowsiness of
sentinels; because armies have been
disintegrated and nations humbIed by
desertion, because battles have been
lost and peoples sold into captivity
by the disobedience OF soldiers.
Approved no Such Sentence,
ITO us at home. in comfort and in
present peace, 1t is next to Impossible
to reconcile the almost unanimous
view of soldiers in the field or theater
of war on the gravity Of these and
many other lesser offenses of their
| comrades. Therefore, the execution
of not one sentence of death for these
things has been approved by me and
not one such sentence has been
executed.
Hostile critics will assert that the
observations l have submitted COM
nit me to a support of excessive SEN
tences, which, of course, is not true.
only speak the probable viewpoin,
of the officers who have assessed
these sentences, but it may be said
with entire accuracy that on the day
the armistice was signed, November
IL, 1918, no person was serving the
sentence of u general court-martjal
who had on that date entered upon
the execution of the excessive portion
of his sentence.
L now come with reluctance to a
few distasteful paragraphs of per-
sonal vindication,'' concludes Gen.
Crowder in his letter to Secretary
Baker, which is dated March 8.
Gen. Ansen Criticised.
Gen. Ansell was one of the most
trusted and promising officers in my
office. While it is true that Gen. An
sells attempt 10 secure an order CIV
ing him my functions as Judge Ad-
vocate General was concurrent with
his preparation of a brief urging n
revolution in the military system, and
his circulation of a document of such
grave consequence among every off,
Ger in my Office without giving me the
slightest information of his efforts, IT
is not true that / knew of the brief
until after you directed the resembling
Of the unpublished order appointing
him Acting Judge Advocate. But I
deem it unnecessary to enter this
field Of accusation further and dis
cuss the many issues Of fact which
have been raised. as I am informed
that the Inspector General of the
army has been designated TO conduct
thorough investigation and make
all of the ascertainments of fact that
are necessary to elucidate the admin
istration OF military justice during