New Britain herald., 1919-02-15
WANTS NAMES Of
Army MAR7INE7S
Senate Committee to Probe
CourtS-Martial Scandal

! day before the Military AtfalfS CON-
! mittee by Brig. Gen. Samuel l. All
sell who was Acting Judge Advocate
General of the army throughout INC
| major period of the war ;,
ST want the names of these men,
| said Senator Borah so that we liie'S
know who they are, as we may pos
, sibIy have reason to deal with tholii'
No names were mentioned ~ -
DAVIS proceedings Gen. AnSell SIMPLY
! referring to individual cases aS '"0s
of nriyate or lieutenant ana 81 JILL
| No action of any kind has been taken
in the case Of the private VINO was
sentenced to forty years for lnsolence
TO an officer who insisted that ne give
nm 2 package of cigarettes
Senator Chamberlain case aSSQr-
ances that when Gen. Ansell appears
before the committee tomorrow
morning cit will be our purpose to
try to elicit that very informatiOn'.
Accounts Not Exaggerated.
Gen. AnselPs testimony yesterday
at the first hearing on the question of
military justice to which the world
has systematically been calling atten-
ton, figured largely at today's SEES
sion of the senate. The discussion
reached it's climax when Senator Nor
ris offered the account of the hearing
as it was published in today's papers
and asked that it be read into the
record.
Senator Borah began the discussion
by asking mem bers OF ~" committee
if published accounts of Gen. Ansell's
testimony were accurate.
"The reports We're not exaggerated
said Senator Knox. 'In fact, they
| did not go far enough. Some specific
! cases were worse than those given"
II have now in my possession" said
| Senator Borah, Conformation which
| comes to me direct and from an au-
| thority in tho War Department who
| examined the record and who knows
| whereof he speaks such as this: "A
! boy was ordered to peel potatoes
| which he declnnd to do, and he was
| sent to the penitentiary for twenty
| years by COURT rtial.'
! THE man who assessed that pun
! ishment is q dangerous member of
| society. He would commit murder if
| the place We're secret enough so that
| the miserable coward would not be
| intercepted in his deed It is that man
| I want to reach Mlitarism in the
! to me when it is based upon such in
| famous practices as it is in Prussia
Like the senator from Idaho"
said Senator Pomerene, IT was very
| much shocked at the account 7 read
| today and ] confess I was a little dis
appointed when the senator from
| Pennsylvania said it was not an exag-
! geration. I had hoped for the sake
| of the army that it would prove to be
an eXaggeration. 7 hope that the men
who imposed these severe penalties
will be dismissed from the service"
Wants Both Sides Heard
THE printed statements are not
exaggerated" Senator Knox reiterat-
ed. "There may be some trif1ing in
accuracies, but some things should be
! in that are not given
eft is unfair to put one side in the
Record and not give the other side"
said Senator Chamberlain. IT think
we should wait until Gen. Crowder
gives his views and then put them in
with those of Gen. Ansel1.
IT think that when the senator
| from Idaho reads the very able dis
| cussion of the legal side, the legal
| phases of the Articles of War; he
will be very much interested in Gen.
AnSellS testimony.
"In the last analysis one of the
very great differences is a difference
between lawyers as to the construc-
! ton of a certain provision Of the law.
| Gen. Ansell and those who agree with
| him insist that the judge advocate
| generals department has power to re-
wise and review the proceedings Of
the court-martial, while others in the
| branch of tho service hold tina
the law does not give that power 1t
is the lack of a proper construction
| of the law that has led to these hard
| ships"
II should like to call the attention
Of the senator from Oregon said
| Senator Knox "to the fact that I do
not regard the difference Of opinion
between General Ansel and General
Crowder to the appellate jurisdiction
or the right to revise by the judge
advocate generals office as at all in
volved in this matter.
Excessive Sentences Reduced.
Gen. CraWder's construction OF
the law did not procure these excess
sive and barbarous sentences which
were imposed upon our men Il
France or in this country. The whole
question of law and purely and simply
sentences can be reviewed. That is a
question of law and purify and simply
a question of law under the existing
statutes. The fact is that they were
reviewed, and in all of those very ex-
treme cases the sentences were very
much reduced by the reviewing au-
thority."
Gen. Alsell," said Senator Freling-
huysen, appeared before the commit
tee recommending wider powers OF
review for the judge advocate gen
erals office, and made some state
ment to the committee regarding a