Evening star., 1925-09-08
ARMY OPENS PROBE
EXPECTED TO BRING
MITCHELL ARREST
Hines Orders inquiry to De-
termine Accuracy of Pub
Iished Charges.
COLONEL WILL STAND
FIRMLY ON STATEMENT
Court Martial Matter of Time-0f-
fcer Must Pay for Bitter
Denunciation.

Preliminary steps that will lead in
few days to the arrest of Col. Will
liam o. Mitchell on charges of vio-
latinG the articles of war.as result
of statements made in his latest de-
nunciation of the manner the air serv-
ices are conducted by the Army and
Navy were initiated today.
On the basis of reports published in
the newspapers, in which the fiery
former assistant chief of the Army
Air Service applied such terms as
almost treason" and ''maladministra-
ton" to the acts of his superiors. both
In the Army and the Navy, Maj. Gen.
John L. Hines has ordered the in
spector generals department to inau-
gurate a rigid investigation as the
basis for a report to him.
When this investigation is COM
pleted, which will consist mainly of
asking Col. Mitchell whether the
statements accredited to him were his
own words. the matter will be refer
red to the adjutant general of the
Army and charges formally made
against Col. Mitchell. Before court
martial IS ordered, however. Acting
Secretary of War Dwight F. Davis
will pass upon the results of the inves-
tigation.
Mitchell to Stand Firm.
That Col. Mitchell will not deny the
statements and that he must face
court-martial this time were two facts
which were accepted as foregone con-
Clusions a the War Department to-
day. The only thing that stands be-
tween Col. Mitchell and court-martial
is the time it will take for the formal
charges to go through the necessary
channels.
In well informed circles at the War
Department it is believed the charge
against Col. Mitchell will be that of
INSTRUMENTATION. The only view to
which the department is officially COM
mitted is that there shall be no rail
reading" or rushing of the man who
has been a thorn in the flesh of air
service officials for almost a year
and that his trial. if there is one,
should be as open as were his accusa-
tions against his superiors.
There is a well defined feeling at
the War Department that the arrest
of Col. Mitchell must not be mistaken
for an attempt to 'muZzle" Army Off
GERS. 1t is the opinion of we'll in
formed persons that the War Depart
ment does not wish to discourage Off
GERS of the Army from criticiZing the
administration of the Nations de-
fensive systems, even to the extent
of making their statements public.
Charges Held Too Broad.
But it is pointed out that in this
instance Col. Mitchell has deliberately
accused not only his superiors in the
Army, but even more so in the Navy,
of committing almost treason" For
this, unless he can prove his asser
tions, it Is generally held that he
must pay the penalty. AS a result,
the charges and court-martial may de-
velop a situation wholly unexpected
and novel.
First, the War Department will
probably find itself prosecuting an
Army officer for blunt-faced words
that were aimed, mostly, at the Navy.
Second, the seemingly trivial parts
of his attack may be the vehicles to
his downfall; had he attacked gen.
orally he may have escaped possible
punishment. And third, that very
part of the evidence Col. Mitchell
most wants to keep before the public
may not prove relevant and be
barred.
AS the situation shapes up now, the
part of his statement to which the
greatest exception seems to be taken
is that more or less trivial attack
on the development of anti-aircraft
guns and some of the work of the
Navy. 1t was in these departments
that he accused superior officers of
committing acts amounting to almost
treason" No officer, ii Is held, has
- right to make such an assertion
unless he is prepared to prove 1t.
There Is every reason to believe that
had Col. Mitchell confined his verbal
shells to plain criticism and an argu-
ment for the creation Of an air de-
partment, separate from either the
Army or the Navy, no disciplinary ac-
tion would have resulted. 1t is even
possible that his statement that pres
ent administrative methods were such
as to make an officer ashamed of his
cloth, meaning his uniform might
have passed without disciplinary &C
ton.
Department Waits Probe
Officially. however, the War Depart
ment is maintaining a neutral atti-
tude until the report of the general
staff is complete. The only stand to
which it is committed is that Col.
Mitchell shall have a fair trial before
an Army court if results show he has
violated the articles of war. The
statement that he expected to be un-
der arrest "by Monday morning" was
impossible of consummation, it was
pointed out.
Charges against Col. Mitchell must
follow definite channel. If the chief
of staff found anything in his printed
statements he would ask the inspec-
tor general, Mai. Gen. Ell A. Helmick,
10 have the interview investigated.
This investigation would be conducted
by an officer in Gen. Helmick's office
and then referred back to Gen. Hines.
All of this Is now under way.
Upon receiving the report from the
inspector general Gen. Hines will for
ward it to Maj. Gen. Hull, the judge
advocate of the Army, to determine
what, if any, charges shall be made
against the offending officer. That Of
flee will then return it to Gen. Hines,
who in turn will hand 1t to Acting
Secretary Davis for final approval. If
Mr.. Davis approves the recommends.
tion u court-martial will be ordered
convened, provided such is recon-
mended, at the post where the alleged
offense occurred.
In the case of Gen. Mitchell, should