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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 19, 1959)
Thursday, Nov. 19, 1939 9 MAIL TRIBUNE, Madferd, Or. g Confederate Hanged In First War Crime Trial Held in U.S. By GEORGE BAYLESS Unilsd Press International Atlanta - (UFD - Confed erate Capt. Henry Wirz, who bad boasted he could kill more Yankees than "Lee at Richmond,' was hanged Nov. 10, 1865, having been con victed at the first war crimes trial in which the United States ever participated. To an Atlanta attorney named Dean Minor, Wirz' conviction by a Special Mil itary Commission offers the best reason for establishment of a permanent international war crimes tribunal. For, says Minor, Wirz was unjustly convicted, or at least convicted of the wrong crime. "The verdict," he maintains, "was based on emotions," not facts. And that, he adds, is likely to happen whenever the victor in a war is allowed to pass judgement on the de feated. Paid With Life Wirz paid with his life for his role as commandant of the infamous Confederate prison camp at Andersonville, Ga. During the 13 months he served, Wirz had charge of as many as 34,000 Northern prisoners in a stockade area built for 10,000. Some 12, 000 Yankees died while he was there a larger toll than the number of Union troops killed at Gettysburg, An tietam, Second Bull Run, Chancellorsville and The Wil derness put together. As soon as Andersonville was taken over by Federal soldiers at war's end, Wirz was spirited away from his wife and two daughters. He was taken to Washington, where he was tried on sev eral charges, one of which was conspiracy against the United States. The 40-year-old Minor, who has written a book on the subject, says that no conspir acy was ever proved. But Wirz was found guilty, a ver dict upheld by President An drew Johnson on Nov. 3, 1865, a week before the exe cution. His trial lasted 60 days, during which 144 witnesses were heard. If it had taken place today, says Minor, he is convinced Wirz would still have been, found guilty, but on the comparatively minor charge of gross neglect, not conspiracy. , . In any ' event, the Atlanta attorney sees the Wirz case as proof there is a real danger in war crimes trials where the victor decides before whom the victim is tried, dictates the rules of evidence, selects the judge and jury, and so on. Best Solution Minor believes the best solution would be to create a permanent war crimes court as an arm of the Inter national Court of Justice. This, he feels, "would be a great instrument of world peace, deterrent to war and would insure members ' of warring nations that they would be tried for violating rules of land warfare, the Geneva and Hague conven tions." Minor also points out that victorious nations that hold their own war crimes trials don't make much of an im pression upon the conquered because the verdict can al ways be attributed to revenge rather than justice. B'nai B'rith Marks 116th Anniversary Of Service in U.S. Washington -4CPD- A Jewish organization that was the first national organization of any kind to provide disaster relief recently celebrated its 116th year of service to all Americans. known to most Americans. But few are aware that such "firsts" as disaster relief .are sprinkled throughout its re markable history. :s Here are a few B'nai B'rith ' achievements: - -It became the first organi sation in the U.S. to build hos pitals mat specialized in treat ing tuberculosis and arthritic diseases. ' -In 1868 some 13 years before the Red Cross was born K'rvat K nih esiaDiisnea ore- cedent when it assisted the victims of a flood in Balti more. -Its 116 years make it one of the oldest service or fra- . al. TTMu4 ternai groups in uic umi Odd Fellows claim a longer history. Recruited Soldiers " American history Is dotted with mention of B'nai B'rith, vllldl was iuuuucu " York on Oct. 13, 1843, by a Jewish mechanic named ' Henry Jones. In 1861, B'nai B'rith re cruited and equipped in Chi cago a company of Jewish . soldiers in response to Presi dent Lincoln's call for Civil War volunteers. Soon after it waj born, the group was fighting anti-semi- tism, even before the term was coined. Secretary of State Daniel Webster and U.S. Sen. Henry Clay of Kentucky threw their support behind Wnai B'rith in its fight for removal of certain anti-Jewish laws abroad. In 1931, it founded the Anti Defamation Lea cue. designed to battle discrimination and prejudice in all quarters. First Colleae Center Students are especially fa miliar with B nai B run. in 1932 its first college center was established at the Univer sity of Illinois. Called "Hillel Foundations," the centers to day provide for the religious needs of Jewish students on 200 campuses. B'nai B'rith now boasts a total membership of 500,000 persons in 38 countries. It re cently honored President Ei senhower for his "positive ef forts" to- p r e s e r v e world peace. In turn, . it has been commended by every U. S. President since- McKinley. In Hebrew, . B'nai B'rith means "Sons of the Cov enant." Along with the mean ing goes a saying "Where ever there are Jews in the free world, there is a B'nai B'rith." ANNUAL FOUNDER'S DAYS 1 Life 'Millionaire' Averages 44 Years Springfield, Mass. (UFD - An insurance company reports that its average "life insur ance millionaire" is a man 44 years old . with a .wife and children and a good job as a business executive. Massachusetts Mutual Life studied the background of its 28 policyholders whose life is insured for $1,000,000 or more. Ages range from 31 to 58, all but three are men, and more than half are involved in manufacturing, finance, in vestment or real estate. Two of the. women are housewives with business in terests, and the third is an executive in a business firm. There Firemen Bugged by Insect RepeUant Fog New City, N. Y. - was a bug to this fire. 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