The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-23

Express Hope That U. s. Will Fully Appreciate Spirit In Which Japan Has Acted In Dealing With Unfortunate Fatal Shooting of Langdon By Sentry
By Associated Press

Washington, FeDruary zE.'-- iHe Japanese government today informed the state department of the action 1t had taken in the case of Lieut.. ". H. Langdon, chief engineer of the American cruiser Albany, who was shot and killed January 8 by Japanese sentry in VladivostoN.
 The action Of the Japanese goc-
 'ernmcnt, as stated in a note deifv-
 cred to the American charge d'af-
 fairex Ut Tokio and hy him cnbicd
 to the state department, included
 removal of Maj. Gen. Nishihars.
 commander of the Vlndivostok garrison, from his command nnG
 also his demot oti0n, md punishmeRt
 of four other officers. The sentry
 was found to have complied mere
 Iy with the orders of his superiors,
 but was sentenced to 90 days con-
 finement for deception in testi-
 mony at the court-mnrtinl pro
 ceedings. The expressions of re-
 Eret nt the occurrence were reit-
 erated and emphasized.
 The note was in reply to commute cation forwarded by the state depart ment soon after the shooting of Lieu tenant I.angdon. and was understood to be looked upon as satisfactory by officials here.
 ..,rhe action of the Japanese author ities." Secretary Colby said in inak- ing public a cabled paraphrase of the note, has been prompt and sincere and it will undoubtedly be received with appreciation in this country"
 MT. Colby added that the subject of repara tions, which was understood to have been touched upon in the Ameri- can note, still was under consideration, and had not been concluded. Except for this phase of the matter, the incl dent was generally regarded in official circles as having been closed.
 The paraphrases of the Japanese ote, as made public, follows;
 from the American embassy at Tokio, to whom the communication was de- livered yesterday. The paraphrase fol- lows:
 PARAPHRASE OF NOTE
 "A most thorough and exhaustive examination was conducted by the court martial resulting in the removal from the active list of the Japanese army of Major General Nishihara, commanding the. Japanese garrison at Vladivostok. X gae ls
 .srhe court martial held that General Nishihars had been guilty of a mis interpretation of the barracks regula- tions and had thus incurred prinaars responsibility foe Fl artnuate 'ii cident. He sa eee9 deprived of tise command o inc zarrison aud sf sisA rank Of briA E sofnn1ander, " ns previously h. The barrarke otfiee of the rank nsjof haa naen a,i- judged guilty responsibility in the matter and sentenced to confinement for 30 days. The assistant barracks of- ficer and lieutenant have been both sentenced to a similar punishment for period of 20 days; the company com mander has been sentenced to lesser period
 The commander-in-cia chief of the Japanese expeditionary force in vladiyostok has paid a visit to the U. s. s. Albany and expressed to the commanding @officer of the ship his regret at the occurrence of tho incl dent. The sentry who fired the fatal shot has been held to be excused by the orders and actions of his superiors upon whom responsibility has been squarely placed and who are to be punished as above stated. The sentry. however, was found guilty of decepr; ton in his testimony as to the cir cumstances of the fatality and for this has been sentenced to confinement for 30 days"
 In addition to the expressions of re- gret on part of commander in -chief oe' the Japanese expeditionary forcA, thsi , minister for foreign affairs in com i municating the action of the court martial conveys to the American gov-' ernment 'the expression of deep re-i gret on the part of the Japanc~e gov-l err mont at the occurrence of this sadI event and expresses the hopo that tho government of the United States win | fully Appreciato the dneere spirit in which tho Japaness government has 1 acted in dealing with this moUt unfee-l ltunate Incident"
 SENTRY FOUND NOT GUILTY 1 Tokio. February 22--A. finding of xokI l guilty has been rendered by the court-I martial which tried Toshigora Osswarn,l | the sentry who shot Lieuterant LAngdonl los the U. S. s. Albany at v1adivostokl last month. 1t was officially announced ! by the war department today. The trial was on the charge of accidental murder The judgment in the case explains l that the accused was serving as guard at the headquarters of the Eleventh di-I vision and that at O clock in the norn-I Ling of January he assumed the sentry ship in front of the main entrance to tho l headquarters. All the electric lamps h the streets were out and everythine was quiet, and in absolute darkness | At 4:i0 o'clock. the judgment contin- ues, the Sontry's attention was arrested by a fIashlight and hc made out . pe-l 6estrian approaching on the other side of the street, lighting his way with . pocket lamp.
 At that time" the document goe1 ~a. ] several wires including those used by 1.-the Japanese troops had been found broken. and hanging down in such ~ way that they might easily be toucheA by passerby. Naturally, the accuse1 suspected that the pedestrian might in- | tend to cut wires.
 ''As he passed the place wAepe tha wires were. the pedestrians lamp ceAee6 to shine. The sentry's suspicion was enJ lhanced. He left his post and challenged three times in Russian. but the man coQ- ltinued as if he had heard nothing.
 "f1e pursued the man as far a0 ~
 croasway. challenged twice and the man stopped The sentry asked in RusSten whether the pedestrian was Russian e I an American. The man answered. hu1 the sentry did not undonstand I "As the coat of the man indicated Inothine helpful to Identification at firG1 glance. the sentry in the hope ot getting
 . better look. seized the pocket lamp.
 "The man drew the lamp back. and lat the same time approached the sen>