Evening star., 1938-01-04
BY BLAIR BOLLES.
Stan Correspondent of The Star.

QUANTICO, Va. Jan. 4.-The trial
OF Brig. Gen. Harold c. Reisinger,
highest ranking Marine Corps officer
ever brought before a court-martial,
was abruptly halted this afternoon by
the generals plea that he is mentally
incompetent to proceed with his de-
fense.
Maj. Gen. James c. Breckenridge.
commandant of the Quantico Marine
Barracks and presiding officer of the
court. accepted the plea at once and
adjourned proceedings until $50 am
tomorrow. BY that time the court ex-
poets to have received instructions
from the Secretary of the Navy.
Gen. Reisinger is charged with
padding" his travel accounts by
S7735, inducing" an officer and a
civilian to lend him money and con
duct prejudicial to the good order and
military discipline of the Navy"
Surprise to Court-Martial.
The plea by the accused general of
mental incapacity to defend himself
was a surprise to the court-martial
and the prosecuting Judge advocates,
who were prepared for trial that
would last at least another week.
The proceedings opened at the head
quarters of the Marine Barracks here
yesterday morning.
Before receiving Gen. Reisinger's
plea, the court, made up of two major
generals. four brigadier generals and
naval captain, had denied the de-
fendants objection That it lacks juris-
diction to try him. Gen. Breckenridge
called for plea of guilty or not guilty
from the accused, whose counsel, Maj
Curtis Merritt, U. S. M. c., arose and
stated:
THE defense asks that the court ar
rest further proceedings in this trial
and communicate with the convening
authority Cthe Secretary of the Navy
requesting postponement of the trial
in order that the accused may be
placed under the observation of a
medical officer in the manner pre-
scribed by law to determine his mental
capacity to conduct his defense in the
case now before the court"
Counsel Clarifies Plea.
Charles Ford associate defense
counsel, made it clear the plea did not
imply Gen. Reisinger was insane at
the time the offenses with which he
is charged allegedly occurred
Insanity is proper ground for
postponement of the proceeding" Maj.
Joseph W. knighton, one of the two
judge advocates. told the court, and
Maj A. T. Pfeiffer added:
IF the mentality or ability of the
accused is questioned, it is incumbent
upon the prosecution to prove his
ability to conduct his defense. So be-
fore We proceed further, it would be
necessary for the prosecution to offer
evidence of the accuseds ability, and
the only way that evidence could be
obtained would be through the medical
observation the accused requests"
Gen. Reisinger, a native of Wash
ington, may be ordered to Naval Hos
pital for an indefinite period. He
has been in i'll health since the charge
OF irregularity in his travel allowance
was brought against him, and during
the few days of the trial he has been
markedly nervous.
Letter Chief Weapon.
The chief weapon of the prosecution
in the case is a letter written bv
the General Accounting Office last
July II, which allegedly made the
first accusation against the paymaster
and which, according to defense coun-
sci, was believed to imply that If the
Navy Department should fail to pro-
ceed against the general the General
Accounting Office would do so.
Because this letter was never shown
to Gen. Reisinger, although it is the
basis for the first charge against him,
Mr.. Ford and Maj. Merritt protested
to the court that the accused mans
rights had been jeopardiZed and that
the case should be removed to a civil
court.
When Gen. Breckenridge and his
fellow officers of the court refused to
accept this defense contention this
morning and when the court also
denied that there was no crime in
borrowing money from fellow officer
or civilian, the defense entered the
mental incapacity plea.
Descendant Of Officers.
Gen. Reisinger is descendant OF
officers in the Revolution, the War of
1912 and the Civil War, and himself
is veteran of the Philippine insur-
rection, the World War and Central
American expeditions
The accused officer, known in the
corps as RED Nike" became general
lSee REISINGER Para AAl