First Veto

Beryl M. McHam, a native of Sapulpa, Okla., enlisted as a private in the U. S. Army on March 28. 1917 and went overseas with the A. E. F. In the Argonne, from which only 15 members of his company of 250 emerged alive, he was wounded in the right arm. burned by mustard gas, cited for bravery. After the Armistice while stationed in the Rhine he got into a drunken brawl in a Coblenz cabaret. He was court-martialed and sentenced to five years imprisonment. The sentence was reduced to 15 months confinement at Fort Jay where he was dishonorably discharged in July 1920. Two years later Secretary of War Weeks permitted him to re-enlist to serve out his term, get an honorable discharge and thus qualify for war-risk insurance and the Bonus. He re-enlisted in March 1922 at Camp Dix. On Sept. 1 Private McHam deserted.

From Congress last week a bill was dispatched to the White House to give Deserter Beryl McHam an honorable discharge and put him on the pension rolls. On the President's desk was a memorandum from Secretary Dern:

"The War Department does not view with favor the enactment of legislation that would have the effect of granting to an individual to the exclusion of all other former soldiers similarly situated, rights, privileges and benefits which it has not been the practice to grant heretofore by legislation in similar cases."

President Roosevelt took his pen in hand, noted that he was "constrained by the record submitted" to veto the bill for Private McHam's honorable discharge. Thus for the first time since he took office a year ago did the President exercise his constitutional power to thwart the will of Congress.

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