The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1919-03-20
Army Justice.

<AuVOSdIe NSIlcIdl =. 1. NnSell Will
very soon find it more advisable to
quit his present post, if not actually
to resign from the service altogether,
than to attempt to continue his fight
to modernize the archaic military law
which has been responsible for so
many atrocities in our army.
He has offended the pacifst secre-
tary Of war. He has irritated General
Pershing, and he has affronted the
chief of staff. This trinity recognizes
the right of no army officer to speak
the truth to congressional committee
when such statements are critical of
their administrations of all when
the exposures establish official sane
ton of the barbarous treatment of our
own boys. There is one factor in the
situation which must be reckoned with,
however, even by Mr.. Baker and his
favorite generals: it is Senator Cham
berlain. He has his heel in the ground,
and is so thoroughly aroused by Cen
eral Ansell's disclosures that he is de-
termined to see the fight through, to
the end that our military law shall be
revised along humane lines. Senator
Chamberlain will not be satisfied with
communication of the manifested unjust
sentences. He will insist upon revis-
ing the system that is responsible for
them. 49,
In all discussions of the law and of
the atrocities which have been perpe-
trated through it's operation, one fact,
has been lost sight of completely. It
concerns the legal experts-the JUS
tices-who imposed the sentences,
rather than the law itself. We refer
to the callow and inexperienced Off
GERS from civil life composing most Of
the courts whose decisions have been
criticised.
In the army there are four disciple
nary instrumentalities: Company
punishment is prescribed for minor Of
lenses, or when, in the judgment of an
officer, an enlisted man, who is poten-
TALLY good soldier, has committed
some technically grave offense without
generalization. 1t consists in compel
ling the guilty man to do the hardest
and most mental types of work with
out actually incarcerating him.
During normal times in the regular
army this is the usual form of punish
ment. Experienced officers find it
relatively easy to discipline men by
this method. They have learned
through years in the service that there
are few really chad" men in the army,
and that most attractions of thelregu-
lations can be adequately punished
through this form Of discipline. Sum-
mary courts and general courts are
analogous to police and criminal
courts in the civil system, while the
special courts are called only for ex-,
traordinary cases.
Records of the Judge advocate gen
erals office show that very large
percentage of the sentences imposed
by courts of various classes are SINH
lar to those which were handled by the
company methods during peace times.
The inference appears obvious. 1t is
strikingly Indicative of the actions of
those younger officers who had to be
called from civil life and given COM
missions because Of our lack of prepa-
ration.
The youthful officers who, the rec
ords show, imposed most of these
harsh sentences because they did not
know how to discipline or control their
men, are of the same kind who led
their forces to exposed positions and
needless slaughter because they knew
no better. There is no intention here
of criticising officers who did the best
they could, any more than there is a
desire to exculpate those who ap-
proved the legal system which pro-
hibited review.
The point, and the whole point, is,
that so long as we are compelled by
our 7pacifist leaders to rely upon I'M
trained youths to command our forces,
we may expect shocking results.
Until the full story of our partici-
patton in the war is told in all it's de-.
tails, the public will hear little and
know less Of the lives needlessly
thrown away because our impulsive
young officers unwittingly led men in
to German traps. Many of them paid
with their own lives for the lack of
training denied to them because of our
criminal lack Of preparedness. Har-
vey's Weekly.
A Comeback.
Mrs. Flatbush: "What was that
theory that Darwin had ~