The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-01-28
LANCASTER SERVED IN SAME COMPANY
 WITH MARION BOYS
With Brief Defense Period Sol diers' Friends Will Rely on Spirit of Fairness at
 Hamilton

With but a brief time to prepare for tEeir defense, the friends of the Tus- caloosa soldiers who go on trial at Ham liance in the fairness of the people of Marion county to see that the guardsmen receive a fair trial.
 Friends of the nine guardsmen, in sup port of their contention that an effort is being made to railroad the soldiers, point to the fact that about 50 indict- ments have been returned for the mur- der of Leon Adler and Deputy Sheriff Edgill early in September, but that not one of the ca:es has been set for trial, anc no material effort has been made to hasten these trials, yet the guardsmen are tof be Drought to trial 10 days after they are indicteds assT ssstgi ss'
 It is further contended that whlle about 20 others are under indictment for first degree murder in Walker county. growing out of the iawlessness during the strike, none of them has been tried and there has been no strong effort made to have the cases taken up by the courts.
 RELY ON FAIR PLAY
 Friends of the members of the Tusca- loosa company are relying upon the spirit of fair play and desire to see justice done by the citizens of Marion county to make up for the handicap which the guards men suffered through the lack of time to prepare their cases for trial.
 Tuscaloosa people, who have been asso- cisted in the same congressional district with the citizens of Marion county Tor many years, declare that the record for col servatism and fair play of the people of Marion county will make up for the handicap under which the soldiers have been placed.
 Prominent Tuscaloosa men who are keenly interested in the case. but who are carefully avoiding anything like an effort to try it m advance of the hear ing of the evidence, contend that the Urea tment received by the soldier boys is without precedent in Alabama. Away from home, handcuffed and under guard, for some time denied the right to consult with their friends and relatives, they were switched, from one county to an; otLer thereby consuming considerable amount of the, small time allowed them to make their defenS
 It Is known that Sergt Robert l.. Lan- caster, who was a member of the A. E. F. for IS months, served in Uncle Sams fighting forces with a number of Marion county boys, and reports are to the ef- feet that their Marion county comrades are busy counteractng the propaganda spread throughout Marion county tend ing to show that the soldiers were guilty and that they should be dealt with sum marily.
 COMRADES ACTIVE
 The fact that others of the accused sol diers were members of the American forces in France. and that all of them were on duty not of their own choosing but in answer to the call from higher au- thorities they were bound to obey, has tended to arouse their comrades of the late war in an effort to counteract the attempt to create sentiment against the soldiers even before their trial. They are demanding that their former comrades be heard in their own defense before be- ing condemned
 It is recalled that in the storm disas- ter last spring which killed so many cit izens of Marion county and injured and made destitute hundreds of others, the Tuscaloosa company of national guards men were among the first on duty to render aid. The quick response made by the Tuscaloosa soldiers to the call from the governor was commended by state officials at the time
 Even before the Red Cross arrived the Tuacaloosa boys were dispatched by Cow ernor Kilby to the scene of the disaster with. emergency. relief sequipmept.s tents, c2ts blankets and other supplies to and the suffering people. It is even known