Endowments; Legal assistance to military personnel; Trials (Naval offenses); New York (N.Y.); Navy Legal Aid Association; McAdoo, W. G. (William Gibbs), 1863-1941; Gleaves, Albert, 1858-1937; Hughes, Charles Evans, 1862-1948; Satterlee, Herbert Livingston, 1863-1947; United States. Navy
Format
correspondence
Genre
Business correspondence
Date
[between 1886 and 1919?]
Physical Description
microfilm, 16 mm, b&w
Note (Reel no.)
Reel 81
Note
PDF may contain multiple grant documents.
Moved by the appeal of Mat. A. Green, a former sailor, now serving twenty-year term for murder in the Portsmouth Naval Prison, lawyers associated with the Navy Legal Aid Association are preparing to ask for a retrial. The appeal will be presented to S ecretary Daniels in about a week. The counsel in the case are Charles E. Hughes, John B. Stanchfield and Morgan J. O'Brien, all Trustees of the association." [SOURCE: "SEEKS NEW TRIAL FOR SAILOR: Navy Legal Aid Association to Appeal Spalate Murder Verdict." The New York Times, 30 May 1920, pp. 32. TimesMachine, https://nyti.ms/2Cq91hr. Accessed 4 Oct. 2018.] "NAVY LEGAL AID ASSOCIATION TO GET JUSTICE FOR SAILORS. Realizing that although always brave in doing their duty as sailors, many men of the United States Navy are frightened when it comes to defending themselves in a court of law, the Navy Legal Aid Association has been formed to do everything in its power to help bluejackets who are in trouble, either with the naval or civil authorities. It is not because of any belief that the sailor does not get a fair deal at court martial. Members of the association believe, however, that in many instances, officers assigned to sit in judgment are not fitted vocationally for this important post, and proposes to see that men on trial are given every legal aid possible. On February 26, 1920, John Proctor Clarke, Presiding Judge, Appellate Division, First Department, State of New York, approved the certificate of incorporation of the Navy Legal Aid Association, Inc. The association thus becomes the second organization granted the right to practice law. The Legal Aid Society of New York was the first corporation allowed to practice. The association is a membership corporation and is supported by contributions from its members. The New York City branch office, temporarily located in the Manhattan Navy Club, No. 13 East Forty first street, will be in operation about March 15, and according to William McAdoo, formerly Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and Chief City Magistrate, the association plans to establish offices in Boston Philadelphia, Baltimore, Norfolk, New Orleans, San Francisco and Seattle, within the next few months. It is also planned to have representatives at other naval bases so that no matter what port an enlisted man of the navy puts into, he is sure of finding some one there ready and willing to defend him, either for a nominal fee, or, in worthy instances, free of charge. Judge McAdoo, president of the association, issued the following statement: 'It is not intended to question the intention of naval officers who preside in courts-martial to do exact justice, but it must be kept in mind that they are not lawyers and that their assignment to such courts in many cases is a matter of routine, which precludes any vocational aptitude for the judicial requirements of the position. On the other hand, there is no other way in which these cases can be tried. The Navy Legal Aid Association believes it will help not only to obtain absolute justice for the accused, but will be of great aid to the court-martial system, and we believe it will be welcomed by them in that respect. To have a disinterested, impartial, legally trained, intelligent man appearing for the defense cannot be otherwise than beneficial. The American Bar Association committee confirms the judgment of those of us who have had experience, and this association should fill a great and existing need. This association is the conception of Emery C. Weller. Mr. Weller, the executive chairman of the association, enlisted the aid of Arthur Curtiss James and Herbert L. Satterlee, and I am sure the association will have the support of those public spirited citizens who are glad of the opportunity to aid the American Navy, of which we all are proud. Consider the effect upon an enlisted man who feels that he has not had a square deal in court on the law and the facts. When he goes out of the service he is not going to encourage enlistments. Let us also keep in mind that the personnel of the navy at present is made up of the flower of the boyhood and manhood of the country. Years ago the personnel of the navy was made from the flotsam and jetsam of the boyhood in big cities. That has been entirely changed. Great numbers of these boys come from the farms, small cities and villages, and are fine representatives of young American manhood. They have, too, that American spirit of wanting to get justice, and nothing but justice, and when such a boy is before a court-martial the association plans to have him represented by a lawyer and a gentleman who will give him his best professional skill in presenting his case. According to the statistics of the Judge Advocate General of the navy, 5,862 enlisted men were brought to trial before general courts-martial during the fiscal year 1919. This period includes the time when the navy was at its lowest ebb. Of those tried only 303 men were acquitted, or less than six per cent. These figures speak for themselves.' The trustees of the association are: Elliott Debevoise, W. Butler Duncan, Frederick L. Eldridge, W.B. Franklin, Admiral Albert Gleaves, U.S. Navy; Charles E. Hughes, Arthur Curtiss James, William McAdoo, Morgan J' O'Brien, Jr., Roland R, Riggs, John K. Sague, Herbert L. Satterlee, John B. Stanchfleld, Emery C. Weller, Clark Williams, Beekman Winthrop and William Ziegler, Jr. Messrs. Debevoise, Riggs, Sague and Morgan J. O'Brien Jr., as members, and Emery C. Weller, as chairman, compose the executive committee. Frederick L. Eldridge, care of the Empire Trust Company, 120 Broadway, New York City, is treasurer of the association." [SOURCE:Our Navy Publishing Co., Inc. Our Navy, the Standard Publication of the U.S. Navy, vol. 14, May 1920, pp. 18-19. Google Books, https://books.google.com/books?id=FIM9AQAAMAAJ. Accessed 4 Oct. 2018.] "William Gibbs McAdoo Jr. (October 31, 1863 – February 1, 1941) was an American lawyer and statesman. McAdoo was a leader of the Progressive movement and played a major role in the administration of President Woodrow Wilson. A member of the Democratic Party, he also represented California in the United States Senate. Born in Marietta, Georgia, McAdoo moved to Knoxville, Tennessee in his youth and graduated from the University of Tennessee. He established a legal practice in Chattanooga, Tennessee before moving to New York City in 1892. He gained notoriety as the president of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Company and served as the vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee. McAdoo worked on Wilson's successful 1912 presidential campaign and served as the United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1913 to 1918. He married Wilson's daughter, Eleanor, in 1914. McAdoo presided over the establishment of the Federal Reserve System and helped prevent an economic crisis after the outbreak of World War I. After the U.S. entered the war, McAdoo also served as the Director General of Railroads. McAdoo left Wilson's Cabinet in 1919, co-founding the law firm of McAdoo, Cotton & Franklin. McAdoo sought the Democratic presidential nomination at the 1920 Democratic National Convention but was blocked by his father-in-law Woodrow Wilson. In 1922, McAdoo left his law firm and moved to California. He sought the Democratic presidential nomination again in 1924, but the 1924 Democratic National Convention nominated John W. Davis. He was elected to the Senate in 1932 but was defeated in his bid for a second term. McAdoo died of a heart attack in 1941 while traveling to the third inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt." [SOURCE: "William Gibbs McAdoo." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gibbs_McAdoo. Accessed 4 Oct. 2018.]