Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-16
SPEECH: By. BUTLER
TO BREAK SILENCE
First Talk Since Reprimand
,, to Precede Series at
Points in South.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

Cautioned, but not cowed, Mai. Gen
Smedley d. Butler returns to the ora
torical firing line this week The COM
mandant Of the United States Marines
at Quantico, fresh from the turmoil OF
the Mussolini incident, is en- route tc
in that city tomorrow night. Gen. But
Ter will speak at the Midwinter dinner
Of the Knife and Fork Club, one of the
famous Western social organiza tons be-
fore which, from time to time. many OF
the Nations leading Spellbinders appear
Senator Brookhart, Republican Progress
Slve of Iowa, was recently on the South
Bend clubs program.
Talk to Begin Series.
Gen. Buffers talk in Indiana is ap-
parently the opening gun of the series
of lectures he has long been planning to
deliver. At any rate, he has arranged
to go to the South in March and give
some more talks in Dixie. A Cleveland
'lyceum bureau" which features Win
tertime addresses by outstanding men
and women, has been angling for a con-
tract with Gen. Butler for some time.
Apparently he has accepted at least a
limited number of engagements, of
which the South Bend date is one.
Contrary to popular belief officers of
the United States Navy, including the
Marine Corps, are not 'muzzled" while
on the active service list. Any SEM
blance of ''muzzling" that existed up
to that time seems to have been
abolished during the regime of Curtis D.
Wilbur of California as Secretary of
the Navy. Wilbur was in Office during
the aviation Squabble stirred up by Brig.
Gen. Billy Mitchell of the Army over
the loss of U. S. S. Shenandoah. Soon
after that tragedy the Navy Department
issued a regulation setting forth that it
would be perfectly all right for officers
to make speeches, provided that manu-
scripts of their remarks were filed at
headquarters. There was no require
ment that these manuscripts should be
submitted prior to delivery. They could
be sent in practically any time. The
department let it be understood that
the only form of censorship involved
was that which an officers own sense
of responsibility and professional con-
duct imposed upon him.
Subject Not Disclosed.
Officers on active duty-as in the
present case of Gen. Butler at Guam
tico--must go through only one formal
advance preliminary in the case of an
address away from their stations
They must apply for leave and it is
seldom withheld. They state the OBJ
ject of their proposed trips, say how
long they need to be away, notify their
superiors where they can be reached in
case of emergency and that's all. If
speech-making officers sometimes for
get to send in copies of their remarks,
nothing, usually, IS done about it. Once
in a while officers notify the depart
ment as to the title of their talk. Often
IT'S announced simply that they're
going to make some remarks. That
suff1ces, too.
What Gen. Butler has up his sleeve
for his keenly expectant audience at
Soath Bend tomorrow evening has not
been disclosed. That he will watch his
step, especially in connection with
events which just stirred two con-
tinents, is a foregone conclusion. The
reprimand administered to him by Sec
rotary of the Navy Adams, in pro-
claiming abandonment of the court
martial, specifically ad1nonished Gen.
Butler on that score. Some Of the
Fighting Quaker's" friends think he
may choose the Indiana address as an
occasion to foreshadow his resignation
from the Marine Corps and to an
nounce his eventual entry into the po-
ntical arena of Pennsylvania.