New-York tribune., 1919-02-16

Military Affairs Committee, and that
of other members of Congress, ex-
pressed both privately and in debate,
is of any value as criterion, Acting
Judge Advocate General Ansell is in
a fair way to win fight for making
military justice the real justice that
he has been waging for twelve years
or more.
General Ansell has made a deep i'm
preston on the Senators of the Mill
tary Affairs Committee, both by reS-
son of his encyclopedia knowledge of
his subject and his profound under
standing of both civil and military
Jurisprudence. They are also i'm
pressed by his remarkable courage in
so boldly dealing with a subject where
in he has to front compact body of
military prejudice and interest that
is almost solidly opposed to him.
The fact that General Ansell is a
West Pointer of some twenty-four
advice a degree of weight that would
not attach to the opinion and judg-
ment of temporary officer, who might
be assumed to be personally resentful
of military ways. The Senators are
so surprised by his audacity in facing
what they are now convinced is a
heary citadel of military iniquity that
he was minutely examined to-day as
to what had been the consequences to
him of his long advocacy of military
judicial reform.
Relieved From Duty
General Ansell said that because Of
his views he was relieved in the latter
part of 1918 of duties in connection
in the judge advocate generals depart
ment. He found no fault with this
removal, and no matter how good and
obedient q soldier he might be, his
views, varying as they did from those
of the judge advocate general, Crow
der, made it somewhat embarrassing
for him to try to administe a policy
that profoundly differed from his su-
periors.
He admitted also that about ten days
ago he was again relieved of the same
duties, to which he was restored last
summer. Though he is acting judge
advocate general, he is no longer Off
cially concerned with the affairs of the
section of military justice" to which
he has devoted so much attention.
Senator Thomas thought this "relief''
was a matter of coincidental signif-
cance, but General nAsell would not
concede that that was necessarily SO,
as there might have been other rea-
sons for the circumscribing of his
duties. At any rate, he is no longer
in a position to continue his labors
for the correction Of the errors of mill
tary courts along the lines his ideas.
Advises Commission
In advising the committee to- day of
improvements he would make in the
pending Chamberlain bill to reform
military judicial organization and pro-
cedure, which he warmly approves in
principle, General Ansell concurred in
suggestion made by one of the Sen
ators that it would be wise to create
some sort of commission or court to
review under authority of Congress
that would be empowered to review all
military convictions during the war
with a view to revoking all that are
contrary to the fundamental principles
of law and in defiance of the constitu-
tional rights of the accused
Executive clemency, he said, could
undo much of the wrong that had been
done, but in order to fully cleanse the
record of a man unjustly convicted it
would require, in his opinion, specific
extension of power by Congress. He
cited as an illustration of his meaning
the cases of men uniustly convicted
and dishonorably discharged.