In coming to a
conclusion upon the evidence the committee have been greatly assisted by
these expressions of opinion, and have uniformly rejected every
deposition on which an opinion adverse to the witness has been recorded.
This seems to be a fitting place at which to put on record the
invaluable help which we have received from our secretaries, Mr. E.
Grimwood Mears and Mr. W.J.H. Brodrick, whose careful diligence and
minute knowledge of the evidence have been of the utmost service.
Without their skill, judgment, and untiring industry the labor of
examining and appraising each part of so large a mass of testimony would
have occupied us for six months instead of three.
The marginal references in this report indicate the particular
deposition or depositions on which the statements made in the text are
based.[A]
[Footnote A: Marginal references are omitted in this
reproduction.--EDITOR.]
The depositions printed in the appendix themselves show that the stories
were tested in detail, and in none of these have we been able to detect
the trace of any desire to "make a case" against the German Army. Care
was taken to impress upon the witness that the giving of evidence was a
grave and serious matter, and every deposition submitted to us was
signed by the witness in the presence of the examiner.
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