The Union daily times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1918-current, 1921-12-21
WATSON CHARGES
GET ATTENTION

Washington, Dec. 21.-Testifying
before the senate committee hear
ing Senator Watson's charges, Mari
on j. Wallis, of Athens, Ga, said he
saw corporal shoot a private at
Camp Wheeler. Said corporal is
named Crawford, the private is nam.
ed HALEY, of Tampa, Fla. Wallis
said Crawford was courtmartialed
and given 80 days furlough and then
made sergeant. A telegram was
introduced from w. F. Brock, of Lin
dale, Ga, saying HALEY was killed
because he was ill and unable to work
and that Crawford was not court
martialled. Under cross examina-
tion Wallis admitted to have been
courtmartiaied twice for being absent
without leave, losing ten days pay
and was confined 40 days. He said
the reports that HALEY was shot for
resisting arrest were untrue.
Washington, Dec. 20.-Nonc of the
SIX witnesses appearing today before
senate committee was able to give
first hand evidence to support charges
by Senator Watson (Democrat) of
Georgia, that American soldiers had
been hanged without trial in France.
George Fl. Taylor of PHILADELPHIA.
thin and frail and under treatment.
as he himself explained, for epilepsy,
declared that he had seen IL soldiers
hanged, or one more than the number
officially listed by the war department
as executed in accordance with courts
martial verdicts, approved by Gen
eral Pershing. Taylor, confused as to
the number of victims, testified at
first he had seen three and then under
direct questioning increased his fig
ures to four, jumping finally to Y.
All of these, he declared, were put to
death in and around Is-Sur-Tille in
the period from April to June, 1919.
In no instance could the witnesses
say he knew whether any or all of the
IL had been tried by military court.
Because of the evident physical
weakness of the witness, Senator
Watson suggested that army officers,
ant Judge advocate general, retire
from the room, explaining that Taylor
was subject to epileptic attacks and
that the presence of officers might dis
turb him. But the former soldier an.
nounced he wanted the officers to re-
main.
Testimony by Henry l.. Scott, %
years old, of Kenmore, Ohio, that he
had seen two soldiers shot down in
cold blood by "Major Oplcy," COM
mander of the Third battalion, Dne
Hundred and Sixteenth infantry,
brought quick and sharp denial from
Maj. Hiram l. Opie, at his home at
Staunton, Va, who was in charge of
that organization and who announced
he. would be glad to go before the
committee. Scott was positive in the
assertion that he saw both men killed,
at different times, that the first shoot
ing of a courier was witnessed by
several hundred men and that he
alone saw the second.
Having Major Opie in mind as COM
mander of the battalion, Colonel Beth
ell pressed the witness closely as to
the spelling of the name, and later in
formed Chairman Brandegee private
ly that Scott evidently was referring
to the Virginia. But Scott stuck to
"Opley."
In making sweeping denial Of the
charge, Mapor Opie, ut Saunton, de-
clared in a statement that Scott
writes himself down as a Skulker by
his own testimony" that he belonged
to another outfit and never should
have been in the fighting line with the
Third battalion.
Although he did not know of his
own knowledge of any executions
without trials, Robert A. Harrison Of
Wilmington, N. c., told the commit
tee he chad witnessed two lynchings,' y
one conducted by "Hardboiled" Smith.
The soldier, he said, was put to death
for refusing to sweep stockade with
toothbrush, that the killing, as he
remembered, took place on December
"a, 1918. at 7:30 o'clock in the even
ing, and that he saw the lynchine
from distance of 800 yards. The
other man lynched, he said, was a
Mexican, who was strung from tree
| by officers and men, for crime
against woman.
In an effort to clear up what he re-
garded as the confusion in Taylor's
testimony, Chairman Brandegee sug-
gested that Colonel Bethel question
the witness concerning the ~ execu-
tions he claimed to have seen with
his own eyes. Early in the hearing
Colonel Bethel filed with the commit
tee the official war department list of
IL executions, with places and dates
omitting only the names out of con-
sideration for the families of the
dead. The department list showed
that two soldiers were hanged after
trial at Is-Sur-Tille aud it was the
officers contention that Taylor was
present, with other men and officers
Taylor's testimony was regarded il
the nature of confirmation of Col
onel Bethel's conclusions in this re
spect, as he did not know the name ot
one of the two soldiers executed al
that place.
After hearing witnesses tomorrow
the committee will adjourn until af
Il ter the holidays.