Arizona republican., 1919-04-16
JURY MAY
 TAKE PLACE IF HE
 OLD COURTMART|
Gen. Menoher Believes No Radical Change Needed Severe Sentences Needed to Maintain Military Morale

WASHINGTON, April 15.-The pres ent system of military justice needs no radical attention, in the opinion of Major General Charles T. Menoher, commander of the 42nd (RainboW) di- vision, throughout it's active service during the war. Appearing today be- fore the committee of the American Bar association, which is conducting an inquiry, General Menoher said that with some elaboration of agreements to make the system more easily under stable to officers serving only for war emergency, he saw no necessity of changing courtmartial practice and procedure.
 q do not recall" he said that in this controversy it has ever been claimed that any innocent man was found guilty. With regard to the length of sentences, however, it is another matter. We always felt that adjust ment of sentences would be made after the war"
 General Menoher was asked what objection he saw to creating a system of enlisted juries to try cases of en- listed men.
 Favor Soldier Juries
 T believe it would work" he said, adding that he had never heard the suggestion before and was not prepared to present studied reply. T have great confidence in the enlisted man. But I should not want to see any bol- sheviki ideas get into the minds of the enlisted men. We have some evidence now in Russia of what happens in that case" The officer also approved a sug gestion that offensives of a common law character might be referred to the federal courts, except in actual war zones. The army would be glad to get rid of all trials for anything but mili- tary offenses," he thought. l So far as the existing military justice l system is concerned, General Menoher i said there is no escape from the per- | sonal element among the officers ap- plying. It is so bound up with the question of general discipline, he added, there are no means of diverting author 1 ities over courtmartial from the func- tions of military command. Colonel Charles D. Heron, who com manded the 313th field artillery, and later was chief of staff of the 18th di- 1 vision, also told the committee that the l present military system was adequate, 1 Dut IiidL US success QSpci8itus upbI lle ] intelligence of the e-officers-. sGsarenlar- tial, he said. were much like whippings
 for children; at times they might be necessary, but often they reflected upon the intelligence and ingenuity of the parent
 i Morale Follows Justice
 Army officers felt it essential that justice be given the men, Colonel Her. ron said, because morale depended up- on it and morale was what won battles l Some cases of seemingly excessive sen tences, he added. were easily explained
 by the facts. Ten or fifteen years inn prisonment for q weeks absence with
 out leave certainly appeared heavy, lie asserted, but cases of this kind he had noted in France were those of mer whose week of absence kept them out
 of fight into which their unit was
 going The rear line of all armies, he
 said, were filled with men wandering
 up and down in search of their com
 panies, but never quite finding them
 These were ''skulker cases whicl
 formed a separate problem" hc
 thought.
 | General Mencher said he believed tht
 number of these cases actually wa: small.
 We had practically none of them il the And division" he added.