The Marietta journal. (Marietta, Ga.) 1918-1944, 1919-02-21
ONLY $1,000 ALLOWED
BY CLAIMS COMMITTEE
FOR MRS. HARRIS DEATH

NOOnIlnuSO IrOn PEeccSuIHS PaBSJ
loss by death of his wife, due to ex-
plosion of shell fired by the student
officers at Fort Mcpherson, Atlanta,
Ca, during target practice.
In addition to the bill here reported
there are three others pending before
this committee pertaining to the same
matter, and in identical terms, name
ly, H. r. 1884, H. r. 1885, and
HI. r. 1886.
In considering these bills the COM
raittee had before it the proceedings
of a board of officers convened at the
place of the accident to investigate
the matter out of which these claims
arose, very comprehensive report
from the Acting Secretary OF War,
and other papers.
A full statement of the manner IN
which these parties met their death
is contained in the attached letter
from the Acting Secretary OF War to
the chairman of this committee.
1t appears that the injured persons
at the time of this explosion were up
on a public highway. Between the
target at which the guns were firing
and the point at which the explosion
took place stands Kennesaw Noun
tain. estimated to be from 600 to 800
feet high, which acted as back
stop for the target and which was
relied upon to prevent any shell fire
from the battery going farther. In
order for the shell to strike where it
did it was necessary for it to clear
the crest of the mountain.
With reference to the guns used in
target practice the Acting Secretary
of War in his report says:
''The gun laying was in wet, soft
clay and was not verified before each
shot or salvo."
Your committee desires to call at
tention to the following quotation
from the findings of the board OF
officers:
'In the opinion of the board it
would have been better judgment on
the part of the artillery officers di-
recting the firing Tin view of the UNI
trained personnel as well as of the
special conditions of the range) to
have caused the gun laying to be verl-
fed before each shot or salvo rather
than for each new change of direction
only"
Again
''The board is further of the opin-
ion that the shell causing the accident
cleared the crest of the saddle be-
tween Little Kennesaw and Big Ken
nesaw and made uninterrupted flight
to the point of burst, due either to an
undecided blunder in sight setting or
to unstable conditions resulting from
very soft wet clay at the gun posi-
ton"
Attention is also called to the fact
that all of the persons killed and in
iured as a result of the explosion
were outside of the danger zone that
had been determined, posted, and
cleared by the officers in charge; that
the place at which they were standing
when the shell exploded was place
at which they had right to be, and
not in violation of any order or no.
tice of the military officers, being on
a public highway.
From all the facts before it, it is
the Judgment of the committee that
the accident was the result of the
failure of the artillery officers to ex-
ercise the necessary and proper eau
ton to see that the gun laying was
verified before each shot or salvo, es-
pecially in view of the fact that the
s'gun laying was in wet, soft clay"
and that they were being fired in
the direction of a public highway.
In the findings of the board OF
officers "an undecided blunder in
sight setting" is also assigned as a
probable cause of the accident.
Papers, etc., bearing on this case
are appended hereto and made part
of this report.