Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-12-13
WATSON OFFERS SUMMARY
OF ARMY CASE CHARGES
The Atlanta Journal News Bureau,
623 Riggs Building. -.
BY THEODORE TILLER


threatened to slap an army officers
face because he said the officer had
looked ''insultingly and .sneeringly'
at him, Senator Thomas E. Watson
BACON, Saturday afternoon, to lay his
cards upon the table before the SEN
ate committee investigating the
Georgia senator's sensational charg-
es that American soldiers had been
hanged without trial and otherwise
abused in France.
Senator Watson, in excellent tenn
per and with business-like way, came
before the senate committee Satur-
day afternoon and offered a brief"
of what he expects to prove. This.
he said, was not a brief in the sense
that lawyers use the word, but
rather an abstract of the hundreds
of letters and affidavits that come
to him alleging abuses of American
soldiers of the American expeditions
airy forces. In the list of prospec-
tive witnesses he included several
Georgia ex-service men, whose
names are given below.
Senator Watson eXhibitedA new
picture of a gallows in France. He
said that last night the son of colo
mel in the army had brought him
this picture. The Georgia senator
told the investigating committee he
had promised to keep secret the
name of the colonel and his son.
The picture was labeled to repre-.
sent "a gallows just outside of Paris"
and was distinct from photographs
nc I,n 81
"How do you know" inquired the .
committee, that this was not a
gallows erected by the. French or
British?" IF you will note the
photograph of the execution taking
place." said Senator Watson, cit
shows men standing about in Amer
lean uniforms and American caps
[ was informed by the son of pres
ent colonel in the army that it was
"a gallows erected by the American
eXpeditionary forces. The picture
speaks for itself, does it not?"
At the hearing Saturday after
noon the three army officers to
whose presence Senator Watson OBJ
jected Friday, and who were ordered
out of the room by Chairman Bran
dePee, were again in their places.
They were present, it was under
stood, with the consent of the Geor-
Sia senator and the committee, the
Wrangling of Friday having been
marked off as a closed incidenk
At the outset of his statement to-
day Senator Watson SAID he had re-
ceived a telegram from w. D. Yeo-
man, of Waycross, Ga, who advised
him in substance as follows: "Have
George Larissey summoned. He
says he saw a young soldier shot
on the march in France because he
had fit. Also that an American
soldier committed suicide because of
the brutal treatment given him."
Reads Cases
Enumerating "112 cases. which
he said represented merely the evil
dence he had briefed to this date
with many more letters and affda-
Wits still to be briefed and abstracts
ed-Se nator Watson gavefto the sen.
ate investigating committee a re-
sumo of the evidence he would ofA
fer to substantiate his charges
against the army. The Georgia
senator read off the prospective tes-
timony lease by case" numbering
them from 1 to 112.
Here are samples of the testimony
by sllmmoning the witnesses named:
Preston street, Baltimore, will tes-
tify that men were shot down by
their officers. Witness was mem
Der of Third division.
Marian ]. Willis, Athens, Ga, \
saw a soldier shot and killed at .
Camp Wheeler. He was sick. A cor. I
poral ordered him to duty and when
he refused he was shot by the COR
poral with AS Colts revolver and,
lied. The corporal was acquitted
"A. Y. Chancellor, Savannah, Ca,
will testify that in an offensive
abroad q man was wounded by
shrapnel The officer in charge
said, Let him lie; it will be better
to let him die He was calling
mother at the time.
"The war department records say
nothing about the hanging of two
negroes at Brest. L am informed
two were hanged there.
Rufus P. Hubbard, Atlantic no.
tel, Washington City, who served
overseas and participated in the St.
Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne. drive. :
and then followed the army of oc-
cupation into Germany, came to%
Washington last month to report his
personal observations to Senator
WadsWorth, and in his interview with
the senator told him zour soldfrzs
were hanged at Baysoilles-S Sur Mouse.
The senator said to the boy he coz. Z
sidered his statement a d. lie. The
war department. records, I believe,
show only two hanged at this point,
so what about the others?
Nurse to Testify
"Miss Jane B. Ransom, 1912 East
Marshall street, Richmond, Va, will
testify that officers of the army SUBJ
jected nurses to personal indignities
in cases where the nurses refused
to Weld to the animal instincts or
the officers.
"In May, 1920, Congressman w.
w. Larson, of Georgia, called to the
presidents attention the fact that
under guard regulations adopted by
the war department an officer had a
right to condemn soldiers to death
in cases where soldiers 'disobeyed
the command Of a superior officer
"Walter S. Robins, Joplin, Mo-.
knows that a soldier was executed
at Gievres, France, and Will swear
that the Gievres gallows were 'ex-
tensively used
"II. S. Coheley, Birmingham, Ala.
a private who served in France.
will testify he saw a major shoot
and kill a soldier because the man
was completely fatigued and had to
fall out and told the major he could
go no farther
Samuel r. Firebaugh, 1903 Four
teenth street, Detroit, is willing to
testify to several hangings at Issur-
tile He saw two negroes hanged
and one white. The white soldier
was from Indiana, and it was re-
ported that another soldier, convict
ed later, confessed to committing the
crime for which the innocent man
T. .