Republican farmer., 1919-07-25
BILL EXTENDS CLEMENCY TO
 SERVICE MEN Sen. Chamberlain's Meas ure Meets With
 Favor. CREATES BOARD
 OF 3 MEMBERS Frees Service Men Con- victed By Court
 Martial.

Washington, July 23 Sena tor Chamberlain (Ore.) introduced in the Senate Monday a bill extending gen. eral clemency to soldiers, sailors and marines who have been courtmar- tialed during the war. This is the upshot of the long and determined fight against the present system of the higher officers of the army. Con gress has been deeply impressed with the extreme severity of the penalties inflicted as means to maintain disci- pline.
 The Chamberlain bill provides that all courtmartia1ed men shall be forthwith restored to the coIors and their records shall stand as if they had never been prosecuted unless they were convicted of crimes equiv alent to a felony under the federal statutes. All forfeitures of pay and allowances shall be repaid to them at once They shall be given hon. orable discharge and any forfeited citizenship rights shall be restored.
 A board of clemency and review would be created, composed of three members, versed in the law, ap- pointed by the President and con- firmed by the Senate. It shall re- NLtW, ItFlSt IIlOully OI duuul all courtmartial determinations since April 6, 1917, in which the crime charged was equivalent to felony un- der the federal law.
 Senator Chamberlain explained he had personally prepared the measure without assistance because of his deep conviction that it was necessary to establish justice. He asked that the bill be read to the Senate and then said:
 T am advised that the total of the sentences imposed by courtsmartial during the world war passed upon American soldiers was about 2S,O0O years. A clemency board has been appointed by the Secretary of War without any real authority except to make recommendations for reduc- tion of sentences. This board has recommended a reduction of sen tences which brings the total down to about 6,7GO years that American soldiers must serve in prison. The stigma of conviction is not removed by action of the clemency board, and under the construction placed upon the law by the distinguished Secre- tary of War and some of his military advisers there is practically no re- yisory power over these sentences where the courtnartial had jurisdfc- ton and the proceedings have been regular.
 The purposes of the bill which I have introduced cannot be more briefly stated than they are in the bill itself
 'The measure applies equally to all engaged in the military or naval ser vice and who were subject to court martial.
 
 me, many of them verified, of the outrages being committed against young men through the instrument taIity of courts martial are so horrible that some legislation ought to be acted upon promptly to obtain relief I may little later put a part of these cases in the record.
 '"The fact that already the elem ency board has reduced the sen tences in the aggregate from 2S,O00 years to 6,7OO years IS proof positive that the sentences were out of all proportion to the crimes committed. These 5000 years ought to be wiped out placed at an irreducible min imum.
 +'The bill will have to run counter to a strong military machine, but I believe the American people when the facts are presented will appeal to Congress to pass a measure which will remove the injustices which have been committed against the young men by courtsma artial and the more terrible things that are being perpetrated against them while they were serving their sentences in France and possibly in some eases in this country"
 Washington, July 22-Representa- tive Wood (Indiana) introduced a resolution to grant amnesty to Charles A. McAnally, a private in the army, who recently was sentenced to six months imprisonment after being found guilty of painting the Ger man colors on the statue erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy at Andersonville, Ga, to Henry Wfrz, commander of the prison located there in the Civil War;
 The resolution declared that Mo Anally had been actuated by "patrf- otic motives" and had been ignorant of committing any wrong in painting the statute of ''The arch enemy of the Civil War" H nu1ud