They became such a nuisance that the French authorities planned a general raid and threw out a dragnet for all wearing the American uniform who were not supplied with proper credentials. The American War department authorized Lieut. Col. T. Bentley Mott, military attaché of the embassy, to hold court-martial proceedings for any American deserter arrested in Paris. Those charged with the responsibility of rounding up American army deserters watch the news dispatches from abroad closely in the expectation of being able to run across a trail. Occasionally a clue is found in such a dispatch as this, which was sent from Basel, Switzerland, on December 11, 1919:
"The Criminal court at Fribourg, near here, today condemned to death, in contumacy, a former American soldier named Crlx said to be a deserter, who is charged with murdering an Italian traveler Volllecmet. Crlx, described as a giant of extraordinary strength, escaped from prison before his trial, and no trace has been found. A fellow-degerter, Munzlo, from the American army, was sentenced to serve seven years."
Desertion in the face of the enemy or in the theater of operations in time of war is punishable with death. The United States government was lenient, however, in the World War. One of the few cases in which the death sentence was imposed was that of Philip Sohn of the One Hundred and Ninth infantry. President Wilson, on General Pershing's recommendation, sentenced the penalty to ten years' imprisonment in prison.  Consideration of the soldier's youth. Sohn had enlisted at the age of fifteen. NEW STEEL PLANE FINISHED Two Engines and Double Propellers Permit Repairs in Air. 