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Show Eii i Uii lit r MjLn . BAG KSFD STEH New Hampshire Major Supports Sup-ports Charge of Coddling Conscientious Objectors. Declares War Department Disgusted Army Men With Its Action. MAXCirESTIOR, X. II., March 23. Major Frank Knox, recently returned to !iia position as editor of the. Manchester I'jiion after his release from the arms' service, in a simicd statement last night, said he was ' prepared in peneral terms to support the accusation brought, against Secretary of War l'iaker by Major Dick B. Foster, that orders v. ere issued to coni-m;i coni-m;i inline officers of the mobilization camps of the United States which 'practically 'prac-tically forbade effective handling .of fake conscientious objectors - who weie in-duetcd in-duetcd into the national army under the draft law.' "The first three months of my service in a mobilization camp in ti,ls country that situated at Camp Dix I was in an unusually good position to observe the nierhods of handling these conscientious obicturs, since I. was a memJjer of the division staff, serving as personnel officer," of-ficer," the statement says. "Outraged Helplessness." "A I'onsUlerMbh; numbov of const-len-ions olijcLora were eiuitiitered. With tie; position ;isauined by th'o genuine ob-.i?'tc.r ob-.i?'tc.r to military service because of re-lieiou.s re-lieiou.s .scruples, there wad perhaps a !i:ininuini of sympathy, but at least there was understanding among the officers who bad to deal with him. "But, from the commanding officer of the division down... there was a feeling' of outraged helplessness when, under explicit, ex-plicit, secret orders from the secretary of war, we were compelled to permit men who were. nothing but contemptible slackers to find shelter behind the screen of a suddenly acquired religious scruple which forbade their bearing arms." The statement cites the case of a drafted man in Major Knox's battalion who said lie bclmised to "some Bible society' which forbade his bearing arms and who refused to work in barracks. Major Knox says he took the matter up with division headquarters head-quarters through military channels and the man- was ordered transferred to a company in the depoH. brigade made up exclt'siveiy of "objectors." Deliberate Evasion Alleged. "Tnvosliatiun." the statement continues, con-tinues, "disclosed that the man had ioirtcd the 'Bible society' but a few 'weeks before reporting for duty and obviously for the purpose of avoiding: military duty. . "1 say no more than the bare truth when I assert, that ' there was a feeling of universal disgust amoncr army officers over orders issued by the war department covering the treatment of conscientious objectors. The unanimous sentiment of officers who had to deal with such cases was that each case should have been the subject of a court martial in which the genuine objector would be separated from the cowardly slacker."' Foster Repeats Criticisms. KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 23. Criticism Criti-cism of the war department's answer to his charges that, undue leniency was shown to conscientious objectors was voiced last night by Major Richard 'B. Foster, who had declared yesterday that Secretary of War Baker had "intentionally "intention-ally or 'unintentionally adopted the role of protector to the I. V. Y. and international interna-tional socialists and humanitarians." "'The only denial uttered," declared Major Foster, "is of a statement I did not make. It is too obviously an attempt to discredit all my charges by indicating I charged local boards with being a party to secret plans for the ' comfort of the obstructionists. Charges Secret Orders. "What I did say was that local draft hoards had been instructed to send all men between the ages of 21 and 31 to the camps and the public believed they were to enter combatant or noncombatant branches of the service. "1 went on to say there was an inner working of the military program of which i lie public knew nothing, in that secret orders to commanders of camps and cantonments can-tonments provided immunity from service or punishment to all who had 'personal scruples against war.' "ExaYnination of my notes arid of the published reports of my speech will show there was no allegation of local draft boards being party to secret plans for the solace of the obstructionists." |