Viewing page 56 of 75

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

"In his testimony, Gen. Mitchell has not only attacked the Navy Department and the active officers in that department, but his own department and the officers who are now largely responsible for its administrative policies. There latter officers are among those distinguished men who conducted operations on the other side, which resulted in everlasting glory to American arms and to the winning of the war.  No more unconscionable attack could have been made than the one that these officers are in any way impeding the progress of the Air Service or that they are not insistent on its development to the highest efficiency.  The report of the Lassiter board would indicate the certainty of this conclusion.

"In addition to these matters, Gen. Mitchell's whole course has been so lawless, so contrary to the building up of an efficient organization, so lacking in reasonable team work, so indicative of a personal desire for publicity at the expense of every one with whom he is associated that his actions render him unfit for a high administrative position such as he now occupies.  I write this with great regret because he is a gallant officer with an excellent war record, but his record since the war has been such that he has forfeited the good opinion of those who are familiar with the facts and who desire to promote the best interests of national defense."

After the letter was read Gen. Nolan was turned over to the defense for xross-examination.  He was asked if Gen. Mitchell was not reappointed because he had testified on aviation controversies before congressional committees, and Gen. Nolan said he thought the letter adequately explained why the reappointment had not been made.  He denied that he himself prepared the letter and explained that Secretary Weeks had dictated the letter personally.  The general staff had nothing to do with it, he added.

Mr. Reid called attention to the fact that the letter bore the symbols "OCS" and "DEN."
"What do they mena?" he asked.
"They are the intials of "Office Chief of Staff" and "my own initials." The witness insisted, however, that the symbols did not infer in any way that either he or the chief of staff had the letter prepared or wrote it.

Defends Statement.
Under direct examination yesterday afternoon, Gen. Drum explained statements he had made to congressional committees which the defense had charged were "misleading and false." When cross-examined by Mr. Reid he maintained a solid front against the attack to break down his explanations in direct testimony.  Outstanding among the statements he defended was the amount of gas necessary to cause evacuation of an area the size of the District of Columbia.

Having stated that more than 5,000 bombing planes would be required to convey the gas in bombs to a 60-square-mile area. Gen. Drum declared his calculations were based on a training manual approved by Maj. Gen. Amos A. Fries, chief of the Chemical Warfare Service and which is used in the training and education of officers at the various service schools.

In upholding the accuracy of his calculations Gen. Drum charged Gen. Fries himself was guilty of an error when he gave the court figures showing that the area referred to could be gassed by a greatly reduced quantity of gas.  The chemical warfare head was described as "not up to date on the construction of gas bombs."

"Other declarations of Gen. Drum aimed at defense testimony were:

Gen. Pershing, and not Col. Mitchell, commanded the air forces in the American expeditionary forces.

British unified air service participated with French and American air forces under Gen. Pershing's command in the St. Mihiel drive.

Gen. Pershing gave Col. Mitchell orders for the employment of American aircraft in France, in spite of the air officer's statement before the court to the contrary.

The War Department "does not accept the unified air service as a sound organization for the Army."

WEEKS' RAKING LETTER BOMBS MITCHELL CASE
[[notation]] Chi. Trib -Dec 17-25 [[/notation]]

Dug from Old Files of President.

For Bigger Game

Washington, D. C., Dec. 16.-Sepcial.] - At the conclusion of the taking of evidence in the court martial this evening, Col. Mitchell said: "After the trial I am going hunting in the west, and ultimately to Africa for some real hunting.  There is no more good hunting in Washington.  Here you can put salt on their tails and catch 'em."

BY JAMES 0'DONNELL BENNETT. [Chicago Tribune Press Service.]

Washington, D. C., Dec. 16. -[Special.] President Coolidge refused to reappoint Gen. William Mitchell as assistant chief of air service last March and deprived him of his generalcy because Secretary of War Weeks told him in writing that Mitchell was "lawless," "unconscionable," "irresponsible," "false," "unfit for high administrative position," owning to "his personal desire for publicity at the expense of every one with whom his is associated," and that "his record since the war has been such that he has forfeited the good opinion of those who are familiar with the facts."

This appalling letter was withdrawn from the White House files last night with reluctant consent of Everett Sanders, secretary to the President.  Its date is March 4, 1925.  It was composed and dictated solely by the then secretary of war, John W. Weeks.

Reid Stunned Into Silence. 

It was given to the world for the first time today during the last half hour of the taking of testimony in the trial of Col. Mitchell for insubordination and it so stunned Mitchell's senior counsel, Representative Frank R. Reid of Illinois, that he refused further to examine Maj. Gen. Dennis E. Nolan, deputy chief of staff of the war department, the witness who read the letter.

Of the 5,000 pages of testimony which have been heard since this trial began on Oct. 28, not a dozen remained to be taken when the Weeks letter crashed into the record.

Col. Mitchell did not retain his composure during the reading. He bent backward and forward in the chair in front of his ten judges, where he has sat for seven weary weeks.  He feverishly tried to attract the attention of his lawyer, who sat five feet from him, and when Reid abstractedly nodded in reply, Mitchell's appeals for attention rose to an audible tone that drew the puzzled gaze of Maj. Gen. Howze, president of the court.

Mitchell Visibly Affected.
Mrs. Mitchell, who sat, as always, by her husband's side, fanned herself feebly.  Gen. Nolan, who is a capital reader, paused once during his slow recital of the former war secretary's denunciation to ask, "Am I reading too rapidly?"

President Howze told him he was "doing very well." Often Mitchell turned with a wry smile, a sarcastic laugh, or a comment, to his wife during the reading of the four type-written pages, which ended with these words:

"In addition to these matters, Gen. Mitchell's whole course has been so lawless, so contrary to the building up of an efficient organization, so lacking in reasonable team work, so indicative of a personal desire for publicity at the expense of every one with whom he is associated that his actions render him unfit for a high administrative position, such as he now occupies.  I write this with great regret, because he is a gallant officer with an excellent war record, but his record since the war has been such that he has forfeited the good opinion of those who are familiar with the facts and who desire to promote the best interests of national defense.
"Respectfully yours,
"JOHN W. WEEKS,
"Secretary of War."

Attacked Fellow Officers.
Other outstanding sentence in the war secretary's arraignment of Mitchell to the President were:

"One of the main questions which came before the committee of the house of representatives was the testimony of Gen. Mitchell that we had but nineteen airplanes fit for war service, when, as a matter of fact, we have 829 airplanes actually in use and 763 in storage.

"He has attacked his own department and the officers who are now largely responsible for its administrative policies.  These officers are among those distinguished men who conducted operations on the other side which resulted in everlasting glory to American arms and in the winning of the war.

"No more unconscionable attack could have been made than the one that these officers are in any way impeding the progress of the air service.  

"He obviously intended to give congress and the country the impression that - in spite of the explicit instructions of my predecessor and of my personal and direct instructions - officers were placing themselves in jeopardy by expressing freely and fully their personal opinions regarding necessary development of the air service.

"In he counseled officers not to give testimony, as he has stated under oath he did, he contravened my explicit instructions to Gen. Patrick, which Gen. Patrick assures me he transmitted to Gen. Mitchell."

Gives Up Cross-Examination.
Summing up certain detailed statistics which he submitted to the President, Mr. Weeks added: "All this was well known to Gen. Mitchell when he apparently endeavored to startle the country by testifying that we had but nineteen planes fit for war service."

After Gen. Nolan had read the Weeks letter Reid attempted cross-examination, but soon gave it up because he was so baffled by Nolan's ominous and repeated utterance of "I shall answer in my own way," - I shall take my own time." - "I will not answer yes or no, and you can put that in the record!"

Reid finally, with a despairing gesture, shouted: "I will have nothing more to do with this witness!"

Closing arguments will begin tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock, Third Assistant Judge Advocate Gullion leading off with a three hour speech in defense of the navy.  Arguments will continue all day and probably well into Friday.

In addition to the 5,000 pages of testimony that have been taken, the record has been supplemented with from 15,000 to 20,000 pages of documentary exhibits.