Evening star., 1945-03-21
-Four WACS Sentenced
To Year al Hard Labor
In 'Sitdown' Case
p the Associated Press.

FORT DEVENS, Mass, Mar. I'll
Convicted of refusal to obey orders,
four colored WACS were sentenced
last night to one year at hard labor
and to be discharged dishonorably
The quartet had contended they
were ordered to perform menial
tasks in Lowell General Hospital
because of their color.
The 1st Service Command dis
closed today that similar sentence
was imposed last August on white
WAC convicted of the same offense
Two male colored officers and
two white WAC officers were men,
bers of the seven-man court.
During the court martial Pvt.
Alice D. Young of Washington tes-
tilted that Col. Walter M. Crandall,
commanding officer of the hospital
had told her They want no black
WACS at the motor pool" after she
had requested transfer to the pool
on March 9.
Pvt. Young's statement was sup
ported by Pvt. Alberta Goss of Tus-
cumbia. Ala, witness.
Protest Meeting Held.
They said Col. Crandall, whose
home is in Vinalhaven, Me, made
the declaration at a meeting that
followed protest meeting of WACS
at which colored members COM
planned of discrimination.
The two WACS testified that they
felt there was discrimination because
white WACS were not forced to do
the same type of work as colored
personnel and because, they said,
Col. Crandall told them colored
WACS were supposed to do the
dirty work"
1t. Tenola T Stoney, colored, as
sistant detachment commander, tes-
tilted that the women involved had
three complaints.
The first, she said, was that the
work given them was not like that
given to white WACS. She expressed
the opinion that there was no JUS
tification for this complaint.
She said the girls felt capable of
doing work other than that which
they were performing. 1t. Stoney
laid she would not comment on this
because she was not personnel
officer.
The third complaint, she said, was
hat colored WACS had to do KIP
"hile white WACS did not She said
that on investigation she found this
TO be true.
Colonel Not Present.
Col. Crandall did not testify. He
is on a 30-day leave and was not
present at the court-martial
The four convicted by the court
were Pvt. Anna c. Morrison of Rich
mond, KY; Pvt. Johnnie Murphy of
Rankin, Pa; Pvt. Mary Green of
Conroe, Tex, and Pvt. Young.
The verdict, announced after an
hour and 10 minutes deliberation
was taken calmly by the four in
court. Pvt. Morrison, however, be-
came hysterical after leaving the
room and had to be forced, scream
ing, into an Army car by MPs.
Trial and sentences are subject
to review by high Army officials,
Maj Leon E. Mccarthy, trial judge
advocate, stated.
Case Goes to Washington.
The 1st Service Command said
that such convictions ordinarily are
reviewed by the commanding gen.
eral of the area, but since Maj. Gen.
Sherman Miles had been called into
the controversy, the case would go
directly to the judge advocate gen.
eral in Washington
In the event that the Judge ad-
vocate upholds the decision of the
military court, the women could
appeal to the President, the public
relations Office said.
The women were confined to quar-
ters temporarily. The hard labor"
to which they were sentenced. the
public relations Office said, would
be menial tasks similar to those
performed by prisoners under SIM
liar sentences in civilian peniten-
tiaries.
Maj. Mccarthy said the racial is
sue had no bearing on the decision.
The only question is whether
they disobeyed an order-and it has
been proven that they did" he said.
There was no discrimination
There should be none in the YER
dict. There should be no difference
in their punishment because they
are colored."