New-York tribune., 1919-04-05
Judge Advocate
OF 9th Scores
Military Laws
Officers of Regular Army
Shown FavOritism Over
Temporary Commanders,
Says Lieut.. Col. Kincaid
Urges Reform Legislation
Issues a Statement Asking
That the Citizen Soldiers
Be Given Fair Trials

Lieutenant Colonel J. Leslie Kincaid,
who was judge advocate Of the 9th
Division, made public the following
statement yesterday:
The Citizen Soldiers Complaints
: The complaints of the citizen soldier
SHOULD be given careful consideration
and should be weighed by Congress and
the press of the nation. The regular
soldier is perhaps more prejudiced and
more biased than the citizen soldier.
,. For the professional soldier war is
lthe life opportunity. 1t means promo
tion, but in times OF peace an increase
e, in the army gets the same result. The
citizen soldier. some may say, is also
prejudiced in the matter, as he is in.
terested to the extent of keeping taxa
tion for military purposes at as low
figure as possible consistent with an
adequate system of defence. He al
ways faces an income tax which may
be made perpetual unless the expense
of keeping up our armies can be re-
duced
''Some of the criticisms against the
regular army are very unfair One is
that so few of them served in France
during the war While less than 40
per cent of the officers of the regular
army had service in Europe, they are
in no way responsible for this. Every
q regular officer wanted to get to France
ID Many of the finest officers IN our army
were never sent overseas, and still
q, others were never sent out of training
4 areas. If there has been any unfair
ness or influence used in the assign
I'll ment of officers it should be investi-
gated, but loose talk and careless criti-
cism will be of no value.
Other Interesting Criticisms
e- Thousands of fine, determined, gal
Fin liant young Americans served through
out the war as first and second
lieutenants. Many of these citizen
J soldiers never received the rightly
a merited promotions they had won in
p combat, and are bitter and resentful
f. when they see the manner in which
q Officers OF the regular establishment,
with no battle experience, have been
s. promoted.
If" Then there are regiments, chag
g rined displeased and embittered be-
cause superior authority compelled
+ them to discard French equipment and
French insignia of rank which they
had worn throughout the actual months
of war, to be replaced with articles
!, ,of American equipment.
"And there were divisions whose sea-
soned veterans, decorated in many
leases by two governments, tried and
found fit in the greatest test of the
soldier-actual battle-came out of the
line after the armstice to have chiefs
of stats and other commanding Off
,i GERS who had never heard shot fired
in anger placed in authority over them.
THE veteran officers, who were ruth
lessly jumped in these cases, and their
o. loyal subordinates cannot understand
:. why this rather remarkable action was
j. taken. But personal and local COM
plants of this character cannot be con-
q sidered helpful in working out proper
military policy for the country The
If things that viii engage the best minds
y IN our country for long time to come
g. must be general matters of law and
policy which will enable US to take ad-
49, vantage of the things we have learned
in the world war.
Entitled to Fair Trial
s.. "The administration of military JUS
- tice. in the army has been violently as
- sailed from all sides. Much can be
sSSsaid on both sides. Absence without
( leave for few days has been pun
: ished in this country by sentences
/ which apparently have shocked the
sense of justice Of lawyers and judges
yet critics of our military system
should always bear in mind that mill
tary punishment is not for the purpose
of Furnishing the individual, but to pre-
vent the recurrence Of like offences and
to secure the desired deterrent effect
by publishing the sentence to sol
dier's command. Absence without leave
is most serious offence with an army
IN active service.
Con the other hand, no one will deny
that a soldier is entitled to a fair trial
I by an impartial court.
{ "The real criticism, in my mind
goes not alone TO The administra-
. the fact that all our military leg
! islation has been conceived and
: drafted by professional regular army
officers, whose judgment and ex-
perience, in some matters at least, may
be questioned by laymen.
/ "ln the very articles of war we fine
: two striking examples to show how
: obsolete and ridiculous are some of tn,
! military laws on our statute books
I Take the 18th article of war as al
example. No one who has ever reat
this most cleverly worded joker hal
! ever accused Congress Of trying to pu
it over.
General O'Ryan Subordinated
This statute makes every temporar,
officer-general, colonel, major or cap
/ tain, as the case may be-for all tim
junior to any regular officer Of hi
! grade. General Organ. commando
! Of my own division, battle-tried, ex
| perienced general, on the last day O
I his Federal service, was junior to ever
/ | other major general in our army, man
: Of whom had been major generals bu
I ! lew months and had never taken par
! | in actual combat; this in spite OF tn
! | of--repeated statement that we ma
! but one army.
! THE ether legislative absurdity
| / found in the l05th article Of war. b
| virtue Of this statute an attempt wa
{ I actually made to assess the sum If 81
I against more than 10000 troops ut
+. certain camp in this country.
{ There are, however, other we
founded, serious, giaring, unfair piece
of military legislation which Congress
I yoN4t ffo ndfatofv taxa co0nf,opcn n