Answer. I don't know. 15. Question. Did you hear Ensign Richardson boasting about this deed? Answer. I heard him tell about the deed. 16. Question. You state that hundreds know and applaud this act; can you name at least one amongst these hundreds? Answer. No; I don't. That isn't possible. Of all the hundreds of Army and Navy men that I have been introduced to I can only give the name of one, a warrant officer, with whom I have happened to become more acquainted than any one of the hundreds of others. When I said that others knew and applauded about this act, and in the first place when I heard a naval officer in uniform tell that story, I believed, and the other naval officers seemed to me to listen to it with approval. I suppose that at the time the story was written there was six or eight officers who seemed to know about it and approve of it. I thought it likely that that knowledge and approval was pretty general. 17. Question. Does this warrant officer know about this case? Answer. I have never discussed it. 18. Question. Who introduced you to so many Army and Navy officers? Answer. That I don't know. We were getting our news under the portales. The only way was to go from group to group and get acquainted. 19. Question. Do you know how many men Ensign Richardson had under his command at the time? Answer. I don't know of my own personal knowledge, because I was not here at the time of the fight; I can not state as a fact anything regarding the fight. Cross-examined by the ATTORNEY FOR THE DEFENDANT: 20. Question. Do you recognize me positively as the officer who was pointed out to you on the evening in question as Ensign Richardson? Answer. I am quite positive. 21. Question. Was this story told in a serious manner or in a joke? Answer. It was told in a serious manner. 22. Question. Was the story told to you? Answer. Not to me exclusively; it was told to us all. 23. Question. Do you, of your own knowledge, know whether any prisoners were captured by me during the occupation of the city of Vera Cruz by the naval forces, April 22 to 30, 1914? Answer. I do not. 24. Question. Do you, of your own knowledge, know of the execution of prisoners by me or my order during the occupation of Vera Cruz by the naval forces, April 22 to 30, 1914? Answer. I do not. 25. Question. Do you, of your own knowledge, know whether I ever had any prisoners under my charge during the occupation of the city of Vera Cruz by naval forces, April 22 to 30, 1914? Answer. I do not know. I do not know anything at all about the fight of my own knowledge. (The judge advocate did not wish to examine this witness further.) Examined by the COURT: 26. Question. Have you any evidence in further corroboration of the newspaper article and statement that you have written and the statement that you have made? Answer. I do not claim that Ensign Richardson had applied the "ley de fuga." All I claim is that he told me he had. I couldn't know that he did not, because I wasn't here. It is obvious that I didn't know that he had. 27. Question. Have you any evidence in further corroboration of the testimony, that you have given in the newspaper article, that you have written, what Ensign Richardson said? Answer. I have further testimony. 28. Question. Please state to the court the further corroboration. Answer. My further corroboration is the testimony of William G. Shepherd who was with me when Ensign Richardson told the story. 29. Question. Have you endeavored since writing that article to still further corroborate the alleged facts in the story? Answer. No. 30. Question. The court understands that Ensign Richardson at that table stated in words to the effect that he had command of a squad of men who took many prisoners during the fight, April 21 or 22 to the 30th? Answer. Yes. 31. Question. That these prisoners he had corraled in a room, that was his statement? Answer. Yes. 32. Question. That at his word or command they were released singly or in a body? Answer. I don't know. 33. Question. They were released and told to scurry for the next corner? Answer. Yes. 34. Question. And he also stated that if they reached the corner in safety they deserved to live? Answer. Yes. 35. Question. It is implied by your article that these men were killed; that is, shot, in between the time they left the room where they were corraled and the time of arriving at the corner, if they arrived? Answer. I do not know how much of a sporting chance those prisoners were given, but as I remember it, that was gone into in the article. I do not wish to imply in the article that the sailors began to shoot immediately. 36. Question. In your article you state but very few did arrive at the corner? Answer. That is what one of the officers said. 37. Question. Referring to the law of flight, you state that one American naval officer did apply that law; that he admits it; boasts about it; is that officer that you refer to Ensign Richardson? Answer. Yes. He did admit it and boast about it that evening before the crowd. 38. Question. And his friends around the table that evening applauded him for it? Answer. Yes. 39. Question. Your article states that hundreds of American naval officers know about this; in this testimony to-day you state that you presume that they knew of it? Answer. Yes. 40. Question. But you, of your own knowledge, do not know that hundreds of naval officers or Army officers know and applauded it? Answer. I do not. 41. Question. When you state that the law of flight makes sport of prisoners of war, and even noncombatants, by giving them a flying start and "potting" them as they fled; what do you mean by 66 potting" them? Answer. Shooting them. 42. Question. Who told you that it was fun to see them run? Answer. That was the general tone of the conversation. 43. Question. Then it was not told to you personally by anybody? Answer. It was told at the table. 44. Question. Who was at the table? Answer. I do not know. I have stated that I don't know the name of a single officer, and I wouldn't have known the name of Ensign Richardson except that he was a rather prominent man as he told this story. 45. Question. In your article you stated that, "When I was a boy I had a bulldog, who applied the law of flight. When I and my playfellows had caught in a trap a dozen or a score of rats, we would turn them loose in a pasture, and the trick was for the dog to catch, if he could, all the rats." Was the law of flight applied by the bulldog or by you and your playfellows? Answer. By me and my playfellows? 46. Question. Will you state the name of the man that was shot in the leg that had recovered? Answer. No; I can tell you where I got the story, however—Mr. Rielly, of the Newark News, New Jersey, he told me the story. 47. Question. Is Mr. Rielly in Vera Cruz? Answer. Yes. 48. Question. What is his address? Answer. The Aleman Hotel. 49. Question. Will you give the court the names of any persons that can corroborate the testimony that you have given to-day; in other words, to quote from your letter to Gen. Funston, "prove the truth of the allegations made in a story written by me and printed in newspapers in the United States"? Answer. William G. Shepherd. If you reckon the story of the young sailor as important, I will call Mr. Rielly. 50. Question. Was your story in the Memphis Press of Saturday, June 20, 1914, based on anything whatever except the statement alleged to have been made by Ensign Richardson under the portales? Answer. Nothing but that. 51. Question. Did you ever make any attempt whatever to determine the truth of the story that you say Ensign Richardson told? Answer. Not before writing it. 52. Question. Have you made any attempt since then to determine the truth of the story that you say Ensign Richardson told? Answer. I haven't made very determined efforts. 53. Question. Will you please state to the court every effort that you have made to determine the truth of the story that Ensign Richardson told? Answer. I asked a number of people, and may have asked three or four or five if they had heard the story, and they said that they had heard Ensign Richardson tell a number of stories about his prowess, but they had not heard him tell that particular story. 54. Question. Please state the names of the people to whom you refer in the last question. Answer. I spoke to Mr. Simpson, of the Associated Press; he was the one, I believe, who said that he had heard Ensign Richardson tell stories, but not this particular one. Mr. Rorke, of the London Central News, he told me about the same thing; I spoke to Mr. Murray, of the New York World; Mr. Constantine, of the Boston Herald; Mr. Coates, of the Hearst papers, and other correspondents. 55. Question. Can you give the addresses of these gentlemen? Answer. Some of them; they can all be reached at the cable office. 56. Question. Do you still believe the story to be true? Answer. I don't know whether it is true or not. 57. Question. I ask you again, do you still believe the story to be true? Answer. I don't know whether to believe it or not, but I believed it at the time I heard it. I would like to further add, that I employed in that instant all of the precautions that an experienced reporter would employ in getting that story under ordinary circumstances. 58. Question. Did the conversation with the reporters you have just mentioned tend to confirm the statements made in your article? Answer. They did not. 59. Question. Please state in what way they did not. Answer. In the conversation that I had with newspaper men, I was told that Ensign Richardson told a good many stories about his prowess and was inclined to exaggerate. 60. Question. The result of that conversation would lead you to believe that your story was true or not true? Answer. It would lead me not to know whether to believe it or not. Recross-examined by the ATTORNEY FOR THE Defendant: 61. Question. You have previously stated that Ensign Richardson did not tell you personally, but told a group, of the shooting of the prisoners, later in your testimony, you say Ensign Richardson told you. Answer. I didn't say he didn't tell me personally. I say he didn't tell me exclusively. 62. Question. You state in your testimony that you employed every means that a reputable reporter would employ to determine the truth of your story, did you have any direct conversation with Ensign Richardson on the subject mentioned in the article? Answer. I have told the circumstances of our meeting. Everybody knew that we were correspondents. It is customary to introduce ourselves as correspondents. 63. Question. My wish is to determine if you had any direct conversation with Ensign Richardson on the case in question? Answer. Ensign Richardson did not look at me exclusively and talk to me exclusively; he was talking to the party. S D-63-2-vol 29-2 64. Question. My question is: Did you personally have any direct conversation with Ensign Richardson on this subject? Answer. That I do not recall. My impression is that I was taking part in the general conversation. 65. Question. Do you consider that this is the method you should employ for obtaining important stories? Answer. It is. 66. Question. What date did the alleged conversation under the portales take place? Answer. I do not remember. 67. Question. What time of day was it? Answer. I don't know that; only my impression was that it was late in the afternoon or early in the evening. 68. Question. In the early part of your testimony, you stated that after writing the article you made no effort to corroborate the truth. of it, later in your testimony you state that you have since attempted to corroborate it by conversing with various newspaper men. Which statement is correct? Answer. My impression is that I didn't say anything of the kind. My impression is that I said I made no very determined effort. (The witness was duly warned and withdrew, and was directed to appear before the court at 3 o'clock p. m.) (The court then, at 11.45 o'clock a. m., took a recess until 3 o'clock p. m.) AFTER RECESS. The court reassembled at the expiration of the recess. Present: All the members, judge advocate, stenographer, and defendant and his attorney. The complainant resumed his position as witness. The witness resumed his chair, and desired to add to the testimony given this forenoon, in question 54: I gave this morning the names of some men with whom I talked about Ensign Richardson but who said that they believed that he exaggerated his stories, when I said that those conversations led me to be in doubt as to whether or not Ensign Richardson actually did apply the "ley de fuga." I want to add to that list of names the names of Gen. Funston and Capt. Burnside, formerly military attaché to the American Embassy in Mexico City. On Monday or Tuesday of this week, Gen. Funston told me that his personal impression was that Ensign Richardson had exaggerated in order to be in the limelight. Capt. Burnside said that Ensign Richardson had a sunstroke in the first day of the fighting. The talks I had with these two officers add to the doubt in my mind. (The judge advocate did not desire to examine this witness further. The defendant did not desire to examine this witness further. At the request of the judge advocate, the witness was directed to report to-morrow at 9 o'clock a. m. to correct or verify his testimony, and after being duly warned, withdrew. The court took a recess until 3.30 p. m.) |