The Washington herald., 1920-10-29
OBJECT0R ASKS
.AID0F WILSON
Conscientious Objector on
Hunger Strike Wants
Murder Outright"
BELIEVES HE Is RIGHT
- = :
Quotes Legal and Moral Is
., sue In Effort to Convince
Executive.
BELIEVES HE Is RIGHT

Requesting President Wilson TO
'Fbe kind enough to murder him
outright" Benjamin ]. Salmon, con-
scientious objector, whose petition
t9r a writ Of habeas corpus to pre-
Vent him from finishing a term OF
fiye years, imposed for deseTtion by
A military court-martial, was denied
in the District Supreme Court Mon
day by Justice Bailey. yesterday
wrote the President and asked that
he be permitted to continue his
hunger strike without forcible feed
ings
Letter to President.
In his letter to the President,
Salmon says:
Dear Mr.. Wilson:
On July IS, while still confined in
the Fort Douglas prison, I went on
d liberty or death hunger strike.
For thirteen days I was allowed to
starye. Then the authorities began
TO forcibly feed me. Forcible feed
ing has been continued ever since,
although on numerous occasions I
have been allowed to go without
food.
1OudJ IS the ~ III udg VI lllN
hunger strike. I still refuse TO eat
and will continue TO refuse to eat.
Since YOU will not release me, will
you be kind enough to murder me
outright Forcible feeding does not
solve the problem, it is murder on
the instalIment plan. the little bit OF
liquid food is merely a torture, each
day finds me a little weaker.
Crime Is Refusal to KILL"
As you know, my only crime is a
refusal to kill. DR.. Arthur P. Noyes,
of St EIizabeth's Hospital, is quoted
as follows: "Salmon's objection 10
serving in the army was the result
Of his own study OF the Bible and
not because Of the church of which
he is a member" am a member
Of the Roman Catholic Church. Fr.
Joseph V. Molloy, one Of tie most
learned among the Catholic clergy,
now stationed at the Sacred Heart
-Bectory. klamath Falls, Ore, wrote
- me a few days ago stating: Il
IiFay for you. May God give you
III the nerve and courage that you
need. Though all the small folks
90 back on you, Christ is with you;
that is, il He meant those radical
aud pacifst words with which the
pages Of the holy Gospels are filled
and Of course we know that He did
Hean every single word. He and
Ms idea are still unknown to the
world" I can quote many state
rlents from Catholic priests 10 prove
the fallacy Of DR.. Noyes' assevera-
ton, but the foregoing should be
sufficient.
The governments attempt to
brand me a Iunatic has been foiled
I was railroaded to this insane asy-
-Ium three months ago today because
= had gone on a hunger strike
After more than two months daily
observation by the physicians fol-
lowed by an examination before a
beard composed of twenty Ght
mental specialists with the head OF
this insane asylum as the principal
Interrogator. I was officially de-
Clared to be sane. II has been TWEEN
ty-fOur days since | was declared
, to be of sound mind, yet I am still
held in an insane asylum and con-
fined in a building set aside for in
sane criminals: approximately 18t
Of this type are herein segre gated
Says Two Issues Involved.
"O issues are lnNO4NeQr one lie eEaI
and one moral. I am illegally de-
tanned. Rule Sill of the Selective
Service Regulations proves that J
was illegally drafted. for at the
time OF my attempted induction into
the military service 1 was at large
on bail pending an appeal from q
sentence OF nine months in the Den
yer County Jail for refusal to an
swer the questionable. Being il
legally drafted a court-martial was
powerless to try me, but might Is
right" in America so the court
martial tried me anyway. Nearly
two years ago Judge Pollock OIL
Kansas City denied a writ of habeas
corpus, basing his denial upon the
contention that I had violated the
law in order to get a fourth class
classification. The court-martial
record shows that if I had not vio-
lated the law that is, IL I had not
refused to answer the QUESTIONABLE
Il would have been put in fourth
class because of a wife and widow
ed mother being dependent upoI
me for support.
Ny letter to the local board which
is a part Of the record, Informed
the board that although was legiti-
mately entitled to exemption I would
not hide behind skirts but face the
issue squarely. \ few davs aCr
Judge Bailey, Of the District Su-