TIME: Almanac 1990/1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso/time/caps/20s/20mitche

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General William A. Mitchell


                                                   (FEBRUARY 9, 1925)

  Brigadier-General William A. Mitchell, Assistant Chief of the Army
Air Service, is the most picturesque figure the service contains--and
it has many a striking personality in its ranks. Aged 45, possessor of
an independent fortune, and an entree to all Washington society, a
splendid horseman, General Mitchell is the 20th Century equivalent of
the "beau sabreur" of Napoleon's time.

  One of the first officers in the Army to take up aviation, Mitchell
has gone from triumph to triumph, has made a remarkable record as an
air tactician with the A.E.F. He is just the energetic, somewhat im-
petuous partner that his more reflective chief, General Patrick,
needs. The U.S. Air Service may be reckoned as extremely fortunate
that both its chief executives are practical flyers.

  General Mitchell loves an argument with men in an office as much as
he does a fight with the elements in the air. And he is certainly hav-
ing a scrap with his friendly enemies of the Navy Department. The
General, after a thorough study of the workings of the British Air
Ministry, is a strong proponent of a United Air Service as likely to
avoid duplication of effort and to lead to a stronger and more effect-
ive air defense for the U.S. His testimony before the House Committee
of Inquiry into the Air Services, his articles in the Saturday Evening
Post and other statements are being bitterly attacked at the moment
by the Secretary of the Navy himself, by Admiral Moffett, Chief of the
Bureau of Aeronautics and other Navy authorities.


                                                    (MARCH 16, 1925)

  Lieutenant Colonel James E. Fechet was nominated to succeed General
Mitchell as Assistant Chief of the Army Air Service. Inasmuch as the
temporary rank of Brigadier General attaches to this post, it means
that General Mitchell will be reduced to his permanent rank of
Colonel. This action was expected because of General Mitchell's
repeated criticisms of his superior officers in connection with his
demand for a united Air Force.


                                                  (SEPTEMBER 21, 1925)

  A stir was made and the seething has not yet subsided. The stirrer
was Colonel William Mitchell who two weeks ago denounced the "incom-
petency, criminal negligence and almost treasonable administration of
the national defense," by high officers of the army and the Navy; and
pointed his remarks by references to the Shenandoah disaster, the at-
tempted flight to Hawaii, the MacMillan expedition, etc.

  Of course many factions and many feelings were stirred up. High
officials of the Army and Navy were angered by his language toward
them. Some congressmen were aroused to a feeling that something must
be done to revamp our national defense. The public and the politicians
all viewed with alarm one aspect or another of the Mitchell statement.

  It was undoubtedly only a matter of time until some action would be
taken in Government circles. Last week the action began:

  1) The War Department undertook an investigation of Colonel
Mitchell's statement with a view to court-martialing him.

  2) Acting Secretary of War Dwight F. Davis was in favor of another
separate investigation into Colonel Mitchell's charges against the War
and Navy Departments, holding that those departments had no right to
investigate themselves.


                                                   (NOVEMBER 2, 1925)

  "The biggest court martial in U.S. military history," exclaimed the
effusive spokesmen of quantity and magnitude last week with reference
to the trial of Colonel William Mitchell about to begin. There was
much in what they said. The court martial of Benedict Arnold in
1779-80, which resulted in a mild reprimand from General Washington,
was not so sensational as the treason which followed it. The trial of
Aaron Burr for treason was perhaps of equal national interest, but it
was not a military trial but a trial before the U.S. Circuit Court at
Richmond. The nearest parallel to the Mitchell trial is probably the
Court of Inquiry in 1901 into the conduct of Commodore Winfield Scott
Schley in the Spanish-American War.

  Notice of eight charges was served on Colonel Mitchell last week,
accusing him of "conduct to the prejudice of good order and military
discipline," making a "statement highly contemptuous and disrespect-
ful" to the War Department and to the Navy Department "with intent to
discredit the same."


                                                  (DECEMBER 28, 1925)

  "The Court is ready to make an announcement, and it is desired that
there be no demonstration of any kind."

  He then read a verdict:

  "The Court, upon secret, written ballot, two-thirds of the members
present at the time the vote was taken concurring in each finding of
guilty, finds the accused guilty of all specifications and of the
charge.

  "Upon secret written ballot of the Court sentences the accused to be
suspended from rank, command and duty, with forfeiture of all pay and
allowances, for five years.

  "The Court is thus lenient because of the military record of the
accused during the World War, two-thirds of the members present at
the time the vote was taken concurring."

  Colonel William Mitchell was found guilty of conduct "to the
prejudice of good order and military discipline" for his statements
criticizing the War and Navy Departments made in September after the
Shenandoah disaster and the failure of the Hawaiian flight.