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Show II SO LO I EH OFF 0 U TV : IS mn MAN Court-Marl ia I Hoars Details of Sergeant's Humiliation in Theater. LIEUTENANT IS GRILLED FOR UNCALLED-FOR SNUB Officer Admits Asking Enlisted Man lo Change His Scat. H NEW YOHK, Jan. 1 Lieut. Kay I. Taylor One Hundred and Twenty-fifth company of coast artillery, back from IIJ two years' service in Hie Philippines, and now stationed at Tranquil, New ! London, was court-martialed todaj cot IIJ requesting a sergeant to change his IH .-eat in a theater. This Is called in the IIJ charge "conduct prejudicial to good or- iBIH dor an 1 military discipline." I As brought out by the testimony, the trouble amounted to this: Then- was a show on October 24 In New London. Lieut. Taylor whs coated in the parquet par-quet with two young women when Sergeant Ser-geant Patrick Butler, In Uniterm, en-t( en-t( red and took n chair jusi In front-Lieut front-Lieut Taylor leaned over, according to the S-ergeant's testimony, and said-"Sergeant, said-"Sergeant, don't you think you'd better Change your seat v Sergeant s Feelings Hurt "T turned about.'' testified the Sergeant, Ser-geant, "and looked into the face of Lieut Taylor, my superior officer. I was in uniform Lieut Taylor was in evening dress i was bo surprised 1 i ou Id not replv for several moments. Then Lieut. Taylor again suggested that I might find a better teat In some other part of the house." "Did you have any difficulty in finding find-ing another seat" " Inquired the Judge-Advocate, Judge-Advocate, Capt. Skerrett "I did not. I did not want to make a reene, as there were ladles with Lieut. Taylor, but my feelings were hufi No. I didn't take ll as an order. Still I thought it best lo regard the request as SUCh, coming from my superior officer, and obeyed " Sergeant Butler testified that next morning he spoke to Lieut. Taylor, Inquiring In-quiring whj he asked him to change his seat. "It was merely a personal request.' he said the officer answered "You did tiot have to move Anyway, a soldier m uniform does not look well down front In a theater " The Sergeant made a complaint In writing. When It was made and the papers had been submitted to Lieut. Taylor, the Lieutenant, according to his Captain's testimony, remarked that he look?d upon it as an impertinence for i soldier to send a complaint to the Captain over the head of. the soldier's ranking; officer." I Lieutenant Grilled by Judge. Lfeut. Taylor withstood some grueling gruel-ing from the Judge-Advocate First, he described the theater affair, his version ver-sion agreeing: with the Sergeant's ex- ept as to the conversation "I asked him, In an undertone," Lieut. Taylor said, "if he would not change his seat. 'I only ask it as a personal favor' He hesitated Then hr did change it. Next morning he spoke to Mie. wanting to know why I had made the request Was I drunk''' he asked, or disorderly? it hurt my feelings to ipe asked to change' 'No.' I told him, you were in uniform, you bore yourself your-self like a soldier. I ask It as a favor (or personal reasons ' He afterward 'old me he had made a complaint direct in the company commander." hat," Inquired the Judge-Advo-i ate. 'was the personal reason you had for wishing him to change his seat? "A family party had all that row ex- ept the seat he occupied." "You did not make thLs explanation on papers you merely stated 'personal reasons.' " 'Yes 1 though thai sufficient." Didn't Want His Talk Heard. After more questions he said: "It occurred to me, loo, that it would not be agreeable to have my conversa-"in conversa-"in with my friends overheard ly an niisted man In my company." 'Why not by an enlisted man as well H by any other?" "I don't think, as a rule, the conditions condi-tions would be just the same." the Lieutenant answered i.'ol. Caziarc of the Artillery cr.rps, who presided, then askrd In behalf of H the "Were you In any sense a member of the party which had the row of seats in front?" 'No. sir." answered the Lieutenant. In his remarks to the court at the oncluslon of the hearing the Judge-Advocate Judge-Advocate said the material facts as i stated In the charge having been proved, it was for the court to decide I whether the Sergeant had been humil iated; "whether, Indeed, the act of the .reused could have led to any other result." re-sult." Next he asked the; court "to I onslder whether, if the act was ihoughtless it was not, nevertheless, an offense." It is to be inferred from the Judge-Advocate'a Judge-Advocate'a questioning that, off duty, an officer must treat a soldier in his '-ommand as one citizen would another i Itlzen. It was thought the fact that Lleul Taylor Is not a graduate of West Point, but of a Michigan military academy! might have had something to do with hi6 prosecution by Capt R H. McMas-i McMas-i tera, Who preferred the charts and is rr J not himself a West Pointer |
