Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-01-26

and the officials exercising the ad
ministration thereof, without designa-
ton of names of individuals criticiz.
ed" In these statements Mitchell
charged the War and Navy Depart
ments with almost reasonable ad
ministration" of the national defense,
The War Secretary also informed
the President that the Board of Re
view and the judge advocate general
had held that the evidence in the
trial fully supports the findings and
sentence and that the record Of trial
is legally sufficient to support them. y
In recommending suspension dur
ing the pleasure of the President of
part of the forfeiture included in
the sentence, the board and judge ad-
vocate general held that officers of
the Army are so hedged about by
restrictive statutes that 1t would be
impossible for them to utilize in com
mercial pursuits while remaining of
ficers much of the training they
have as officers"
Asks Part Pay Be Granted.
To this Mr.. Davis added:
This is 80 to such an extent that
it would make it difficult for the &C
ment that would permit him to make
adequate provision for himself and
his dependents"
In submitting his own recon-
mendation that Mitchell be allowed
one-half Of his Notifying pay. which
eliminates the so per cent increase
in base pay he has received as an
officer on flying duty, Mr.. Davis said
he was moved to recommend such
modification Of the sentence because
of the fact that the accused Is mar
ried and has children dependent upon
him, and I do not believe that they
should suffer any severe hardship as
a result Of his misconduct"
The $39767 a month Mitchell will
receive includes 1920 a month for
rental of quarters and $50 for sub
sistence. Under his status as aus
pended from all rank or duty. he
could not be given quarters at an
Army post. which made necessary
the rental allowance.
White House Statement.
The text Of the White House state
ment. announcing the Presidents
findings in the Mitchell case. follows:
THE President has made his de-
cision in the case of Col. William
Mitchell, modifying the decision of
the court-martial as to pay and al
io"ohScS, INCREASING slightly the
recommendations Of the Judge advo-
cate general, but following completely
the recommendations Of the Secretary
of War, so that hereafter during the
pleasure of the President, Col. Mitch
ell will be entitled to all his allow
ances and one-half Of the monthly pay
which he would draw, while not &C
tually engaged in flying, making a
total of $397.67 per month or about
$4,76O per year. The full statement
of the President Is as follows:
In the foregoing case Of Col. vii
liam Mitchell, Air Service. the follow
ing action is hereby taken:
"A duly constituted court.martia]
has determined that the accused has
been guilty Of highly censurable con
duct. The country has every reason
to expect that its officers, especially
those who hold positions of high rank
and have had long experience in the
/ service. will at all times be strictly
obedient to the provisions of the law
and the requirements of the rules by
which they are governed.
Charges Are Cited.
1.-THE court-martiaI has found tina,
on september 3, 1925. the naval air
ship Shenandoah was DESTROYED in q
, storm. and that destruction involved
, the loss of Ia persons of her crew
Two days later, and at a time when
the naval airplane PN-9 was supposed
to be lost and all members of he1
| crew drowned, the accused, taking ad
vantage Of the horror stricken state
Of the minds of the people and their
natural desire to learn the causes oil
such losses. and their readiness tc
listen to the views Of persons having
or supposed to have. expert knowledge
of such subjects published his state
ment Of September s, 1925, set out In
tho charges, and in which he violently
! assailed the War Department and the
Navy Department. He characterized
the administration Of those depart
ments as incompetent, criminally neg
ligent and almost reasonable. He
charged those administering those de
partments with ignorance, suppress
sion of the truth and with giving mis-
leading. If not false Information con
corning the Air Service to Congress
and the people. The board Of review
finds that those statements were made
without basis In fact In his state
ment of September 8, 1925, set out ir
the charges, he employed expressions
which cannot be construed otherwise
than as breathing defiance toward his
military superiors.
1.-THE theory of Government i'm
plies that every official so long a. he