The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-03-15
THE TROOPS
v'lllDlCA1E:.D[:|
Colonel George Wayne Ander-
son Receives Reports From
Captains at Roanoke
BUT FoUR MEN We! ! WERE I {: DRUNK . ] \ {
This Number of8tl1e Total AL ofs72!o's 20
Were Taken Into Custody
BY Their o Officers.i

4 f y
Colonel George Wayne Anderson. com.
mandlng the troops recently sent to Roam. y \
oke BY order OF the Coverno Or. 70 escort
thd protect a negro nam ed Williams, who
was taken thlther for trial ont a capital
.ofrense. has taken ION icial cosnlzance Of
and as a result Of the nfornatio ion elicit.
ed from the captains comma nding the
iycrious companies, has completed Yindi-- IL
Gated the troops and refu ted the charge
or the Mayor OF Roanoke. rejecting upon
the mon on a duty there. .8y
Colonel Anderson ad dressed each com !.
:pany Commander an Inquiry for detailed
reports based on a searching lnvestiga-
tion3to ascertain the truth or !alsltys OF
the mayors charge OF runkenness AM d
disorder InaIe against the troops These
sstete,rents summa rtzed and stfted show
that but four men were arrested for any
cause and they we're taken into custody
and turned over to the civil authorities on
their own initiative by the commanding
officers OF II the companies. In Il @ case
was there any dlsord err worthy OF note
and the Mayor himself is reported TO
have spoken lightly OF the arrests there.
These men are to be tried by court mar
itlal and punished as the military Law d.
srects. Isl &. + ts.l 81 555s a !, 4 .S
Colonel sAnderso71's Letter.
L Colonel Anderson last nJ:ht wrote the
following statement add dressed to the edi-
tor OF 7 Tb o. Times. Dispa tch, stating the
result OF his inquiry: 81 Il; XII
no the Editor Of The Times- . Dispatch: @
SIR On February oath. you pub bl!sl-
fl Roanoke. III wi hict 1T ;Was charged that
sS there SEas no disorde derif in Tho clty OF Ne
Roanoke on the day Of the Il trial of
~ tho negro Williams, except that which
4 was created by the drunken soldiers. q
who were arrested, etc. ~ 53
y On the same day I dictated letters
to3the commanding officers Of the sew
eral companies on duty In Roanoke,
informing them Of the Mayors charge gs
and calling upon them Officially for &
detailed sta tements in regard to the 4
matter The demands upon my time s
during the closing weeks Of the Gene-5
raj Assembly have prevented an earlier
statement by me OF the facts as devel--
oped by my: Inquiries. z
have detailed. signed statements
before me from every captain on duty
In Roanoke except from the captains
OF the two Roanoke companies With
two exceptions, the captains indignant
II ~ deny that any OF their men were
either drunk or dlsorderly. One cap
tain reports that he put one Of his
enlisted mon under arrest himself and
sent him to the police station but that
the man created no disturbance and
gave no trouble to the Roanoke au-
thorities. Another captain reported
that he personally arrested three Of his a
men and conducted them to the office
OF the chief Of police. where he had
them detained Until the troops left
Roanoke. 3. l5
There were, therefore. four men out
Of the seven hundred and twenty. four
II taken to Roanoke who were intoxi.
q Gated. All four were arrested BY the
military officers in Immediate COM Z
mand and by them confined in the po.
Il lice station without trouble or annoy
ance to the civil authorities.
SThr captains report that the Mayor
ID himself. being In the station, spoke
II lightly OF the affair as being trivial
and to be expected in 50 large q num-
4 Der OF men,
III q I VIII add that all four men will in