Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-06-26
SOLDIERS MERE SERFS
INM||L|TARY COURTS
So Lieut.. Col. Ansell Declares
In Denouncing Present Code
of Army Justice
ADDRESSES STATE LAWYERS


Sixty per cent of the general court
martial cases in the American army
should never have been tried. 20 per
cent of the cases were not well tried; ;
20 per cent were so poorly tried that the
record cannot be relied upon Mt all
and in IS per cent of the convictions the
punishment meted out was such as to
shock the conscience.
This was the sCathing denunciatlon OF
the court martial system of the United
States army delivered this morning by
Lieutenant Colonel Samuel 7. Ansoll,
formerly judge advocate general of the
army, speaking before the twenty fifth
annual convention of the state Bar
Association here.
The speaker claimed that the army
Of the United States. as far as 1t system
of military justice was concerned, was
still in the condition of serfdom. that
the military code or the articles of war
utterly ignored the fact that the soldier
was still a citizen and as such entitled
to fair trial and the impartial admins
tration of Justice. 1t neither guaranteed
impartial justice nor that protection to
the accused which is provided by the
rules of law and evidence in civil tribu-
mails.
Remnant Of Middle Ages
The so.called Crowder revision of
1915 did not change the system of basic
principles of the code. 1t was not in
tended and designed to make any funda-
mental change as the secretary of war
and the judge advocate general both
frankly declared. The system is not
only of British origin. but it is the
British of several centuries ago. 1t be-
longs to an age when the common
soldier was but the personal retainer of
the king and not servant of tho state.
The British code had been changed
and made more modern. but the United
States still adhered to its medieval
code.
The results are that the penalties and
sentences are shockingly harsh and
eyerybody-if everybody would speak
frankly and helpfully-must be heartily
ashamed of them. ''I wish to say
he continued, with all the emphasis
can put into the statement that, by
reason of our utter disregard of those
principles of our Jurisprudence which
must govern every just trial, no lawyer
who believes in and wants to see JUS
tice regulated by law can have con-
fidence in or respect for our courts mar
tial during this war He contended
that It by no means followed that
man even while temporarily a soldier
was a brute beast.
Speaking of the effects Of the system
he said that every year in days of peace
61h per cent of the men were before
general courts martial, with per cent
expelled from the service in disgrace
and undergoing long terms Of imprison- =
meut. Every year 20 per cent were
before inferior courts martial.
In the short period of our participa
tion in the war there had been up to
tbe time of the armistice $4,000 general
courts martial and 100000 inferior
court cases. In the general courts =
martial cases. though many OF them
were for trivial offenses, the average
sentence had been more than seven
years imprisonment.
Spirit Crushing Injustice
letter from the secretary of war
was quoted in which it was stated that
the secretary, after the persuel OF the
complaints, was satisfied that justice
had been done. This letter, the speaker
said. was not written by but for the
secretary of war. 1t simply expressed
the military or departmental view.
Out of his experience as acting judge
advocate general the speaker was con :
WINGED that this view was wrong and
that the system of justice was one of
organized, spirit crushing injustice. By
his insistence upon this view. in spite
of the claim that everything was right,
there came a sort of general Jail de
livery by the clemency board, so that
sentences which aggregated 2S.04O were
reduced to 6724 years, and there was
a percentage of reduction all along the
line of more than 76 per cent.
The code, as a whole, he said, was
n "go as you please code with little
or no restraint upon the military com
mander.
Twenty nine offenses may be punished
as the court martial directs. Any
punishment except death may be award
ed, and for even minor military of
fenses life Imprisonment may be i'm
posed. In eleven cases the death sen
tence may be imposed, and in tw,
war court martial may award an,
punishment it pleases other than dealt
for any offense whatever, and for thos
which in ciYii life would be regarded a
tEgtaL
a. Mitchell Palmer, United State
3-brney general, and formerly allie
xEoperty custodian last night pai
u tribute to the work of lawyer
throughout the war. He declared /
was largely through their efforts tina
the tIlk of alien property was discov
cred. He said thousands of lawyer
gave their services in carrying out tn
provisions of the alien property act.
Mr.. Palmer told how enemy propert
was sought out, seized and disposed OF
He described the. effect of the opera
tions upon the conduct of the war i
crippling the enemy and spelling man
of his plans to make use of the indus
trial organization which Germany ha
built up in this country to aid. not onl
as propaganda, but in the actual con
duct of the war.