Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-08-28
NURSES MURDER
HELD IN ACCORD
WITH WAR LAW
Execution Of Miss CaveII JUS
titled Under Present Mill
tary System, Bar
risters Say.

Baltimore, Aug. N.-Execution by
the Germans of Miss Edith Cavell
the English nurse, which aroused the
indignation of the allied world. was
in accordance with the laws of
Civilized warfare" according to a
minority report of the committee on
military warfare of the American
Bar association. made public today.
Both majority and minority reports
were prepared by the committee,
which was appointed to investigate
courts martial and suggest reforms
in military law.
The reference to the case of Miss
Cavell was made by S. S. Gregory of
Chicago, chairman of the committee,
and was concurred in by Judge
William P. Bynum of Greensboro,
N. c., the other minority member,
in advocating abolition of the death
penalty for women convicted of in
fringing military law.
In his report, Mr.. Gregory said:
"a careful consideration of the
case of Miss Edith Cavell has led
me to the conclusion that she was
executed in accordance with the laws
and usages of what we are pleased
commonly, to refer to as civilized
warfare
Trial Brutal One.
This being so, it has seemed to
me quite inconsistent with our
condemnation OF those who thus
took her life to retain in our own
system of military justice those pro-
visions OF law which were relied
upon by the German military au-
thorities. The fact that her trial
was attended by brutality and dupllc-
ity does not alter this aspect of the
case" .,
The majority members of the
committee, Andrew A. Bruse, OF
Minneapolis, Martin Conboy of
New York and Joh- Huxley of
Baltimore declared they could not
concur in the suggestion of Mr..
Gregory that there should be pro-
vision prohibiting the death penalty
in the case of women spies"
at would certainly be inadvisable
unless such a provision were in the
codes of all nations with whom we
would be likely to be at war" they
said.
Extreme Cases Only.
1--WE agree thoroughly that the
penalty should not be inflicted ex-
cept in the most extreme case, but
that it should be abolished entirely
we cannot agree, as experience has
shown that on account OF the sex
lure women are the most dangerous
of all spies, and our chivalry towards
some should not allow us to jeopar-
die the national cause or the lives
of thousands of the sons of others"
The majority also declined to con-
cur in recommendations of the mi
nority that enlisted men sit on
court--martial and that special
courts be abandoned. The majority
report asserted that although I'VE
believe some changes should be
made, we are satisfied that the er-
rors committed during the recent
war and the excessive penalties,
which were no doubt often. imposed,
were due largely to the inexperience
of those in control and to the fact
that not only we had of necessity to
train an officer class over night for
our volunteer army, but that our
practice in the past of scattering our
regular army, divided into battalions,
companies and even smaller units
over the country, had made it i'm
possible to train properly even our
West Point officers"
1--WE are thoroughly in accord"
the majority report continued, with
the idea that there should be with
each division, brigade and, perhaps,
regiment, thoroughly trained mill
tary lawyer with the rank, perhaps,
of lieutenant-colonel, who should
serve either as presiding judge or
as adviser at all courts-martial."
The majority members report rec
commended that more care should be
taken in obtaining counsel for &C
cused soldiers, and urged that great
er efforts be made to reduce the time
taken in bringing prisoners to trial,
in order to lessen their period of
confinement in the guardhouse.