Los Angeles herald., 1906-12-20
Says Evidence Is Conclusive

Says Evidence Is Conclusive
I'm short, the evidence proves con-
clusively that number of the soldiers
engaged in a deliberate and concerted
attack, rs cold-b looded as it was cow
ardly; the purpose being to terrorize
the community and to kill or injure
men, women and children in their
homes and beds, or on the streets, at
an hour of the night when concerted or
effective resistance or defense was out
of the question and when detection by
Identification of the criminals in the
United States uniform was we'll nigh
impossible. So much of the original
crime. A blacker never stained the an
nails of our army. 1t has been supple
mented by another, only less black
in the shape of a successful conspiracy
of silence for the purpose of shielding
those who took part in the original
conspiracy of murder"
The president concludes his message
as follows:
so much for the military side of
the case. But l wish to say something
additional, from the standpoint of the
race question.
I'm my message at the opening of
congress 1 discussed the matter of
lynching. In it. l gave utterance to the
adherence which all decent citizens
should feel for the deeds of the men
lin almost all cases white mem who
take part in lynchings. and at the same
time l condemned, as all decent men
of any color should condemn, the ac-
ton of those colored men who actively
or passively shield the colored criminal
from the law.
I'm the case of these companies we
have not to deal with men who in the
first place were guilty of what was
practically the worst possible form of
lynching-for a lynching is in its es
sence laWless and murderous Venge-
ance taken by an armed mob for real
or fancied Wrongs-and who in the
second place covered up the crime of
lynching by standing with a vicious
solidarity to protect the criminals.
Judge Men on Their Worth
every far-sighted friend of the col
ored race in its efforts to strive onward
and upward sould teach first, as the
most important lesson, alike to the
white man and the black, the duty of
treating the individual man strictly on
his worth as he shows it,
ANY conduct by colored people which
tends to substitute for this rule the
rule of standing by and shielding an
evil doer because he is a member of
their race means the inevitable degra-
dalton of the colored race. 1t may and
white race, but it means ruin to the
black race.
Throughout my term of service in
the presidency / have acted on the
principle thus advocated. In the north
as in the south / have appointed col
ored men of high character to high Of
flee, utterly dlsregarding the protests
of those who would have kept them out
of office because they were colored
men,
$50 far as was in my power 7 have
sought to secure for the, colored people
all their rights under the law. l have
done all / could to secure them equal
school training when young, equal OPP
portunity to earn their livelihood and
achieve their happiness when old.
Striven to Break Up Peonage
"I have striven TO break up peonage;
have upheld the hands of those who,
like Judge Jones and Judge Speerr
have warred against this peonage, be-
cause I would hold myself unfit to be
president If l did not feel the same
revolt at wrong done colored man as
| feel at wrong done white man.
~ have condemned in unstinted
terms the crime of lynching perpetrat-
ed by white men, and 1 should take in
slant advantage of any opportunity
whereby / could bring to justice moi
of lynchers. In precisely the same
spirit l have now acted with reference
to these colored men who have beer
guilty of black and dastardly crime
I'm one policy as IN the other l dc
not claim as favor, but l challenge
as n right the support of every either
of this country, whatever his color
provided only he has in him the spirit
of genuine and far-sighted patriotism
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.