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Show BAKER STUDYING ! COUMalL Plans for Alteration of Procedure Are Discussed at Conference. Secretary Takes Matter Up Immediately on Return From Western Trip. WASHINGTON, March 26. Plans for tho war department alterations in court-martial procedure were the sub-iect sub-iect of the first conference held by Secretary Sec-retary Baker upon his return today to Washington from an inspection trip. The secretary met with S. S. Gregory ofChicago and Judge Andrew J. Bruce of Bismarck, N. D., members of the American Bar association committee appointed ap-pointed to make an advisory study of the whole question of military legal practice and procedure. , Mr. Baker, after the conference, said that he had placed all the personnel and records of the judge advocate' general's office at the disposal of the committee. He said that the committee, in additiqn to the formulation of recommendations, had been asked to call attention to any individual cases of injustice that might strike them in reviewing court-martial proceedings. Declines to Comment. The secretary had no comment to make aa to what he planned with regard re-gard to publication of the reply submitted sub-mitted for his consideration by Lieutenant Lieu-tenant Colonel Ansell of the judge advocate advo-cate general's department, to statements by Major General Crowder, judge advocate advo-cate general, previously given out through departmental channels. One element of the controversy that has arisen over the military legal system sys-tem is the investigation being conducted at the secretary's order by Major General Gen-eral Chamberlain, inspector general. Mr. Baker said he had not seen General Chamberlain and did not know whether that investigation had been completed. From other sources it was learned that the inspector general probably would not finish has work for some weeks. Colonel Ansell's Reply. The only copy of Colonel Ansell's reply re-ply known to have reached anyone outside out-side of the war department, was that furnished by Actine Secretary Crowell to Senator Chamberlain, chairman of the military committee of the last senate. sen-ate. When Senator Chamberlain made public pub-lic the text of his telegram to Secretary Secre-tary Baker demanding that the Ansell reply be given out for publication, there was circulated among newspaper representatives in Washington, attached to the copies of Senator Chamberlain 's message, a statement saying, among other things, that Ansell had attacked General Chamberlain and other high army officers as "reactionaries," in the first brief he submitted to the senate sen-ate committee. The statement led to the belief among officers at the war department de-partment that Colonel Ansell's reply to General Crowder raises objection to the assignment of General Chamberlain as investigator of the controversy. |