Show U 0 f fA CAVELL A HELD flU lAWfUl Military Code of U. U S S. S Countenances Countenances Countenances Coun Coun- Such Action Lawyer Reports By Associated Press BALTIMORE Aug 28 Execution Execution by th the Germans of ot Miss Edith Cavell the English nurse which aroused the tho indignation of the allied world was was in accordance with the laws of civilized civilized civilized civil warfare according to a minority report of the committee on military law of the American Bar association made public here Both majority and minority reports were prepared by the committee which was appointed to investigate courts martial and suggest reforms in military law The reference to the case of ot Miss Cavell was made by S S. S S. S Gregory of ot Chicago o chairman of ot the committee and was concurred in by Judge William William William Wil Wil- liam P. P Bynum of ot Greensboro N. N C. C the other minority member In advocating advocating advocating cating abolition of ot the death penalty for women convicted of ot infringing military laws In his report Mr Gregory said A careful consideration of ot the case of Miss Edith Cavell has led me to tc the conclusion that she Was executed in accordance with the laws and usages of what we are pleased commonly to refer to as civilized warfare QUITE INCONSISTENT This being so it has seemed to me quite inconsistent with our condemnation tion of ot those who thus took her life to retain on our own system of ot military justice those provisions of law which were relied upon by the German military military military mili mili- tary authorities The fact tact that her trial was at attended attended attended at- at tended by brutality and duplicity does not alter this aspect of the case The majority members of the committee committee committee com com- Andrew A A. A Bruse of ot Minneapolis u lis s Martin Conboy of New York and John Hinkley of ot Baltimore declared they could not concur in the suggestion suggestion tion of ot Mr Gregory that there should be a provision prohibiting the death penalty in the case of ot women spies It would certainly be Inadvisable unless unless' such a provision were in the codes of ot all aU the nations with whom we would be likely to be at war they said We agree thoroughly that the penalty should not be inflicted except in m the most extreme cases but that it should be abolished entirely we cannot cannot cannot can can- not agree Experience has shown that on account of ot the sex lure women aro are the most dangerous dang of ot all spies anc and our chivalry towards some should not nol allow us to jeopardize the national cause or the lives of ot thousands of ot the sons of others CHANGES NEEDED The majority also declined to concur in recommendations of ot the minority that enlisted men sit on court coutt martial and that special courts be abandoned The majority report asserted that al although although although al- al though we believe some change changes should be made we wo are satisfied t that the errors committed during the recent I Iwar war and the excessive penalties which I were no doubt often imposed were due I largely ely to the Inexperience of ot those in control and to the fact tact not only that we had of necessity to train an officer class overnight for our volunteer army but that our practice in the past ol ot of scattering scattering- our regular army divided into battalions companies and even smaller units over the country had made it impossible to train properly even our West Point officers We e are thoroughly in accord the majority report continued with the I. I idea that there should be with each division brig brigade de and perhaps regiment a thoroughly trained military lawyer with the rank perhaps of a lieutenant colonel who should serve either as a presiding judge or as adviser at all courts martial martia The majority members' members report recommended recommended recommended rec rec- that more care should be betaken betaken betaken taken in obtaining counsel for tor accused soldiers and urged that greater ef efforts efforts efM ef- forts be made to reduce the time taken in bringing prisoners to trial In order to lessen their period of of confinement in the guardhouse |