Seconded by Luke Lea of Tennessee.

THE CHAIRMAN:  “The motion is now for the adoption of the resolution as read, substituting the word ‘demand’ for ‘request.’”

ALBERT H. WILSON (of Idaho):  “Gentlemen of this convention, before this is put to the body of this house, I want to offer a resolution that the man who convicted these men at Camp Funston be permitted to give the facts of those convictions and the facts of those discharges to the body of this house.  I refer, gentlemen, to Major Foster, of Camp Funston, of the General Staff at Camp Funston, and I offer a resolution to that effect.  Will you hear him?”

Assent from the audience.

MR. GASTON:  “I second that.”

THE CHAIRMAN:  “It isn’t necessary to have a resolution to that effect. 
The discussion would be germane to the question before the house.”

MAJOR FOSTER (of Missouri):  “Gentlemen, on May 18, 1917, the Congress of these United States passed an act defining what should be done in regard to conscientious objectors.  That act, as you are all probably familiar with, says nothing about the I.W.W.—­the so-called humanitarian, the slacker, and the anarchist, and yet for some unknown reason about 135 such cattle were shipped out to Camp Funston, segregated, were not required to do military service, were tried for disobedience to a lawful order in time of war, duly convicted, sentenced to prison, and a large Majority of them pardoned out of the penitentiary within two months.

“These men, and I want you to get the importance of this, are not ordinary, poor, misguided, fanatical men, but the large number of them were college graduates.  Take the case of Lundy in Chicago and Berger and Greenberg and all of them.  Seven of them were cases so serious that the court, of which I was a member, sentenced them to death.  Within three weeks the order came from Washington restoring them to honorable duty.  These men who were dismissed from Leavenworth and who were tried by this court made the statement before the court to prove their conscientious scruples that they did not accept pay from the Government, nor did they, but when they were dismissed at Fort Leavenworth and honorably restored to duty and given discharges with honor, they took every dollar and cent that the Government sent or the officials in Washington said should be paid to them and they carefully counted it and it amounted to between four and six hundred dollars each, and they went home with it.

“You all know who is responsible for this condition.  You all know that this convention should condemn it.  And here is one more point I want to put before you and I want you to get this carefully.  One of the men we tried, Worsman, has been pardoned.  Here is a letter he sent out.  I will not read it all.

(The caucus requests him to read it all.)

It is sent out to the press and to everyone.  Here is a book that has the expressions before the court that all these men made and they stand on that as being proper.