Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-10-29
Declares Method of Prepar-
ing Case Entirely Wrong.
Asks 1t Be Thrown Out of
Court on Technical Error.
RULING ON JURISDICTION
IS BLOW TO DEFENDANT
Colonel, However, Strikes Back at
Once on Ground Charges Should
Have Been Brought by Imme-
diate Chief, Instead of Rocken-
bach of Capital Area.

bach of Capital Area.
Col. William Mitchell is reSpon-
srble to military law for his denun-
citation OF the organization OF Amer
ica's defense forces, the general
court martial, before which he faces
trial on charges OF insubordination
decided today. 1t unanimously over
ruled the former assistant air chief
contention that the court lacked
jurisdiction and announced its COM
potency TO hold the defendant to &C
count for his statements.
Although the verdict dealt tell
ing blow at Col. Mitchells hope OF
showing. even before the Court-mar-
tlal got fairly under way, that there
is no military statute to forbid an
officer OF the Army criticizing a con-
dItlon within the service that he be-
llcveS to be intolerable, the decision
dId not come as a surprise to those
who have followed the case from
its beginning.
New Line of Attack Taken.
Indaunted by this repulse Of his
first assault. Col. Mitchell came back
with another surprise, when. through
Representative Frank r. Reid chief
OF defense counsel he moved tha [
the charges and proceedings against
him should be stricken out and the
court martial diSba nded on the
ground that the trial had been called
in disregard to the regular proceed
inSs of military law. 1t was the
fighting air coloneIs second attempt
I" carry the battle to those who op-
pose him rather than to wait for
them to bring the assault to him.
Mr.. Reid told the court in plain
language that the case was not prop
erly before it, that the commanding
officer under whom Col. Mitchell
served at the time the alleged offense
was committed had not even inves-
tlSated the case and that the actual
Charges were brought by the COM
manding general of corps area to
which the accused officer owed no
responsibility.
Under the language of the manual
fol the conduct of general courts
martial. it is obligatory for an of
Tending officers Immediate com
v
investigation and then recommend the
appointment of the court. if the ac-
cusation seems to have been substan-
tiated, Mr.. Reid declared. Neither of
these prerequisites were followed in
the case of Col. Mitchell, the defense
counsel asserted
ROckenbach Accuses.
Instead" he said the record shows
n
bach, commander of the District of
Washington, preferred the charges. Ii
does not show that even he saw fit TO
investigate the case. What strange au-
thority or power can this be that
gives the commander of one district
the right to call a ranking officer of
another dlstrict to account for some
thing he did in his own area"
We wish TO go on record as de-
claring that the proceedings here are
irregular, according TO your own mill
tary law, that this court has no juris-
diction in the case before it as now
presented, and we make motion that
the charges and proceedings now
In progress against Col Mitchell shall
be striker out
Only few minutes before the
court had taken under consideration
Col. Mitchelrs first plea to jurisdic-
- ~ al
no law forbidding the statements
he made in San Antonio shortly
after the Shena ndOah diSa Star, for
which he now stands trial before a
tribunal of his superiors
The verdict came after day md
q half of bitter arguments from both
the defense counsel and the trial
judge advocate
Spectators Amused.
The proceedings were not without
their comical phase. either. Accord
ing to military regulation, the courr
was obliged to consider each Of the
eight counts separately on the queS-
tion of jurisdiction. AS a result the
dignified generals kept marching back
and forth between their antecha mbet'
and the courtroom, much To the frank
amusement of the spectators ard the
boredom of the trial officers.
Maj. Gen. Robert l.. Howe. presi-
dent of the court. offered no eXplana-
ton of the ground on which the court
had overruled the plea to jurisdiction.
1t was pointed out, however, that the
court feels there is definite authority
for regulating the latitude of an army
officers actions. Col. Sherman More.
land, the trial judge advocate, declared
that without 1t the army. would soon
become mob.
Just how long it will be before the
court begins to take testimony is a
question no one but Col. Mitchell and
his counsel can say. In the brief
day and half since this trial opened,
the defense has made some sudden and
unexpected attacks.
No Testimony Today.
No person can foretell how many
more surprises Col. Mitchell and his
lawyers have hidden up their sleeve.
It is certain that no testimony will be
reached today.
1t was forecast today that while
Col Mitchell has failed to be susta ined
in his first skirmish, he has at least
made 1t more likely that the court
will permit him to submit direct testi-
mony on the question Of the veracfty
of his statements.
Time and again the question of the
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