New-York tribune., 1920-10-25

The order requested the camp com
manders to try these methods. watch
results and report to the War Depart
ment, and ended with the caution:
Under no circumstances are the i'm
structions contained in the foregoing
to be given to the newspapers"
A similar order issued by the Secre-
tary of War through the adjutant gem
eral defined personal scruples." 1t
read:
"The Secretary of War directs that
until further instructions personal
scruples' against war should be consid
cred as cons tituting conscientious OBJ
lections' and such persons should be
treated in the same manner as other
conscientious objectors'" The order
concluded with the admontlon tnat
under no circumstances should these
instructions be communicated to the
newspapers"
The War Secretary also gave this or
der:
IF. however, any drafted man. upon
MS arrival at camp, shall record himself
as conscientious objector he shall not
against his will be required to wear
uniform or to bear arms; nor if,
pending final decision as to his status,
he shaH decline to perform. under mil
ltary direction. duties which he states
to be contrary to' the dictates of his
conscience, shall he receive =
punishment for such conduct
Doughboys Denied Retrial
1t is recorded that a board consist
ing of two civilians and one army of
'lcer was appointed b Secretary Baker
to visit any army camps and see that
the conscientious objectors were not
mistreated
In direct contrast to the treatment
Of men who refused to fight for their
country on the ground of personal
scruples Secretary Baker formally
ruled in Novem Der, 1917, that court
martial sentences of combatant SOL
diers could not be reviewed by the
President or the War Department and
that they must stand. Soldiers over
seas or at home were, therefore, de-
prived of rotrial, no matter how unjust
they considered their sentence, whereas
if they had declared personal scruples"
against military service their lot would
have been easier under War Depart
ment protection.
1t was over Secretary Bakers refusal
to intervene in the case Of doughboys
actual combatants-tha General An
sell, of the judge advocates depart
ment, had his famous dispute with Sec
retary Baker.
1t is matter of record that Sccre-
tary Baker caused the appointment of
board which reviewed the court
martial trials of conscientious object
ors whose breaches of discipline had
temporarily made them outside the
jurisdiction Of the War Department.
Says l. w. WIS Infested Camps
Major Frank S. White, judge advo-
cate at Camp Funston, under Gene raj
Leonard Wood, said in public inter-
view that the camp was "infested with
l. w. W. German sympathizcrs who
not only refused to fight, but would
not obey mere policy and health reg
ulations of the camp"
1t is recorded that an organization
called the "Union Against Militarism, ="
headed by Roger Baldwin as directing
officer, changed its name after the
United States declared war to the
Civil Liberties Bureau" Baldwin was
agents discovered that his "Civil
nshing legal advice to conscientious
objectors, thus aiding in the obstruc-
tion to the draft.
The Department of Justice accumu-
lated evidence against Baldwin. and
just as the department was about to
arrest him he hurried to Washington
from New York and had a conference
with Secretary Baker. An urgent
order followed from the War Depart
mont to withhold investigation of
Baldwin, and simultaneously the De-