Evening star., 1933-02-23
ANSE[L MAY SUE
LONG FOR LIBEL )
War Time Judge Advocate
Indicates Plans in
Senate Letter.

Senator Huey Long, the "Kingfsh'
of Louisiana, may have to answer in
court for the vitriolic charges he made
against Brig Gen. Samuel t. Ansell.
wartime acting Judge advocate general
OF the Army.
Ansell, in a communication to Senator
Bailey, Democrat, Of North Carolina,
which was inserted in the Congressional
Record, presented coldly legal defense
and indicated the next round would be
fought in the courts.
Coupled with these matters was an
unsuccessful attempt on the part OF
Chairman Howell, Republican, of Ne
braska of the Special Campaign Funds
Committee looking into the 1882
Louisiana Democratic senatorial pr1-
mary to get up for action a request for
more money to continue the inquiry.
Ansell, counsel for the committee,
made his reply to Longs accusations In
q lengthy statement put into the Con-
gressional Record by Senator Bailey,
Democrat, of North Carolina, who ex-
planned he was constituent ana a
native Of North Carolina.
Bailey added that he felt Ansell
should have an opportunity to have
published his answer to Longs charges,
which included assertions by the
Louisianan that the attorney was "a
crook and a scoundrel' and forged the
order making him wartime Acting
Judge Advocate General of the Army.
End Stricken Out.
A paragraph on the bottom of the
statement, in which Ansell said he soon
would take advantage in the courts OF
Longs promise on the floor to waive
his senatorial immunity for libel suits,
was edited out by Bailey before the
statement went into the record. He
gave no explanation.
Opening his answer, AnSell said Long
had revived accusations conclusively
proven to be false at the time they
were uttered many years ago." and
throughout refrained from replying to
the bitter personal appellations heaped
on him by the Senator in three-hour
speech yesterday.
AS for. Longs accusation that he
engineered the escape of Grover Cleve-
land Bergdoll, the draft dodger, from
"the pot of gold attorney" Ansel said
this was not a true picture of his part
in the case.
He explained Bergdon's counsel had
told him Bergdoll had money hidden
In various places and wanted to leave
prison under guard and get it and was
asked to present the matter to the War
Department, continuing:
This did in writing, stating that
the representations were those of repu-
table Philadelphia attorneys who I be-
leved, but beyond that I myself knew
nothing.
Denies Part in Action.
'"The War Department granted the
authority and, without conference with
me and without my knowledge, itself
prescribed the size of the military
guard, selected the soldiers who COM
prised it and gave the soldiers all their
orders. I knew nothing further about
the matter and was never in the slight
est touch with it."
AS chief law officer of the Army dur
ing the war, Ansell continued. he in
CURED the enmity of certain high
ranking militarists and certain political
and freside patriots by insisting that
military power should never encroach
on civil rights" This enmity, he said,
also was based on his efforts for revi-
sicn Of the articles of war, and for
acting as counsel after the war for
House committee investigating military
expenditures
After Bergdoll escaped Ansell said,
"these super patriots and profteers" had
a committee appointed to look into
that and that members openly said
their purpose "was to investigate the
investigators of war expenditures.
Referring to that committees report,
from which Long quoted, Ansell said
It did not have lone scintilla Of ev1-
dence" adding:
"These committeeman never called up
the report and never took or MANIFESTED
any desire to take any action on IL.
THE House of Representatives was
never requested to take and never took
any action My enemies were content
to rely on this unsupported report
to besmirch my record
Cites Exoneration.
Ansel said 12 lawyers of national
repute and the War Department had
subsequently reviewed the Bergdoll case
and the committees evidence and
completely exonerated me-" He named
Frank J. Hogan, former president OF
the American Bar Association, OF
washington; former Senator G. E.
Chamberlain of Oregon; Judge S. j.
Cowley of Montana, and George S.
Wallace of Huntington, w. Va, as
among them.
But the utterly discredited state
menUS ILdOc tllCl1 NY AllSAA NOAAASESSAAJ
to serve their unworthy ends are re-
vived today by Senator Long" he said
adding that most of the leaders in the
action then had asked his "foregivness'
for their part.
"The Senator made the statement
that by forgery or by false represen-
tations I brought about the order that
made me the acting judge advocate
general Of the Army during the war
The absurdity of that statement leaves
nothing to answer"
Ansell then explained that President
Wilson appointed him brigadier gen
eral in the Judge Advocate Generals
Department to serve as acting judge
advocate general while that official was
performing the duties of provost mar
shal general.
IT had nothing whatever to do with
bringing about my appointment" he
continued Il resigned from the Army
as J long had intended to do, under
no pressure of any kind ="
Iii f,No1 IoI y