Republican farmer., 1919-07-25
SOLDIERS WERE
 HANDED ''KARD
 BOILED" JUSTICE
Court Martial Sentences Were Cut 10000 Years.
POWER WAS VERY
 OFTEN ABUSED
Officer Who Reviewed
 Gases Tells Story.

Congressional Conn mp1tttce which Is fn- 'cstigatinE alleged cruclties to United States soldiers can find a witness who Knows" thircs if it will call Fred W. Ashton of Ornnd Island. Ashton. who h m attorney of this city. has just been dJSchnrUcd from the service and arrived in Grand Island last week. He .s1s a Major in The Judge Advocates department in Washington and for months he devoted his entire time to Investigating cases against soldiers who had been sent to prison for long terms on the most trivial charges. MT. Ashton succeeded in getting 10000 years cut off thc prison life of sol dicrs whose cases he investigated When Fred Ashton went to Wash ingtou to undertake the work of i7 vestiratiou h. was a conservative. To- day he is decidedly radical, made so by his review of SO many cases of mlscarriagc of juatice wherein milf- tafN courts had doomed private sol- diers tn long years in prison for slight Attractions of army rules.
 Too much authority is placed in inc hands of q commanding general" says Mir. Ashton. Where this official was harsh and severe. sentences that exceeded reason and fairness were given"
 Here's a case of which Mir. Ashton
 L. tee. IL is one Mir. Ashton investigated and reviewed.
 Never Warned of Rule.
 Jeff lienderslu was charged with dcsertiou. Although found to be ignorant. his employers in civil life spoke well of him. Evidence dis closed hc had never been warned of thc arriousucss of staying out without leave. His cas" was poorly tried Hear say evidence end much incompetent evidence Was admitted. Inexcusrble errors on the part of counsel for the prosecution .n attempting to prove by tDGt. IawCs the contents of the com pany records without introducing inc record Itself or a certified copy there Of. md In the introducing of testi- ] iuouy of the same witness as of state uents made by Henderson amounting Co a confession without showing that Henderson had been warned of the seriousness of such admissions or if his own rights in the matter marked thc trial. Ecnderson's counsel was negligent In permitting this testimony to go in without objection and in permitting unjust russ-cNamination. The review ing board confessed the testimony should not have been admitted. but dismissed the matter with a statement that "Scrious as the failures appear to be. they have been waived by the nccuscd by his failure to make ob- Jcctious thereto" Henderson was sentenced to twen- ty years Imprisonment. The clemency board rcmittrd seventeen and one haE years from this term after Ash ion investigated the case. Here's another case Ashton investi- gated: John William Randall was accused of stealing an envelope and contents. There vas no charge that the con tents he'd uuy special value. There was no violation of a postal law. II may have been a letter from a girl tp her sweetheart. He was sent to prison. Jrss Conway was accused of deser- ton and escape. lie pleaded guilty to both and was sentenced to twenty years Imprisonment and total forfei- tJrc of pay. The board found Conway to be an inbocilc with the mental age of four and a hulf years He was dis misscd.
 Sentenced to Be Shot. Bentluir Garsti was found guilty of d.aohcdicnce of orders. He was sentenced Co be shot. The President CouuutCd his sentence to fifteen years in prison. The clemoncy board. on cx- animation. found that Garskl had
 
 and recommended that his sentence be rumIttcd.
 Here is a case where the interfer- ence of the commanding officer was responsible for n verdict of guilty after tho court-martial had declared the aCcuGcd to be innocent. Thomas l.. Harrison was accused of desertion He was found not guilty. The com mand!uR officer ordered the court to rcConvcnc and it revoked It's former findings and the accused was given ccnteucc of five years with q dis honorable di-chnrgc. The court took its second step because it did not wish to incur the disp!casure of the com manding officer.
 sun another caqc: John NJ. Frazier was farmer. He had been turned down for oveT-cas service and was discouraged He received a pass for n week and went home. Here he found his live stock was going to ruin in his absence. After tending the stock he had no money to get back to the post. He got job near by and con- tinuirE to wear his uniform. freely told that he was going back to camp as soon as he got money enough to pay railroad fare. When he got the money he started for camp, but was arrested before he got there. The Sourt-martini gave him twenty years
 sgcrbaI Dcscrtion"-25 Years.
 Floyd Malcy, C. NJ, No. 122309. aged 22 years, a moron, mental age ii years, talked in rambling. discon- nected manner; apprehended for fail- 'ure to register. He was accused of de- sertion. the dcsertion consisting of sayine. "I do not want to be a sol- dier.'" He was sentenced to twenty five years and dishonorable discharge
 John Ritohey, C. NJ. No. 11S19o. .ged 25. He was nt Camp Perry. Ohio. for seven weeks in August. Septem ber and October, 1917. The prisoner asked for permission to visit his aunt in Tol- odo who was not expected to live The permit vas refused and he left Camp Perry without permit and went to Toledo. thirty-fve miles away, intending to return the next a,v He found his aunt dying. She