Evening star., 1921-11-06
WATSONOPENSF|RE
ON HIGH. OFFICIALS .| 4
vehemently Attacks Secre-
tary Weeks and. Gen.
Pershing in Senate.
READY TO FIGHT DENlALs
Declares He Already Has Cited
More Executions Than War De-
partment Has Accounted For.


charges that American soldiers were
hanged overseas without. court
martial, Senator Watson. democrat.
Georgia, last night in the Senate
turned his fire on Secretary Weeks
and Gen. Pershing, because of their
denial of the senator's assertions.
Abiding to a statement made yes
no decent man" could make charges
with respect to Army nurses. such as
made several days ago in the Senate.
Senator Watson. while disclai:ning
any intent to attack the nurses as a
whole. said he would leave to any
impartial tribunal to- Judge whether
he or Mr.. Weeks was the more
decent" The senator said that his
charge as originally made was that
officers in too many cases made
courtesans of the nurses"
"And I can prove it!"' he exclaimed.
Gives PershinE Warning.
Reading Gen. Pershing's statement
as made Friday in. Nashville. Tenn.
that the Watson charges Of Illegal
hangings and inhuman treatment Of
prirates by officers were a most out
rageousa and untrue accusation" the
Georgia senator declared:
When the general denounces a
senator as q liar. he had better re-
member that it is within the power
Of the Senate to bring him hers. md
a time may come when 3W6 wifi %
that. II he talks thet way about
more senators it may be done. We
have Al syesf ( .'sll = q Z 81 s kssys:
I'm not going .to lo~sr4s myself
Senator Watson continued. ."to the
level of either Secretary Weeks or
Gen. Pershing by indulxins' in: abuse
1 simply content myself with saying
that it was a great .impropriety; for
either Of thess gentlemen in the pub
lie service to publicly condemn an
other without the slightest 'investiga.
ton" ~.
Nurse substantiates Charges.
Senator Watson then. read a letter
from, an unidentified Richmond. Va.
woman who said she had served
twelve months as an army nurse
The letter said that Officers made
courtesans of the nurses wherever
possible and nurses. who resisted. .
were subjected to personal tndigni.
ties" Mr.. Watson also said he had
been told personally by a former
nurse that she had been compelled to
repel the assault of. an officer.
More kilograms and letters in sup.
port Of his illegal hanging charges
a3so were presented by the senator;
He submitted another photograph OF
what he said was an Army gallows
in France, which photograph he said
had been smuggled into the country
by Huntington, w. Va. private.
Apparently there were as many
sibbets as hospitals" said the Tsena-
tor. who for the first time gave the
name-Clifford L. Aver. -jr.--of the
man he said had told him Of hearing
from a gallows, guard that twenty
one soldiers had BEEN hanged with
out court-martiaL He presented. q
telegram from Aver stating that an
affidavit was being forwarded for the
use Of the special committee that will
meet tomorrow to determine pro-
cedure in the Investigation of the
senator's charges. The senator prom.
ised to protect his witnesses If any
attempts, he said, were made to
"brow-beat or intimidate them"
Special Case Mentioned
Another telegram presented by the
senator was from George Carborough,
Aaron. Ga, who said he, served IN the
e05th Engineer, Corps and declared
that Mr.. watson.s charges OF Illegal
hangingsr were, true. Senator Wat.
son said this witness would appear
before the COMMITTEES and face the
nahebs of the general STAFF.
The senator read another telegram
the sender Of which was not dis
closed, which asked that the Senate
investigation include ss"the case ;o1
AlOeII K uTCGl1 VI SAhS1AAA~SAsfT ogVus
which the informant said he had been
able to- learn nothing from the War
Department. The message D. said ;Nur.
cell's death. occurred st . camp Al
San. Antonio, Tex. -
william Gibbons Of Cleveland had
written, Mr. WATSON said, that he had
two photosraphs.- one taken before
and the other sEtsr, the hanging OF Z
soldier againstsWhom the writer, said
the charges lsSEed dehnftspess. -
Washi.stslI1h o6ers Preef.
The Senate also was told by: the
Georgia senator that . FORMER aervics
man now living In Washington, had
given him a. statement as to the hang.
ing Of four, negro soldiers ''on-, one
Tallows at one time. each clad. in thu
uniform that Gen. Pershing .wears.'
The same soldier had informed him
he said. that, these men were hanged
without court t-Tartial -, r,
{ Another soldier had informed him
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