The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1906-12-20
WOULD KILL NEGROES
President Roosevelt Declares
Members Of Dismissed Regi-
ment Deserved Death.
DEFENDS ACTION IN CASE,

Special Message to Congress, In Re-s
sponse to Senate Inquiry, Recites
Facts ON Which Order of Discharge,
Was Bassd-caIIs Soldiers Conduct
HAtrocious."
Washington, Dee. 20.--In concluding
a message to the senate in reply to its
inquiries regarding the discharge of
three companies of the Twenty fifth
infantry President Roosevelt says:
81 challenge as a right the support of
every citizen of this country, whatever
his color, provided only he has in him
the spirit of genuine and farsighted
patriotism"
The president, whose tone through
out is absolutely uncompromising, says
he acted in the exercise Of his consti-
tutional power and in pursuance of his
constitutional duty. He denounces as
sinister the counsel that has induced
colored people to attempt to deny or
condone the Brownsville crime because
the culprits We're of their race.
Denying that their discharge was or
dered as a punishment, the president
asserts that the only adequate punish
ment for the Brownsville assault is
death. He declares his keen regret at
not being able to infiict that penalty.
Act of Unparalleled Infamy."
That the shooting up of Brownsville
was done by party of from nine to
fifteen negro soldiers the president
says there can be no doubt whatever,
and he brands their act as one 'unpar-
alleled for infamy in the annals of the
United States army
After breaking from their barracks,
the president says, they shot at whom
ever they saw. moving and into houses
where they saw lights. They fred into
houses where they must have known
there were women and children. They
killed a barkeeper and wounded the
lieutenant of police, who lost his arm.
These raiders, says the president,
were not schoolboys on a frolic Not
withstanding full warning Of the con
sequences their comrades entered into
a conspiracy of silence to prevent the
ends of justice. so 1t became necessary
to discharge them ALL
The Presidents Message.
Some of he more striking portions
of the presidents message are as fol
lows:
It appears that in Brownsville, Tex,
there had been considerable feeling be-
tween the citizens and the colored troops
of the garrison. My impression is that
there was blame attached to both sides.
but this is wholly unimportant, as moth
ing that occurred offered any excuse or
justification for the atrocious conduct of
the troops when in lawless and murder
Gus spirit ard under cover of the night
they made taeir attack upon the citizens.
The attack was made near midnight on
Aug. 49, The following facts as to this
attack are made clear by Major Block
SONS investigation and have not been
and, in my Judgment, cannot be success
fully controverted. From nine to fifteen
or twenty of the colored soldiers took
part In the attack. They leaped over the
walls from the barracks and hurried
through the town. They shot at whom
ever they saw moving, and they shot into
houses where they saw lights. In some of
these houses there were women and chill
dren, as the would be murderers must
have known. In one house in which there
were two women and five children some
ten shots went through at a height Of
about four and a half feet above the floor.
one putting out the lamp upon the table
These soldiers were not schoolboys on
frolic. They were full grown men in the
uniform of the United States army, armed
with deadly weapons. sworn to uphold
the laws of the United States and under
every obligation of oath and honor not
merely to refrain from criminality, but
with the sturdiest rigor to hunt down
criininality
Conspiracy to Shield Assassins.
It is vital for the army to be imbued
with the spirit which will make every
man in it and, above all, the officers and
noncommissioned officers, feel 1t a matter
of highest obligation to discover and pun
ish and not to shield the criminal in uni
form. wet some of the noncon1nissioned
officers and many of the men of the three
companies in question have banded to-
gether in conspiracy to protect the as
sassins and would be asSassns who have
disgraced their uniform by the conduct
above related.
People have spoken as If this discharge
from the service was punishment.
deny emphatical1y that such is the case,
because as punishment 1t Is utterly mad
equate The punishment meet for mutt
neers and murderers such as those guilty
of the Brownsville assault is death, and
a punishment only less severe ought to be
meted out to those who have aided and
abetted mutiny and murder and treason
by refusing 10 help in their detection. /
would that it were possible for me to have
punished the guilty men, ! regret most