The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-10-11

a
 Admiral Kimmel has drafted a letter to Secretary Knox demand ing that he be allowed to take his case before Q court-Snartial now. Previously Admiral Kim mel had agreed that the court martial be postponed until after the end of the war and recently he waived expiration Of the Sta- ute of limitations.
 But now the Admiral has com pletely changed his position and put forward reasons which his friends in the Navy believe are sound and will be hard for Secre- tary Knox and the President to meet.
 Furthermore, 1t Is reported that Admiral Kimnel has retained as his lawyers fighting, one.armed Col. Harry Leonard, the U. 8. Marine officer whmo defended the late Gen. Smedley Butler in his court.martial row with Herbert Hoover and Muissolini. General Butler, who fought side by side with Col. Leonard in the Boxer Rebellion, where the latter lost his arm, had told a lecture audi ence how MuSEolini ran over a child and did not let his chauf- feur stop the car.
 Hoover ordered Butler court inartialled. But hard-boiled Col. Leonard handled the case with such skill that in the end the Navy let Leonard and Butler write out their own statement dropping the trial.
 When the Navy's new Judge Advocate General Admiral Tom my Catch, former commander Of the U. s, s. South Dakota, heard that the one-armed Leonard had been retained by Admiral Kim mel, he remarked to friends: We're in for . tough fight" SAYS HIGHER UPS
 SHARED GUILT
 The letter drafted by Kimmel to Secretary Knox recalls that Knox had asked him on Aug. T not to plead the statute of limitations when his court-martial came up after the war; and that kimmel had agreed.
 Admiral Kimmel then reviewed his earlier acquiescene to the argument that 1t was not for the best interests of the country to press for trial until the end of the war, even though his own pub lie yindication might be prejudiced and even though the public cor- Sidered him guilty.
 The Admiral added that his de- fense would necessarily be that "higher authority" shared in the tragic events, and he did not want to air these facts during the early stages of the war.
 However, Kimmel continued, witnesses regarding the Pearl FlarbOr disaster and its respOn- sibllity are bound to die, in fact one has died already. Human memory may become obscure, he also pointed out, and this Is one reason why the statute of Imi- tations was enacted into law.
 Furthermore, Kimrhel argued. we are no longer losing the war. Therefore, he said he felt he could no longer bear the bur- dent of obloquy alone without trial. which herewith request"
 In preparation for the trial, Kimmel demanded that he and his attorney have access to the records of the Navy Department immediately in order to prepar' his defense. He pointed out that these records might be lost or misplaced and that he must have access to them.
 Kinknei told Knox that he did
 not doubt his good faith in wanting Co permit him Q fair trial after the war, but on the ether hand he was not 60 sure about Che lnteEestedness og the Secretary of the Navy whe might follow Knox. Therefore, he demanded Q trial now.
 Kimmel also demanded that his letter to Knox be given the same publicity as the Navy Depart ..,ms.fsa afakas..as.k that FEinnFraal had