The dispatch-news. [volume] (Lexington, S.C.) 1919-2001, 1921-11-09
WEEKS AND PERSHING
DRAW WATSON'S FIRE

further support Tor MS charges tldt
American soldiers were hanged over
seas without courtmartial, Senator
j Watson DemocraD of Georgia TO-
might in the senate turned his fire on
Secretary Weeks and General Per
shing because Of their denial OF the
| senator's assertions.
Abiding to a statement made to-
day by the war secretary that "no
decent man" would make charges
! with respect to army nurses such as
were made several days ago in the
senate. Senator Watson while dis
! claiming 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his charge as originally made was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
And l can prove it, he exclaimed.
Reading General Pershings state
ment as made yesterday in Nashville,
Tenn, that the Watson charges Of il
legal hangings and inhuman treat
ment of privates by officers was a
most outrageous and untrue acusa-
tion," the Georgia senator declared:
when the general denounces SEN
ator as liar he had better remem-
Der that it is within the power of the
senate to bring him here and a time
may come when we will do that. II
he talks that way about more senators
it may be done. We haTe as yet no
kaiser that says: Me and God.
Question OF Abuse.
I'm not going to lower myself
Senator Watson continued. ito the
level of either Secretary Weeks or
General Pershing by indulging in
abuse. l simply content myself with
saying that it was a great impropriety
for either of these gentlemen in the
public service to publicly condemn
another without the slightest investi-
CATION
Senator Watson then read a letter
from an unidentified Richmond, Va:
woman who said she had served T.
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 indignities." Mr.. Watson
also said he had been told personally
by former nurse that she had been
!! compelled to repel the assault Of Off
GERS.
More kilograms and letters in sup
port Of his illegal hanging charges
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 a Huntington, W. Va, private.
"Apparently there were as many
gibbets as hospitals said the sena-
tor who Tor the first time gave the
name-Clifford l.. Aver, Jr.-of the
| man he said had told him OF gal
! lows guard that said p soldiers had
! been hanged without courtmartial. He
| presented a telegram from Aver stat
! ing that an affidavit was being for
warded for the use Of the special COM
mittee that will meet Monday to de-
| termine procedure in the investigate
! of the senator's charges. The sena-
! tor promised to protect his witnesses
| it. any attempts, he said We're made to
''brow beat or intimidate them"
l. Telegram From Georgia.
! Another telegram presented by the
senator was from George Carborough
Aaron, Ga, who said he served in
| the Six Hundred and Fifth engineer
! corps and declared that Mr.. Watson $
charges Of illegal hangings were true,
Senator Watson said this witness
would appear before the committee
and face the NabobS OF the general
| staff"
The senator read another telegram,
the sender Of which was not disclos-
ed, which asked that the senate in
vestigation include the case Of Al
| bert Purcell Of CINCINNATI about
which the informant said he had been
able to learn nothing from the war
department.
The message said iurcellS death
occurred at'a camp 1t San Antonio,
Texas.
William Gibbons Of Cleveland had