Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-12-18

| cuSed to be suspended from rank, com
mand and duty, with forfeiture Of pay
| and allowances, for five years.
1.-THE court is thus lenient because
I of the military record of the accused
| during the World War. two-thirds of
| the members who were present at the
| time the vote was taken concurring.
! The court will stand adjourned sine
| die"
! Col. Mitchell. standing as the decis-
! ion was announced, with Mrs. Mitchell
at his side, smiled.
| There was no demonstration. The
attitude of the spectators almost was
| apathetic. To the uniformed on
locker, nothing had happened. Many
| of the Colonel's friends rushed to his
| side, shaking his hand and assuring
him I'VE are still with you" The
! officer appeared not TO be affected In
! the least by the decision. Pressed for
a statement or comment by newspa-
per men, he replied he could not say
| anything al this time until the case
| finally was decided. In few minutes
the musty old building that had
| housed the most spectacular Army
general court martial in a generation
if not in all military history, was
cleared of all except the all-night
soldier guards.
May BE Airship Witness.
| While the court was reaching q
conclusion on the form of sentence.
Col. Mitchell was notified by Maj
| Henry Leonard, L. s. NJ. c., judge ad.
| vocate of the Shenandoah court of in
| curry that he would be asked to
| testify Monday when the court recon
| venes The colonel, who once before
refused to appear before the court,
said he would testify. 1t is likely that
| he will be asked concerning his
| charges that the Shenandoah was
| poorly conditioned for her last trip.
Although the trial of Col. Mitchell
| was concerned mainly with his pub
| lished charges of last September. the
| officers record of opposition to con-
| duct of the national defense dates
| back to the days Of. 1915. In that
| year as a captain on the general
staff, he publicly protested that the
| United States military establishment
| was unprepared for war. In the
| World War he won distinction as an
| aviator and at one time commanded
| the largest air force ever assembled
over the Western front. He returned
as a brigadier general and was ap-
| pointed assistant chief of the Army
Air Service under Maj. Gen. Charles
| T. Menoher.
| Differences grew between Gen.
Mitchell and Gen. Menoher and in
! October, 1919, before the House mill
tary committee the former began his
crusade for q separate department of
| aeronautics. By June, 1921, the
| Mitchell Menoher dispute over uni
| fled air service had become so acute
that Gen. Menoher appealed to Secre-
| tary Weeks to remove his assistant,
but three months later Menoher him.
self. at his own request, was trans
ferred to Hawaii.
| Mai. Gen. Mason NJ. Patrick sue
ceeded Menoher. and after a lull
| Mitchell resumed his criticism Of the
Air Service. In magazine articles he
charged that facts concerning bomb
| ing tests held off the Virginia Capes
had been suppressed by the War and
| Navy Departments.
He was forbidden to publish fur
| Their such articles without permission
from Secretary Weeks. and President
Coolidge Endorsed the order. How
ever. Mitchell later published book
Winged Defense without submit
ting 1t to the War Department.
From December of 1924 to last
Spring, before a special House air
craft committee. Mitchell gave sensa
| tional testimony concerning the Ali
| Service, repeating his demand for q
separate air force and department Of
national defense.
Lost High Air Post.
President Coolidge declined last
| March to reappoint Mitchell as assist
ant air chief, and he was transferred
| 9Th Corps Area air force, reverting
to the rank Of colonel. The court
martial developed that Secretary
Weeks had advised the Presiden,
against reappointment, charactertzine
Mitchell as "lawless."
| From San Antonio last September
Mitchell issued his two statements
| accusing the War and Navy Depart
| ments of 'incompetency, criminal neg
| ligence and almost reasonable" ad
ministration Of the national defense
| singing out the Shenandoah voyage
| and the PN-9 No. l fight from Sar
| Francisco to Hawaii.
l. Court-martial of Mitchell then was
ordered and President Coolidge shortly
| afterward appointed a special boarG
to study the aircraft situation.
| Selecting Representative Reid, who
| had been an aggressive member of the
| Lampert aircraft investigating com.
| nittee. for his counsel, Col. Mitchell
rushed into court and assumed the
offensive against the prosecution. He
brought In witnesses from all sections
| of the United States to substantiate
his charges. and, by securing permits
sion to prove his statements, he there.
by forced the prosecution into rebut.
ting them. In all, about 100 witnesses
were called, including the highest
ranking Army and Navy officers.
The court itself was one of the
| most august bodies that ever sat In
| Judgment OF an accused military man,
Numbering 10 originally. Col. Mitchell
on the first day Of the trial, chal
lenged the right of 8 Of the generals
to a position on the court. His first
challenge was against Brig. Gen. AL.
bert j. Bowley Of Fort Bragg, N. C.
This officer was challenged because
he had delivered an address takin.
issue with the question of q united
air force. The challenge was sus
tatned, and then the accused attacked
the right of the president, Mai. Gen
Charles P. Summerall, to sit, because
he had, 1t was charged, ignored his
report on condition of air defenses In
the Hawaiian Islands. The challenge
| brought heated reply from Gen. Srm
neral, who characterized the renor,
IN question as unfair, unsound and
ignorant
Gen. Sladen Removed.
Allowed one peremptory challenge
Col. Mitchell utilized this in remoyins
Maj. Gen. Fred w. Sladen. superin
tendent of the United States Military
Academy. strict disciplinarian, and
then the trial got Y,ndor ,,,o y, rrL...